NASHVILLE — David Allen has been preaching the gospel for a long time. That’s because he got an early start. Allen said God called him when he was only 16 years old. Allen, 67, is one of the known candidates to be nominated for SBC president at the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting and said he’s blessed to have been in church all his life, literally. “Actually, I was attending nine

KNOXVILLE — A coalition of 18 states, including Tennessee, filed suit May 13 against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for including gender identity in Title VII protections against sex discrimination. The states oppose EEOC guidance requiring employers to call transgendered employees by their preferred pronouns and to allow them to use facilities such as bathrooms, locker rooms and showers that align with their chosen gender. The Southern Baptist Ethics &

The ADF Church and Ministry Alliance will host a livestream entitled Church & Culture: Navigating Faith and Politics as a Ministry Leader on May 16, at 2 p.m. The livestream will include discussion on how leaders can help their churches navigate this election season according to their convictions and within their legal rights. Key questions to be explored will include:  

Longtime International Mission Board leader Clyde D. Meador died April 26, 2024. He was 79. Meador worked closely with four IMB presidents as a top advisor and executive vice president, and as the mission organization’s interim president from August 2010 to March 2011 and again briefly in 2018 before the election of current president Paul Chitwood. “I thank God for the life and friendship of Clyde Meador,” Chitwood said. “I

AUGUSTA — With its manicured greens, blooming azaleas and a spectator menu featuring prices from yesteryear, the scene at Augusta National Golf Club in the first full week of April is, indeed, a tradition unlike any other. The subject of faith can also be raised. Scottie Scheffler, the top-ranked golfer in the world who earned his first green jacket in 2022, recently talked about how the sport doesn’t define him;

LENEXA, Kansas — Steve Dighton will nominate David Crowther to serve as Southern Baptist Convention first vice president at the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting. Crowther is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Wichita. “David Crowther is a young dynamic leader, and one who would thrive in this position of leadership,” Dighton told Baptist Press. “He is humble, a servant leader, a gifted preacher and a loving shepherd,” said Dighton.

NASHVILLE — Southern Baptist leaders are calling for prayer and peace in the wake of Iran’s direct attacks on Israel. The attacks occurred overnight on April 13 as hundreds of drones and rockets were launched in retaliation for a strike Israel made April 1 against an Iranian consulate. Israeli defense forces claim that 99 percent of the drones and rockets were destroyed by their Iron Dome defense system before impacting targets. U.S. president Joe

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee pastor John Mark Harrison will nominate North Carolina pastor Bruce Frank for Southern Baptist Convention president at the 2024 SBC annual meeting in Indianapolis. “I have known Bruce personally for many years. When I led student ministry at Biltmore Church, Bruce became the pastor, and our plateaued church began to grow,” said Harrison, now lead pastor of First Baptist Concord in Knoxville. “His relentless passion for evangelism

ONTARIO — Trustees on Gateway Seminary’s presidential search committee have nominated Adam Groza, vice president for enrollment and student services, as the candidate to serve as the seminary’s next president. “After a thorough selection process, we are thankful to be able to unanimously present a candidate to the full board,” said J. Robert White, chair of the search committee. “Adam Groza has demonstrated capable and godly leadership during his service