JEFFERSON CITY – “It was a venture of faith for Missouri Baptists to step out and do this. To start a paper, that's no easy task. “It takes resources, it takes vision, it takes a lot of thought,” said Bob Curtis, director of missions for the Mineral Area Baptist Association in Farmington. “And it takes a lot of prayer.” The Pathway, with a print edition and website, made its debut in June 2002 in St. Louis at that year’s Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. “We did not know … [Read more...]
New book on Southern Baptists, race details conservative influence
EUGENE, Ore. – The Southern Baptist Convention’s turn toward racial reconciliation gained traction from biblical teachings, not the social gospel or liberal theology, David Roach writes in a new book, “The Southern Baptist Convention & Civil Rights, 1954-1995: Conservative Theology, Segregation, and Change.” “Over time, leaders in the SBC showed Southern Baptists that the Bible demanded a change,” Roach said in an interview. “When progressives within and outside the SBC tried to … [Read more...]
Augie Boto to retire from SBC Executive Committee
NASHVILLE (BP) – D. August "Augie" Boto has announced he will retire from the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee effective Sept. 30. Boto, the EC's executive vice president and general counsel, notified EC President and CEO Ronnie Floyd of his retirement in a July 18 letter. His retirement brings his service "full circle," Boto told Baptist Press, having joined the EC as a member in 1995, the same year Floyd began his 1995-1997 service as EC chairman. Boto, 68, … [Read more...]
Paper’s sexual abuse report leaves SBC’s Greear ‘broken’
HOUSTON (BP) – A Houston newspaper, in reporting on instances of sexual abuse by pastors and others at Southern Baptist churches, has left SBC President J.D. Greear "broken over what was revealed today." "The abuses described in this @HoustonChron article are pure evil," Greear stated in a series of tweets after the Houston Chronicle reported today (Feb. 10) on instances of abuse by ministers, youth pastors, Sunday School teachers, deacons and church volunteers. Along with its … [Read more...]
Veteran, 92, took his last stand defending his wife
COLUMBUS, Ga. (BP) - John Dawson served in World War II in the Pacific theater and in the Korean and Vietnam wars on crews that catapulted planes off the decks of five different aircraft carriers. He died at age 92, however, by making the ultimate sacrifice for his wife of 72 years by battling a home intruder. As a leader in his American Legion post, as a longtime churchman and as a father of two (Ricky and Peggy), grandfather of seven, great-grandfather of 16 and … [Read more...]
Jimmy Draper named Executive Committee ambassador
NASHVILLE (BP) -- Jimmy Draper, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and president emeritus of LifeWay Christian Resources, has been named "EC Ambassador" by D. August Boto, interim president of the SBC Executive Committee. Draper, who has maintained an active speaking schedule since retiring from LifeWay in 2006, is "someone for whom no introduction or explanation need be given," Boto said in an April 9 announcement. "He is someone whom involved Southern Baptists all … [Read more...]
UPDATE: EC’s Frank Page resigns over ‘personal failing’
NASHVILLE (BP) -- Frank S. Page has resigned as president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee, effective March 27 over what is described as "a morally inappropriate relationship in the recent past." Florida pastor Stephen Rummage, chairman of the Executive Committee, released a 300-word statement Tuesday afternoon (March 27) in behalf of the EC's officers noting the circumstances of Page's resignation: "Last evening, the officers of … [Read more...]
After 20 years in SBC post, Yeats to be renominated
PHOENIX (BP) – John L. Yeats, first elected as the Southern Baptist Convention’s recording secretary in 1997, will be re-nominated for the post during the SBC’s June 13-14 annual meeting in Phoenix. Yeats, executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention, was serving as editor of the Indiana Baptist convention newsjournal when first elected as SBC recording secretary 20 years ago during the 1997 annual meeting in Dallas. Spencer Plumlee, pastor of Riverview Baptist Church in … [Read more...]
ERLC issues statement ‘seeking unity’
NASHVILLE (BP) – An extended statement, "Seeking Unity in the Southern Baptist Convention," has been issued by Russell Moore and the executive committee of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. Moore, in a 1,691-word portion of the March 20 statement, clarified criticism he had leveled at Christians who supported Donald Trump for president in the November 2016 election. The ERLC executive committee, in a 536-word portion of the statement, affirmed Moore's ongoing leadership as … [Read more...]
Crossover efforts aimed at Hispanic communities in St. Louis in June
ST. LOUIS (BP) – Already a hub of ethnic outreach, Tower Grove Baptist Church in central St. Louis will extend the Gospel to a nearby Hispanic community during Crossover. Tower Grove Baptist Church A yearly evangelistic outreach, Crossover precedes the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in the host city. It will peak on Saturday, June 12, as local Baptists and volunteers from across the country conduct block parties and other community events throughout the metro St. Louis … [Read more...]
LifeWay’s Ed Stetzer to join Wheaton College faculty
WHEATON, Ill. (BP) – Ed Stetzer, executive director of LifeWay Research and executive editor of The Gospel Project curriculum published by LifeWay, has been named to the faculty of Wheaton College and as executive director of Wheaton's Billy Graham Center for Evangelism. Stetzer, 49, will begin his new roles at Wheaton July 1, which also will include publisher of Evangelical Missions Quarterly, founded nearly 50 years ago, and chair of the Wheaton College Graduate School's evangelism and … [Read more...]
CP has broad reach for the gospel
NASHVILLE (BP) – Southern Baptist churches are advancing the gospel state by state – and around the world – through their commitment to the Cooperative Program. From national and international mission boards to church-hosted evangelism training, the Cooperative Program plays a key role in introducing people near and far to Jesus. Among those with a grassroots vantage point to see the broad scope of Cooperative Program outreach are state convention leaders. Here are some of their … [Read more...]