The Southern Baptist Convention will convene its yearly conference in Orlando this week, where delegates plan to tackle multiple controversial topics. For the fourth consecutive year, representatives will discuss whether to officially prohibit congregations that have female pastors. Additional proposed measures include a resolution advocating for compassionate treatment of undocumented immigrants while supporting government immigration enforcement responsibilities. Another resolution condemns anti-Semitic attacks and conspiracy theories.
Over 11,000 church delegates have already registered for the two-day conference. While the SBC’s membership has dropped to levels not seen since 1973, the denomination continues to be America’s largest Protestant group.
In international news, a Nigerian federal court has issued death sentences to four radical Muslim attackers for killing at least 50 worshippers during a 2022 church assault in the country’s southwest region. The attack occurred on June 5th, 2022, as services were concluding at the church in Ondo state, with children among the victims. Many others suffered injuries that overwhelmed local medical facilities. The four defendants were found guilty on terrorism charges, while a fifth suspect was cleared due to insufficient evidence. According to prosecutors, the convicted men belonged to the al-Shabab Islamic terror organization and operated from a base in north-central Nigeria.
In South Carolina, a truck-driving minister who intervened in an alleged kidnapping incident captured on his dashboard camera says he was simply serving God’s purpose. Anthony Moore was traveling his regular route in Aiken County last month when a woman with bound hands ran directly into his truck’s path. A man in a vehicle parked roadside quickly pulled in front of the truck before fleeing the scene. Authorities later apprehended the suspect. Moore reflected on the incident, saying “I just see it as a divine assignment from God, because had I not been there, they probably wouldn’t have caught the man. It was a special assignment from God.”
