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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

What’s the SBC’s future? It’s up to us

By Randy C. Davis, president and executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- What will become of the Southern Baptist Convention? That question hangs above our denomination like an ominous cloud. The question is especially germane given the unprecedented decision by SBC Executive Committee Board members to waive attorney-client privilege in the third-party investigation of how the EC handled sexual abuse claims. The discussion has become strained at times. People have gotten aggressively hostile on social media to the point nothing in their comments resembles the Christian love we are commanded to extend to one another. Attitudes toward board members have become like chum in the Amazon River, feeding a frenzy of piranha. These EC board members are people; brothers and sisters in Christ who stepped out from our churches to serve. They are not the enemy.   The issue at hand, sexual abuse, is a serious matter that deserves rigorous consideration and a thoughtful response guided by the Holy Spirit whose counsel must be sought through rigorous prayer. And not just prayer by EC board members and members of the SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force. The work that lies before these men and women should be a prayer … [Read more...]

Floyd resigns after SBC EC waives attorney-client privilege

Dear SBC Executive Committee Trustees and SBC Family, I was planning to release this letter on Monday, Oct. 11; however, I delayed the publishing of this letter until today, due to the death of my mother-in-law on Sunday and then the funeral which took place on Wednesday afternoon in Bridgeport, Texas, Oct. 13. After serving as the senior pastor of the same church for over thirty-two years, I came here twenty-eight months ago in good faith because I believed in what we do together to advance the Good News of Jesus Christ to the whole world. It was this personal and pastoral commitment to the Great Commission vision that moved me to lead my church to invest heavily in the Cooperative Program and the ministries of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Bible tells us in Psalm 90:12 these words, “Teach us to number our days carefully so we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” We are told these words because each of our days are limited and we must determine how we believe God wants us to use them for His glory. While Jeana and I have no idea where we are going and what we will do in the future, today I submit my resignation as the President and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee. I will serve through … [Read more...]

Kennedy, Judiciary Republicans push back on Biden Justice Department crackdown on parents’ freedom of speech

By Office of Sen. John Kennedy WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) has joined Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and nine other senators in demanding that the Justice Department not interfere with local school board meetings or threaten the use of federal law enforcement to deter parents’ free speech. This comes after DOJ issued a memorandum suggesting federal law enforcement may need to assist policing local school board meetings. “We are concerned about the appearance of the Department of Justice policing the speech of citizens and concerned parents. We urge you to make very clear to the American public that the Department of Justice will not interfere with the rights of parents to come before school boards and speak with educators about their concerns, whether regarding coronavirus-related measures, the teaching of critical race theory in schools, sexually explicit books in schools, or any other topic. Furthermore, we urge you to instruct the FBI and the various United States Attorneys to make clear in the meetings discussed above that speech and democratic processes, like those that occur at a local school board meeting, must be respected,” wrote the senators. “It is not appropriate to use the awesome powers of the … [Read more...]

SBC’s lawyers resign after EC’s vote to waive attorney-client privilege

By Lonnie Wilkey, Baptist and Reflector NASHVILLE — The Nashville law firm of Guenther, Jordan & Price informed the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee Oct. 11 that the firm will no longer represent the SBC entity because the board of directors voted to waive attorney-client privilege (See story). The letter, signed by James P. Guenther and James D. Jordan, was sent to Ronnie Floyd, president and chief executive officer of the Executive Committee. According to the letter, Guenther became the general counsel for the EC in 1966 and “that role devolved to now be filled by the firm of Guenther, Jordan and Price.” The letter noted that the firm has “been privileged to work with some good people who have served Southern Baptists admirably. We have endeavored every day to faithfully serve the Executive Committee and the Convention with integrity, competence, and professionalism consistently throughout these 56 years.” The letter noted, however, that “the Executive Committee’s board of directors, by a majority vote, has acted to prospectively and preemptively waive the Executive Committee’s attorney-client privilege without knowing the communications affected by the waiver and without knowing the effect it … [Read more...]

SBC EC waives attorney-client privilege as Louisiana members split votes

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor NASHVILLE, Tenn. (LBM)—The Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, which is charged by SBC Bylaws to serve as the fiduciary, the fiscal, and the executive entity of the Convention (in all matters not assigned to other SBC entities), voted 44-31, Oct. 5, to waive attorney-client privilege in an investigation of the Executive Committee about mishandling sexual abuse allegations in the SBC and the mistreatment of sexual abuse survivors. There are no accusations of sexual abuse against Executive Committee staff or trustees. The action is a result of a motion adopted by messengers to the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting, presented by Grant Gaines, pastor of Belle Aire Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and son of Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in the Memphis, Tennessee-area, and former SBC president. The elder Gaines was accused of a sexual abuse coverup in 2006, according to Baptist Press, and the Religion News Service reported that his church was sued in 2020 for allegedly ignoring warnings about a part-time employee now charged with the sexual abuse of a teen. Both incidents fall within the timeframe, 2000-2021, set by the younger Gaines’s motion … [Read more...]

Kennedy, Cornyn, colleagues press Biden administration for answers on release of illegal immigrants into U.S.

By Office of Sen. John Kennedy WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) has joined Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and more than 30 other senators to urge Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to address reports that thousands of illegal immigrants in Del Rio, Texas were released into the interior of the U.S. instead of facing removal as the Biden administration had previously pledged. “While we applaud the Administration’s original stated intent to expel the majority of migrants under the CDC’s Title 42 order or to expeditiously remove them, we are concerned that DHS did not actually carry out this plan, deployed resources in a manner that weakened border security, and undermined the deterrent effect of any future statements that the Biden Administration will enforce our immigration laws at the border,” the senators wrote. “DHS has openly admitted that the rapid influx of Haitian migrants into the interior was orchestrated by smuggling organizations, which only makes some aspects of the agency’s response more puzzling. . . . And Administration officials have communicated to congressional staff that smuggling organizations strategically bused migrants into Ciudad Acuña in order to concentrate migrants at a … [Read more...]