(RNS) — Put two Southern Baptists in the same room and before long they’ll find something to fight about.For most of their history, members of the denomination have fought over the Bible, politics, race, sex, gender roles, music, dancing, Calvinism and almost anything else they can think of.
All that feuding has overshadowed their surprising ability to work together. For nearly a century, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Cooperative Program — which pools money to fund missions, evangelism and seminaries — has been a remarkable success, collecting more than $20 billion since 1925 and becoming the lifeblood of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.
But as the Cooperative Program approaches its 100th anniversary in 2025, the trust that made the program possible has frayed. Southern Baptists have faced a sexual abuse crisis that has undermined confidence in denominational leaders. Feuds over politics, race and the role of women in the church — which parallel the polarization of American culture — have dominated recent denominational meetings and caused some churches to withhold their mission giving.
More may follow suit, angered at a proposed rule change — known as the Law Amendment — that would bar churches with any women leaders who hold the title of pastor, whether they are a children’s p …
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
All that feuding has overshadowed their surprising ability to work together. For nearly a century, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Cooperative Program — which pools money to fund missions, evangelism and seminaries — has been a remarkable success, collecting more than $20 billion since 1925 and becoming the lifeblood of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.
But as the Cooperative Program approaches its 100th anniversary in 2025, the trust that made the program possible has frayed. Southern Baptists have faced a sexual abuse crisis that has undermined confidence in denominational leaders. Feuds over politics, race and the role of women in the church — which parallel the polarization of American culture — have dominated recent denominational meetings and caused some churches to withhold their mission giving.
More may follow suit, angered at a proposed rule change — known as the Law Amendment — that would bar churches with any women leaders who hold the title of pastor, whether they are a children’s p …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]