For years now, Baylor University has walked the line on LGBTQ inclusion, trying not to offend either side in this contentious debate too much. That illusion of neutrality or centrism is now gone.
The nation’s second-largest Baptist University (sorry, Liberty University is now first) appears to be casting its nets fully on the side against inclusion. This is a significant turn of events. So significant that when we sent out an email bulletin yesterday about Jon Singletary “stepping down” as dean of the Garland School of Social Work, the response briefly crashed our website. Too many people were trying to read the same article at the same time.
Singletary’s “resignation” was a shot heard far beyond the Brazos. That President Linda Livingstone and Provost Nancy Brickhouse would not stand with their dean while outside forces pilloried him for caring about women and LGBTQ Christians tells us what we need to know.
It is time to admit that the conservative Baptist pastors who have been pushing Baylor to stand firm in its rejection of same-sex attraction, dating, sexual relations and marriage have won the fight. And they have done so now with help from Washington, D.C., where the Trump administration is bullying universities nationwide to follow its wishes or lose access to federal grants and scholarship funds.
It now appears Baylor has chosen to obey in advance to stave off potential threats from Trump and his MAGA minions.
How have I come to this conclusion?
First, those on the side of inclusion have believed all along that President Livingstone is quietly on their side and has been trying to be a force for good in a complex system. Several recent events make that assumption shaky.
The email she sent earlier saying Dean Singletary had determined on his own to reject the research grant from the Baugh Foundation was ludicrous. Even if she didn’t write it, it went out over her name, and she is the president.
I have confirmed from multiple sources that Livingstone and her husband have left Calvary Baptist Church in Waco, which is now engaged in a study about LGBTQ inclusion. Clearly, it’s just too risky to be associated with that.
Prior to Singletary being forced out as dean — reportedly for creating “too much trouble” for the university — the administration demanded that all schools in the university scrub their websites of the names of “controversial” people serving on advisory boards. You can figure out what that means.
The guilt by association is so strong now that Baylor faculty and staff with ties to Baptist Women in Ministry are encouraged to hide those connections. Not because the administration doesn’t support women in ministry but because BWIM is an inclusive organization.
And now, for Singletary to be pressured out of the deanship — at a school created in response to tyranny at another Baptist school — should be perceived as the shot heard around the world. Did President Livingstone and Provost Nancy Brickhouse not understand the firestorm this would set off among alumni and supporters? Clearly, they had to know that but chose to push him out anyway.
Why? Most likely because the landscape has changed since Jan. 20. Now, Baylor faces pressure not just from a cabal of conservative Baptist pastors but sees the potential threat of the Trump administration coming after them the way it has other universities. Baylor has had a robust DEI program, which could make it an easy target for MAGA. And having a dean making headlines trying to be nice to gay and lesbian Christians raises the possibility of being called out.
The only conclusion I can come to now is that Baylor’s administration is obeying in advance — that dreadful condition in which the mere threat of a bully causes someone to back down on their principles and run away in fear. I have not spoken directly to Jon Singletary about this, but I am certain from knowing him a long time this is not his stance. It seems likely he would not obey in advance.
Baylor’s School of Social Work has been a bright spot for moderate and progressive Christians who no longer support Truett Seminary, which has become increasingly conservative. These two schools within the same university represent polar opposite approaches to dealing with modernity in the church.
What we cannot know is where the board of regents falls in this internal schism. Other than a few regents with well-known opinions on the matter, we the public have no inkling of where the rest of the board stands. For now, we must assume they stand against inclusion, because that’s where the ship is clearly headed.
Alumni, donors and friends of Baylor who support inclusion have been hanging on for years hoping for time to heal all wounds. What we see now is that the winds are blowing strongly in a conservative direction — likely based on fear.
The saddest part of all this is that history is repeating itself. Marv Knox and I were working together at the Western Recorder, state Baptist newspaper in Kentucky, 30 years ago when Diana Garland was fired as dean of the Carver School of Social Work at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Soon after, she was recruited to come to Baylor and enlarge an undergraduate program in social work to add graduate studies and create a School of Social Work. That she did with magnificence. Jon Singletary was her mentee and successor.
Today, Marv has written an excellent piece illustrating how Baylor has fallen victim to the same forces of fundamentalism that expelled Garland from Southern Seminary. Only Marv has the history and skill to tie together so much in a single piece. This is essential reading.
I have written so much about Baylor politics through the years that I am seasoned observer. From that perspective, it is clear to me the fight for inclusion at Baylor is over and the conservatives have won.
Prove me wrong.
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That last line above, of course, is an homage to the late Charlie Kirk, whose death continues to dominate the news two weeks later. His motto on campus “debate” tours was asking student to “prove me wrong” about his conservative political and theological beliefs.
Last Sunday, Turning Point USA put on a “memorial service” for Kirk in a massive arena. I put that in quotation marks because it actually was more a political rally than anything. Dan Day watched part of the event and came away dismayed that the Christian faith has been stolen.
Rick Pidcock shows us how contemporary Christian musicians intertwined their mainstream music with the narrow agenda of Christian nationalism at the event.
