Who gets to be the public face of faithful people? Plus, the local news for May 27 and WNXP’s Nashville Artist of the Month.
Southern Baptist Convention membership declines while baptisms rise
Fewer people identify as Southern Baptists, and fewer churches are a part of the Nashville-based denomination, according to an annual report.
NashVillager Podcast: The limits of a church’s confidentiality
What does a court case tell us about the intersection of religion and the law? Plus, the local news for January 21, 2025.
Oops. Southern Baptist agency announces firing of its leader, then retracts that announcement.
There’s been a head-spinning reversal of messages from the public-policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. On Sunday, its leader applauded President Joe Biden’s “selfless act” of withdrawing his candidacy for re-election. On Monday, the agency announced the firing of that leader, Brent Leatherwood. But on Tuesday, it retracted that announcement.
NashVillager Podcast: Politics and the Southern Baptist Convention
How does the annual national meeting of Southern Baptists affect Tennessee’s political landscape? Plus your local newscast for June 13, 2024.
Southern Baptists narrowly reject formal ban on churches with any women pastors
Delegates at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting have narrowly rejected a proposal to enshrine a ban on churches with women pastors in the denomination’s constitution. The outcome still leaves the SBC with its official doctrinal statement saying the office of pastor is limited to men.
Southern Baptists are poised to ban churches with women pastors. Some are urging them to reconsider
The Southern Baptist Convention is preparing to vote on a proposed constitutional ban on churches with women pastors. The vote will take place at the annual meeting of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination June 11-12 in Indianapolis. The denomination’s statement of faith says the office of pastor is reserved for men. However, that statement is non-binding. By some estimates, the proposal could affect hundreds of churches with women as either lead or associate pastors. The denomination can’t tell its independent churches what to do, but it can boot them out. Even without a formal ban last year, it ousted one of its largest congregations, Saddleback Church of California, for having women pastors.
NashVillager Podcast: Church membership declines
What story do church membership numbers really tell? Plus your local newscast for May 13, 2024.
Southern Baptists pushed to ban abortion, but their leader wants a key safeguard added in Tennessee
Tennessee is one of the few states that has banned abortion with no exceptions. The law has what’s known as an “affirmative defense” if a doctor performs an abortion because the pregnant person’s life was in danger. The newly elected Southern Baptist Convention president, Bart Barber, says that’s not enough.
Some Nashville churches that applauded the abortion decision kept their celebrations muted this weekend
Catholics and evangelicals have been waiting for Roe v. Wade to be overturned since it became the law of the land. But this weekend was not much of a pep rally for those who have advocated most strongly against abortions.
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