SBC

‘HEARTBROKEN’: TORNADO HITS OBU CAMPUS AS STORMS LEAVE TRAIL OF DAMAGE

SHAWNEE — Within hours of Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee sustaining severe tornado damage on April 19, Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers were onsite assessing damage. In Oklahoma, at least three deaths were reported as a result of storms that slammed the central part of the state. OBU described damage to the campus as “significant,” but no injuries were reported. Many buildings and some dorms on campus were hit hard

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TWO TEENS CHARGED IN DADEVILLE MASS SHOOTING

As the Dadeville community continues to mourn the death of four teens killed in the April 15 mass shooting at a Sweet 16 birthday party, two suspects have been arrested and are facing multiple charges. Authorities announced the charges during a press conference Wednesday morning (April 19). The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency identified the two suspects as Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16, both of Tuskegee. They each

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FORMER UNION PRESIDENT ELECTED TO LEAD SWBTS

FORT WORTH, Texas — Former Union University president David S. Dockery was elected 10th president and Southern Baptist leader O.S. Hawkins was elected to the new role of chancellor during the spring meeting of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary board of trustees on April 19. The unanimous elections of Dockery and Hawkins to their new roles come nearly seven months after their elections as interim president and senior advisor and

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LEATHERWOOD CALLS ON TN LAWMAKERS TO ACT ON GUN VIOLENCE

NASHVILLE – Telling them they have an obligation “to oppose evil and protect innocent lives”, newly installed Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission president Brent Leatherwood sent a letter to the Lt. Gov., House Speaker and every member of the Tennessee state legislature on Monday calling them to support a proposal by Gov. Bill Lee. Leatherwood revealed on April 3 that his three children were in the school building at The Covenant School

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CHARLES STANLEY, PIVOTAL SBC PRESIDENT, TV PREACHER, DIES

ATLANTA – Charles Stanley, a former Southern Baptist Convention president and one of the nation’s foremost television and radio preachers, passed away peacefully at his home on April 18 at age 90. Stanley presided over the two largest annual meetings in SBC history — 45,531 messengers in 1985 in Dallas and 40,987 in 1986 in Atlanta — when conservatives faced the most pronounced opposition to anchoring the convention in biblical

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SYRIANS WEATHER EARTHQUAKES AFTER DECADES OF DEVASTATION

For Syrians, the world has been crumbling for years, and this February’s earthquakes added mounds to the existing literal and figurative rubble of a nation torn apart by the internal strife of civil war. “The people of Syria have been so broken by war and the desperate situation there for over a decade now,” said Raleigh Clements, who has served with the IMB for 13 years. “This just compounded on

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TENNESSEAN TOM STRODE RETIRES FROM ERLC POST

WASHINGTON — When God called a young sportswriter named Tom Strode to ministry 40 years ago, Strode thought that meant leaving journalism forever. But God had other plans.  After serving several years on staff at Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Strode became Washington bureau chief for Baptist Press.  Thirty-two years later, he’s still the Washington bureau chief, a position from which he retired at the end of March (though his

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SBC EC CALLS MAY 1 SPECIAL MEETING TO CONSIDER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

NASHVILLE — The search for a new president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee (EC) may be nearing a completion. The EC will hold a special-called meeting on May 1 in Dallas to consider a recommendation from the search team. “Over the last 14 months, the search team has diligently prayed, discussed, and worked to identify the person to best lead the SBC Executive Committee through its present challenges

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SBC EC CALLS MAY 1 SPECIAL MEETING TO CONSIDER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

NASHVILLE — The search for a new president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee (EC) may be nearing a completion. The EC will hold a special-called meeting on May 1 in Dallas to consider a recommendation from the search team. “Over the last 14 months, the search team has diligently prayed, discussed, and worked to identify the person to best lead the SBC Executive Committee through its present challenges

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ARITF PIVOTS, MOVES AWAY FROM GUIDEPOST SOLUTIONS

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Abuse Reform and Implementation Task Force chair Marshall Blalock announced Tuesday (April 4) the task force will no longer recommend Guidepost Solutions to establish and maintain a database for those credibly accused of sexual abuse. Messengers approved the creation of a “ministry check” website at the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim, Calif. The move comes after continued concerns were expressed by Southern Baptists to the ARITF in

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