RNS Morning Report: Welton Gaddy, former Southern Baptist and champion of liberal Christianity, dies

Top Stories Welton Gaddy, former Southern Baptist who became a champion of liberal Christianity, dies The pastor is also credited with helping found the Alliance of Baptists.   Southwestern Baptist seminary ran up $140 million in deficit spending since 2000 For decades, spending went up at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary while enrollment plummeted, causing the school to overspend by millions in 19 of the last 21 years.   Anglican denomination erupts into power struggle after Bishop Stewart Ruch’s return The struggle broke into the open Wednesday when ACNA’s archbishop accused his denomination’s highest court of attempting to stop an investigation into charges against Ruch.   Pat Robertson, broadcaster who helped make religion central to GOP politics, dies at 93 The Christian Broadcasting Network founder tried a run for president and helped make religion central to Republican Party politics in America through his Christian Coalition.   RNS Opinion Religion can help LGBTQ Mormons’ mental health, especially if they’re out of the closet So far in Tyler Lefevor’s longitudinal psychology study, religion has been a net positive for the mental health of some LGBTQ Mormons. As a queer former Latter-day Saint, he’s surprised by this too.   How Tom Hanks became my rabbi We need not only a Statue of Liberty. We need a Statue of Responsibility. ICYMI Bart Barber, Mike Stone — two conservative pastors — to square off for SBC president The two candidates for SBC president hold many of the same beliefs but disagree sharply over how to handle the issue of sexual abuse and over the direction of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.   With Keller’s death, ‘young, restless and Reformed’ new Calvinists are at a crossroads The Reformed resurgence swept through evangelicalism in the early 2000s, fueled by Calvinism, charisma and complementarianism. Despite the fall of a number of leaders, the movement retains staying power. In Other News How Pat Robertson created the religious right’s model for political power A religious charter school faces pushback from the charter school movement itself   Talk to Us We want your feedback on the RNS Morning Report — what you think we're doing right and what we should be doing differently. Send us an email at Comments@ReligionNews.com Subscribe to other RNS Newsletters. Forward this email to a friend. View the archive of past newsletters. Religion News Service is free to read, but it's not free to produce. If you value our reporting, please consider making a donation today at religionnews.com/donate. If you prefer to mail a donation, please address to: Religion News Foundation, PO Box 1808, Columbia, MO 65205. Yes, I support the work you're doing! Forward this email to a friend