It was at this rally that President Donald Trump declared his hatred for his enemies.
Mara Bim did the hard work of extracting samples of the comments made by a host of other speakers at the five-hour event and shows how MAGA has created its own gospel.
And it also was here the presidential adviser Stephen Miller declared he and his MAGA brood are “on the side of God” and everyone else is a loser.
Lydia Carlis says it’s time for evangelical Christians to stop weaponizing the faith by lionizing men like Kirk.
Greg Garrett interviewed Matthew Boedy, who wrote a new book about Turning Point USA and could not have imagined the timing of his message in this moment.
Meanwhile, two white Calvinist Baptist pastors lashed out at a Black Baptist pastor for his criticism of Kirk’s theology and politics.
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In other news this week:
Emir Caner was removed as president of Truett-McConnell University after an investigation into charges of sexual abuse by others on staff he allegedly ignored.
Controversial evangelist Voddie Baucham died unexpectedly this week at age 56.
Having been mired in controversy his entire tenure as head of Oklahoma public schools, Ryan Walters is leaving to run a conservative advocacy group. That announcement came just a day after Walters said he wanted every public high schoolin Oklahoma to have a chapter of Turning Point USA.
A federal judge temporarily barred the Trump administration from swiftly deporting nearly 330 Guatemalan children in the middle of the night under the premise of reuniting families.
The Assemblies of God seeks to shield its top leader from being deposed in a court case related to sexual abuse in a popular AOG campus ministry.
The U.S. Department of Education has formed an America 250 Civics Education Coalition with 41 conservative groups in preparation for the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary next July 4.
BNG columnist Rodney Kennedy has written a book to explain why he writes so much about Donald Trump.
The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee declined to accept a suggestion to go on the legal offensiveagainst Johnny Hunt.
Selective giving to the Southern Baptist Convention Cooperative Program budget is like believing children can choose their gender, Jeff Iorg told members of the SBC Executive Committee.
The “Interfaith Imam” has been released from ICE custody.
An additional 14 Texas public school systems are being sued to stop them from installing classroom Ten Commandments displays mandated by the state.
Two Methodist women have written a book about how pet ministries can be transformative for churches.
In Bad Indians Book Club, Patty Krawec seeks to inspire the resistance.
The “Washington wives” were four women who said a flood of obscene and violent rock music was a “family values” issue America must address. At a Senate hearing 40 years ago, they argued for a record labeling system that would inform parents on songs about rape, suicide and more.
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In other analysis this week:
Rodney Kennedy explains the hypocrisy of Trump supporters cheering his political vengeance against James Comey.
Rob Sellers says despite what one Trump-supporting pastor said, the kingdom of heaven is not about gold.
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In other opinion this week:
Brad Bull offers seven suggestions of things to do to fight back against MAGA extremism. In a separate piece, he argues America already is on the wrong path and needs a new one quickly.
Catherine Meeks says there could be an upside to DEI being dismantled.
Daniel Coffey writes about his journey from being raised as a Southern Baptist boy to finding new freedom in faith.
I bring together recent news about ICE and the shooting here in Dallas this week to point out the primary source of political violence in America remains Donald Trump.
The push to seek the death penalty for the alleged shooter of Charlie Kirk only serves to entangle religious zeal with capital punishment, Nicole Wiesen says.
Abram and Sarai’s story in Genesis 12 is more than an ancient moral fable. It is a prophetic mirror for our political moment, according to Jakob Topper.
Edmond Davis warns us to be skeptical of the “do not suspect foul play” description given after a Black student was found hanging in a tree in Mississippi.
Ken Young gave us a heads-up about the latest end-times prediction that didn’t happen this week.
A final word
It has been another crazy week in the news biz, so I want to make sure you haven’t missed important podcasts that came out this week too.
Ben Cole and I put out two new podcast this week in “Stuck in the Middle with You.” The first addresses debates about religion and public education. The second is a poignant interview with Jodi Chapman, wife of former SBC leader Morris Chapman.
We also published the next installment in our special podcast series on sexual abuse at Kamp Kanakuk. In this week’s installment, Mallory Challis explains how Kanakuk leaders did not respond to knowledge of abuse by Pete Newman.
And over at “Highest Power: Church + State,” Rick Pidcock talks about free speech and free press in one episode and rapture predictions in another.
That’s all for now. I invite you to catch up on all this great content over the weekend and to please share it with others too.
Mark Wingfield
Executive Director and Publisher
Baptist News Global
Mark, John and I are sitting outside in Old Quebec City having an incredible brunch. On our long roadtrip the first book we listened to was Snyder’s On Tyranny. I missed the Social Work’s Board of Advocates meeting this weekend, which may have helped my mental health. My grandfather graduated from BU in 1903, but an uncle left (after helping to start the Nose Brothers) to go to Rice as he saw Baylor was too conservative. Our hearts break for these LBTQ+ students, the loss of academic freedom, and the small thinking of God’s work in the world. Thank you.
BTW, my grandfather was in school with J Frank Norris, and disagreed strongly with him. I’ve thought for years that JFN won, now more than ever.