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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Task Force drops pro-LGBT Guidepost Solutions

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor NASHVILLE, Tenn. (LBM) – The chairman of the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force of the Southern Baptist Convention has announced that the group, which has responsibility for developing and implementing a sexual abuse reporting system, has dropped plans to hire the controversial Guidepost Solutions for the project. In a statement to The Baptist Paper, a sister publication of The Alabama Baptist newspaper, Marshall Blalock, ARITF chair, said the group had voted “for the sake of building widespread confidence in the Ministry Check website, to seek firms other than Faith Based Solutions and Guidepost Solutions to create and manage the Ministry Check system.” The SBC has been under fire for having hired the pro-gay Guidepost Solutions, which produced the disputed “Report of the Independent Investigation” about alleged mishandling of sex abuse by the SBC EC. Likewise, the SBC Executive Committee has been criticized for hiring the pro-LGBT Bradley law firm of Nashville to represent it in a related investigation by the Department of Justice. Southern Baptists were similarly unhappy when the ARITF announced this year that it had hired Guidepost Solutions to develop the … [Read more...]

SBC EC reports continued downward CP trend

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor NASHVILLE, Tenn. (LBM) – The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee released the March financial report, April 5, showing that gifts through the Cooperative Program had dropped 1.18 percent while designated giving for the month had increased 5.09 percent compared to March 2022. Meanwhile, year-to-date figures show both funding channels were in decline. From October 2022 through March 2023, CP contributions were down 7.62 percent overall compared to the same timeframe for the last fiscal year. Likewise, designated giving was down 3.9 percent year-to-date for the same months. Both the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering were down for the new fiscal year through the end of March. Only nine states showed a positive CP trend for the year, including three “old line” Southern states, Louisiana, North Carolina and a combined Virginia (which has two state conventions). Louisiana and North Carolina also were among 13 state conventions which showed a positive trend in designated giving. … [Read more...]