SBC Executive Committee elects new president

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Friday, March 22, 2024 Jeff Iorg, president of Gateway Baptist Theological Seminary, speaks at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in September 2022. | Screengrab: YouTube/Southwestern Seminary Gateway Baptist Theological Seminary head Jeff Iorg has been unanimously elected to serve as the new president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee. … Read more

SBC disfellowships church with woman pastor, 3 others

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Wednesday, February 21, 2024 Katie McKown was hired as senior pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Paducah, Ky., in February 2023. | YouTube/Kyle Lake Center The Southern Baptist Convention has disfellowshiped four more churches deemed not to be in friendly cooperation with the denomination’s regulations, including one for having a … Read more

Megachurch fires worship pastor over sex exploitation allegations

By Katelyn Webb, Tuesday, February 13, 2024 Aaron Ivey preaches a message shared on YouTube in March 2019. | YouTube/Humble Beast A megachurch in the Southern Baptist Convention has announced the dismissal of its worship pastor, Aaron Ivey, on the grounds of “predatory manipulation, sexual exploitation and abuse of influence” with multiple men and at … Read more

SBC Executive Committee to vote on a new president next month

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Thursday, January 11, 2024 Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting June 15-16, 2021, cast ballots for several motions and elections throughout the two-day event in Nashville, Tennessee. |Eric Brown The Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee has announced that they will vote on a presidential candidate at their … Read more

Settlement reached in SBC, Paul Pressler abuse lawsuit

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Tuesday, January 02, 2024 Paul Pressler | Screenshot: YouTube A settlement has been reached between notable Southern Baptist Convention lay leader Paul Pressler and a man who accused the influential figure of raping him several times decades ago. Gerald Duane Rollins, Jr.’s lawsuit against the 93-year-old Pressler and other … Read more

SBC pastor faces backlash for defending gay marriage ruling

By Katelyn Webb, Wednesday, December 13, 2023 iStock/Sergey_Ko A pastor in the Southern Baptist Convention has sparked backlash after stating he doesn’t believe Obergerfel, the 2015 case that said same-sex marriage was a constitutional right, should not be overturned.  Joel Rainey, pastor of Covenant Church in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, made his comments in response to … Read more