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Criticism of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Role of Discernment Blogs: Part II

Finally, there remains an unexplored possibility to explain why there's so much internet outrage expressed over so-called "discernment blogs" coming from Southern Baptists. Jason Allen hinted at it but did not develop it in his rebuke of Capstone Report. After demanding that the "anonymous blog" retract and apologize for its false report about him, Allen acknowledged the retraction as "a small, qualified victory in a larger struggle the SBC seems to be losing" (Note: as anyone can observe, Capstone Report is not anonymous). Truth is, it may be that SBC... Read more →

Criticism of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Role of Discernment Blogs: Part I

Last week, The Capstone Report, a popular website that focuses on issues it perceives as troubling in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), released a story concerning the president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Jason Allen, claiming he was personally lobbying the Missouri governor to settle more refugees in the state. The story turned out to be false. Don Hinkle, longtime editor of The Pathway, Missouri Baptists' state denominational paper, wrote a brief but scathing rebuttal, accusing the author of "fake news": "I know fake news when I see it. This... Read more →

Does overseas missions strategy need reform? At least one SBC professor says it does

A piece by Will Hall in the Christian Examiner rehearses a journal article published in The Southwestern Journal of Theology by Midwestern professor of missions, Robin Dale Hadaway. Hall's article entitled "Prof calls for SBC overseas missions reform: Does drastic drop in IMB baptisms merit major remake?" lists among the changes Hadaway proposes: 1. Drop the two percent "reachedness" threshold and return to the original 20 percent or at least adopt a 10 percent baseline. "Exiting a people group that is more than two-percent evangelical," he said, "is the historical... Read more →

Are you a Calvinist? Rethinking Theological Labels - Dr. Jason Allen

It's going to continue getting more and more difficult for churches to identify the theological sympathies of potential pastors and other staff members as positions like Dr. Allen's take hold. "Are You a Calvinist? Rethinking Theological Labels" by Jason Allen Read more →

Missouri Pathway reports Jason Allen elected as the fifth president of Midwestern seminary

It's official: Dr. Jason K. Allen has become the fifth president of The Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. According to The Pathway >>> "After a three-hour closed session during their bi-annual meeting, the trustees voted 29-2 to call the 35-year-old Allen following an official nomination, questions from trustees and discussion" Furthermore, Dr. Allen will begin his duties immediately and hopes to be inaugurated in April 2013 upon the expected completion of Midwestern's new chapel. And, though we've been vocally outspoken concerning both the search committee process as well as what we... Read more →

Phil Roberts' future at MBTS in question by Peter Lumpkins

In January, 2001, trustees unanimously elected Dr. Phil Roberts as the fourth president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. After over a year's search for a president, this was truly a day of celebration since the trustees had fired Dr. Mark Coppenger for "irreparable damage" Coppenger's uncontrolled anger had apparently caused to the work environment. Now, it seems chaos at the administrative helm is surfacing once again >>> UPDATE: Associated Baptist Press just released a story: "Seminary trustees to confront president over audit, management issues" Sources say a full trustee meeting... Read more →