Russell Moore
‘Preserve the base’: Leaked audio of SBC leaders shows reluctance on dealing with sex abuse
By Bob Smietana and Adelle M. Banks — June 10, 2021
(RNS) — Recordings released by a prominent pastor highlight dispute over how to handle abuse allegations in the nation's largest Protestant denomination.
The bubbas-that-be in the SBC
By Mark Silk — June 9, 2021
(RNS) — How Russell Moore fell afoul of them.
Pressure mounts for an independent investigation of SBC Executive Committee handling of abuse
By Bob Smietana — June 9, 2021
(RNS) — Former SBC ethicist Russell Moore remains controversial, even after his departure, as he accuses Southern Baptist leaders of mishandling abuse claims.
Southern Baptist pastors demand inquiry into handling of sex abuse cases
By Yonat Shimron — June 7, 2021
(RNS) — The pastors want to confront allegations detailed in letters from outgoing SBC ethics chief Russell Moore, who said top leaders of the convention resisted sexual abuse reforms and bullied a sexual abuse victim.
Southern Baptists head for annual meeting at a crossroads on race and gender
By Robert P. Jones — June 4, 2021
(RNS) — In this moment of reckoning, white evangelical Protestants — the denominational family to which Southern Baptists belong — are increasingly out of step.
SBC sources: Paige Patterson made ‘black girl’ comments cited in Russell Moore letter
By Bob Smietana — June 3, 2021
(RNS) — Patterson was also critical of the Rev. Fred Luter, the SBC’s first Black president, saying Luter and other ‘ethnic’ leaders didn’t understand how important the denomination’s theology was.
Russell Moore parts from Southern Baptists personally as well as professionally
By Adelle M. Banks — June 2, 2021
(RNS) — ‘We want to be a home base for Dr. Moore and his family as he serves the body of Christ at large,’ said the lead pastor of Immanuel Nashville.
Leaked Russell Moore letter blasts SBC conservatives, sheds light on his resignation
By Paul O'Donnell and Bob Smietana — June 2, 2021
(RNS) — In a letter written more than a year before his resignation, Moore explained his troubles with the SBC leadership in bitterly frank terms. Then-President Donald Trump barely makes an appearance.
Russell Moore to ERLC trustees: ‘They want me to live in psychological terror’
By Religion News Service — June 2, 2021
(RNS) — In February 2020, the president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission defended himself after a second task force was mounted to investigate complaints against him.
Russell Moore leaves Southern Baptist leadership, but denomination’s troubles remain
By Bob Smietana — May 21, 2021
NASHVILLE (RNS) — Southern Baptists have long been able to find enough consensus to cooperate on missions. In recent years, they've become less cooperative because of debates over race, politics and the role of women in the church.
Southern Baptist decline continues, denomination has lost more than 2 million members since 2006
By Bob Smietana — May 21, 2021
NASHVILLE (RNS) — Baptisms dropped to the lowest point since the great influenza pandemic of 1918 and 1919.
Justice for SBC sexual abuse victims: A call for an investigatory commission
By Christa Brown — May 20, 2021
(RNS) — Few abuse survivors anticipate the country’s largest Protestant faith group will effectively address its sexual abuse problem without the pressure of outside forces.
Russell Moore, Baptist ethicist and Trump critic, to leave ERLC for Christianity Today
By Bob Smietana — May 18, 2021
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) — Moore’s work as president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy arm was overshadowed by the Trump presidency.
More than 500 evangelicals, other faith leaders condemn religion at insurrection as ‘heretical’
By Jack Jenkins — February 24, 2021
(RNS) — ‘We unite our voices to declare that there is a version of American nationalism that is trying to camouflage itself as Christianity — and it is a heretical version of our faith,’ the letter reads.
Southern Baptists expel four churches for abuse and LGBTQ membership
By Bob Smietana — February 23, 2021
(RNS) — Denominational leaders also accepted a report on the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission but took no action.
