By Diane Chandler, Baptist Press WACO, Texas (BP) -- Baylor University stripped Ken Starr of his presidency and fired head football coach Art Briles today (May 26) after an independent investigation found "a fundamental failure" to protect students from sexual assault in a years-long scandal. The Baylor Board of Regents announced the personnel changes in a press release posted on its website, based on the findings of an investigation by the law firm Pepper Hamilton, LLP. "Key findings of the investigation reflect a fundamental failure by Baylor to implement Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA)," the board said. The board of the largest Baptist university in the world also created a new full-time position of chief compliance officer to report directly to the president's office, sanctioned and placed on probation athletic director Ian McCaw, fired additional but unnamed members of the administration and athletics programs, clarified the roles of several departmental staff members and committed to institute "robust training" before the fall 2016 semester. The Baylor sex scandal centered on the behavior of the university students, including … [Read more...]
Steve Gaines’ vision for the SBC: spiritual awakening
In a video, Steve Gaines shares his passion for spiritual awakening. Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., is running for SBC president during next month's Annual Meeting. "I believe that America needs for God to open the windows of Heaven and pour out His spirit upon His people, and I believe that we need that now," Gaines said. … [Read more...]
Steve Gaines’ vision for the SBC: Introduction
Southern Baptist Convention Presidential hopeful Steve Gaines lays out his vision if elected to the office during next month's Annual Meeting. … [Read more...]
Atheist relents; enters legal agreement to cease filing lawsuits over free exercise of religion
By First Liberty staff CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - During a court hearing Tuesday, atheist activist Patrick Greene reached a court-approved settlement agreement with Pastor Rick Milby of Abundant Life Fellowship Church. In the settlement, Greene dropped all claims against Pastor Milby, who Greene sued over the construction of a 230-foot cross, which will be “the tallest cross in America.” Read the final court order: FirstLiberty.org/corpus In the settlement, Greene admitted that his lawsuit was “baseless,” “vexatious” and “without merit.” As a part of the settlement, he entered into a “covenant not to sue,” agreeing to cease filing meritless lawsuits over the free exercise of religion. Jeremy Dys, Senior Counsel for First Liberty, says, “We are grateful that Mr. Greene has admitted that his lawsuit – filed against a pastor for building a cross on church property – is baseless and without merit. Today’s outcome should send a clear message to anti-religious freedom activists everywhere: if you abuse the legal system by suing people simply because you don’t like how they exercise their religion, there will be legal consequences.” Pastor Milby, Senior Pastor of Abundant Life Fellowship, says, “We are overjoyed that we were able to … [Read more...]
Abraham legislation seeks to put a stop to Obama overreach on bathroom policy
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Congressman Ralph Abraham has introduced legislation intended to stop what he believes is overreach by President Obama on directing public schools to allow students to use bathrooms and locker rooms of the opposite sex. A member of Alto Baptist Church, Abraham introduced the bill that amends Title IX by clarifying the term ‘sex’ refers to the biological gender of the individual. Enacted in 1972, Title IX was originally passed to provide a more equal playing field for male and females in athletics and other after-school programs. “For 40 years, society and law have interpreted Title IX to refer to a person’s biological sex,” Abraham said in a news release. “Now the President and liberal activists are distorting that meaning to circumvent Congress to enact their radical social agenda. My bill removes any ambiguity in the law to ensure that Title IX's true intent is respected. Transgender bathroom policy decisions should be made on the local and state levels, not by an over-reaching Executive Branch that twists the law to suit its own purposes.” Issued on May 13, the order signed by Department of Education and Justice officials threaten to pull federal funding for schools that do not comply. A letter on the … [Read more...]
EXCLUSIVE: Evangelical leaders to quiz Trump on faith and values
By Todd Starnes, Fox News Donald Trump has agreed to meet privately with some of the nation’s most prominent Evangelical leaders – a meeting seen as critical to garnering support from social conservatives, Fox News has learned. “Our goal is to be able to have a conversation that could lead to a better understanding of what Donald Trump has to offer to the country,” said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. Perkins is one of the key conservative leaders spearheading the gathering – set for June 21 in New York City. Perkins, along with Bill Dallas of United in Purpose, worked with Dr. Ben Carson to arrange the meeting. As many as 500 conservative leaders from around the nation are expected to attend the invitation-only event. The meeting was convened by a who’s who among Evangelicals – including Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd, James Dobson, Ralph Reed, Penny Nance, Bob McEwen, Tim Wildmon of the American Family Association, Kelly Shackleford of First Liberty, and mega-church pastors Jack Graham and Ed Young. “I want to be actively supportive of a candidate who can help turn this nation around,” Perkins told me. “With Trump – I’m not there yet. I hope to be there – but I’m not there … [Read more...]
NAMB’s Kevin Ezell denies confidential ‘Cooperation Agreements’ are ‘gag orders’
By Joni B Hannigan, Christian Examiner ALPHARETTA, Ga. (Christian Examiner) – Kevin Ezell, president of the Southern Baptist Convention North American Mission Board, May 17 refuted accusations that "Cooperation Agreements" signed by state executives are "gag orders," but instead said they are "simply a commitment of charity and trust." Last week, several Southern Baptist state leaders accused NAMB of linking financial support from the national entity to the agreements that were said to include a non-disclosure agreement. NAMB declined to respond to Christian Examiner's request for comment, but posted an article on the organization's website May 17. To read the rest of the article, click here. … [Read more...]
Steve Gaines: ‘We’ve got to be soul winners’
By Will Hall, Message Editor MEMPHIS – Describing what his presidential priorities might mean for the Southern Baptist Convention, Steve Gaines emphasized during an exclusive interview the need to pray for revival in our churches and a spiritual awakening in our country, and an equally critical need to train to be soul winners again. Moreover, Gaines said there is a stewardship problem among Southern Baptists – starting with personal budgeting, and he made the point that “the Cooperative Program is by far the very best way to support Southern Baptist missions,” not societal giving. In that regard, Gaines said there needs to be greater emphasis on the value of local associations and state conventions in order to have healthy and growing national programs and entities. Finally, on the issue of Calvinism, Gaines said he believes “anybody can be saved” and that although there is room in the SBC tent for different beliefs, “I do not believe that Calvinism should be taught as the optimal exclusive theological position in our schools, whether our seminaries or our colleges.” DELIBERATE SOUL WINNING “We've got to win souls,” Gaines, pastor of the historic Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis, told the … [Read more...]
David Crosby: Cooperation in missions, compassion through ministries
By Will Hall, Message Editor NEW ORLEANS – David Crosby, pastor of the First Baptist Church in New Orleans, shared with the Louisiana Baptist Message some of his thoughts about what his possible election as president of the Southern Baptist Convention might mean for the denomination, emphasizing that “the work we do together is about the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.” Speaking by phone, Crosby said on that point “We’ve got to do both proclamation and incarnation. I think the Gospel requires behavior as well as words.” He added he would work with our national entities to underscore compassion ministries as a way to unleash churches to reach the lost. Crosby also expressed “alarm” about the multi-year trend of designated giving -- the focus on independent work instead of cooperative ministries -- outpacing gifts through the Cooperative Program. Likewise, he expressed grave concern about the “almost accidental” downsizing of the International Mission Board, asking “Why didn’t we have a conversation about this?” instead of “just being blindsided by it.” Regarding the impact of Calvinism on the Convention, Crosby said Southern Baptists always before have been able to live together “with some tensions but in relative … [Read more...]
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