Issues@Hand

AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs

August 2020 – Many Southern Baptist clergy and laymen, discerning a liberal drift of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, are letting their voices be heard through a new network formed within the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Launched in February, the Conservative Baptist Network (CBN) has raised concerns over the SBC’s emphasis on social justice, critical race theory, intersectionality, and the questioning of biblical gender roles.

“Our group senses that most of our Southern Baptist family has not been comfortable with the road we’ve been going down,” said Louisiana SBC pastor Brad Jurkovich, spokesman for the network.

On another front, a few days following the launch of CBN, the SBC executive committee announced plans to investigate the denomination’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), essentially the SBC’s public policy arm. The review seeks to determine if the ERLC is fulfilling its assignment, or if its actions have threatened donations to the SBC. Findings are to be reported to the executive committee by its September 2020 meeting.

cbnnews.com, 2/15/20; onenewsnow.com, 2/17/20;
bpnews.net, 2/18/20; christianheadlines.com, 2/21/20