Steve Gaines, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and longtime pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, has died following a battle with cancer. He was 68. Gaines had been placed in hospice care earlier this month as his condition worsened after being diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2023.
The Supreme Court declined to hear McRaney v. North American Mission Board, leaving the Fifth Circuit’s ruling intact. The result – despite the claims by the North American Mission Board (NAMB) – may signal the death of the Southern Baptist Convention’s primary funding mechanism – the Cooperative Program – with
For nearly a decade, many Southern Baptists have seen McRaney v. NAMB as a narrow legal dispute between one former state convention executive and a national SBC entity. It is not.
Protestia has been covering J.D. Greear for almost a decade. Long before The Gospel Coalition began regularly publishing his essays and platforming his brand of “above-the-fray” Christianity, we were documenting the pattern that now defines his ministry. Back when this site operated under the Pulpit & Pen banner, Greear’s knack
Pastor Rhett Burns has had enough. In a sharply written essay for the Center for Baptist Leadership, Burns calls for SBC Executive Committee president Jeff Iorg to resign, declaring that “the re-Iorganization of the SBC has failed.” Drawing from a vivid car-wreck analogy—warning lights ignored until the engine seizes—Burns argues
When JD Greear tells pastors to “stay above the fray,” he’s not calling them to holiness. He’s calling them to silence. In his essay, Faithfulness amid the Culture War, published at the hive of scum and villainy known as The Gospel Coalition, Greear argues that pastors occupy a different plane
Finally. For real this time. In a long-overdue move that reflects the growing frustration of grassroots Southern Baptists, Brent Leatherwood has finally stepped down as president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention, announcing: The Board of Trustees of the Ethics & Religious Liberty
Jennifer Lyell, the former Lifeway Christian Resources VP whose relationship with former professor David Sills acted as the catalyst for the Southern Baptist Convention’s sex abuse controversy, passed away on Saturday after suffering a series of strokes. She was 47. Her death was met by an outpouring of grief online,
A pastor has been charged with stealing thousands of dollars in funds and property from his (now former) church that was intended to go to victims of Hurricane Helene but instead reportedly went into his pockets. Jeffrey Brian Merrow, 60, of Marion, is charged with felony embezzlement and felony larceny,
A former West Virginia youth pastor who has been charged with nearly 200 sex crimes, including sexual abuse and incest with multiple relatives, has pledged his innocence and vowed to fight the charges in court. John W. Radcliff II, 57, is the former pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Bolair,
Insurgency News Blast – Friday Mar. 27th, 2026
Insurgency News Blast – Thursday March 26th 2026Insurgency News Blast – Wednesday Mar. 25th, 2026
Manhattan Case Sparks Outrage as Illegal Immigrant Avoids Further Sentence After Raping 14-Year-Old
Chinese Nationals Charged in Fentanyl Scheme Tied to Mexican Cartel Terror Network
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