The largest Protestant denomination in the country, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), is facing allegations of back-door meetings, heavy-handed power-plays, silencing women, and trying to remove critics of President Donald Trump —all while responding to a massive sex abuse scandal. 
This week on The Roys Report, Southern Baptist Pastor and longtime SBC insider, Wade Burleson, speaks with me about what’s happening behind the scenes within the denomination. Specifically, he talks about the refusal of the SBC Executive Committee to rent space for the upcoming SBC Pastor’s Conference if the conference keeps a female spoken word artist on the program. We also talk about the Executive Committee’s recent decision to commission a task force to scrutinize an SBC group whose leader has openly criticized Donald Trump.
All this, and a disturbing story of how Burleson urged the SBC more than a decade ago to track sexual predators, but the leadership refused—this week on The Roys Report.		
										This Weeks Guests							
																					
			Wade Burleson		
		Wade Burleson has been the lead pastor of Emmanuel Enid for 28 years. He is an author of several books, and writes regularly on his award-winning blog called Istoria Ministries. Wade and his wife of 37 years, Dr. Rachelle Burleson, have four kids and 3 grandkids. He has served two terms as President of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma and held many positions within the Southern Baptist Convention.

So. Baptist Insider Accuses Denomination of Abusing Power & Silencing Women

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		https://youtu.be/ZOOhWWj5AqIAccording to the Houston Chronicle, hundreds have recently left Lakepointe Church—Josh Howerton’s prominent megachurch in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Now a longtime volunteer leader at Lakepointe, who recently left the church with her family, is speaking out.
Joining host Julie Roys on this edition of The Roys Report is Amanda Cunningham, a former model and actress who became a Christian at Lakepointe Church under former Senior Pastor Steve Stroope. She also served as a leader in both the marriage ministry and women’s ministry, which boomed during her years there.
But in 2019, Stroope retired, and young pastor Josh Howerton was hired to replace him. According to Amanda, that’s when a major transformation occurred.
Ministries were canceled as the church sought to become more centralized and on-brand. Emails from Amanda to those in her ministry were canceled, and they were replaced by communications from central leadership.
Soon, outsiders began posting about Howerton’s plagiarized sermons. His behavior online, and in sermons, led to allegations of misogyny. Then, Howerton told a joke that some said promoted marital rape. Howerton apologized for the joke, but as TRR reported, he apparently plagiarized his apology!
Most recently, the church, in an effort to gain city approval for a traffic light, urged people in the church to sign up to drive repeatedly through an intersection to manipulate the findings of a traffic study.
All these events, plus interactions Amanda witnessed personally, made her and her husband feel like they no longer could attend the church. Now, she’s speaking out to warn others.
After 11 years doing life and ministry at Lakepointe, it wasn’t easy or simple for Amanda and her husband to exit. Her eye-opening account covers what led them to that point—plus insights on church celebrity culture, top-down leadership, and spiritual abuse that are widely applicable.		
										Guests							
																														
			Amanda Cunningham		
		Amanda Cunningham is a former model/actress who left her career behind when she became a mom. Subsequently, she spun into an identity crisis and was later stunned to find her true identity in Christ. Amanda is a writer, speaker, wife of a fire Deputy Chief, and mother of two girls. Connect with Amanda on Facebook.		
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Former Leader at Josh Howerton’s Church Speaks Out

‘Ghosted’ for Opposing Trump

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Escaping IFB Abuse And Lies


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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JS6dZodsfA
The church should be a place of healing and comfort. But for far too many, it’s a place of abuse and harm.
As a child, Ryan George was profoundly hurt in a fundamentalist church, pastored by his abusive father. But years later, Ryan found a loving and gracious church. And through that church, he experienced transformation and healing.
In this edition of The Roys Report, Ryan George, author of Hurt and Healed by the Church, exposes both the worst and the best that the church can be.
He vulnerably shares how his father preached love and forgiveness yet told Ryan he was going to hell and beat Ryan for the smallest transgressions. Then, years later, Ryan discovered a horrible secret—that his father had also sexually molested girls.
These left deep wounds in Ryan, and it profoundly distorted his view of God and the church.
But then Ryan took a chance and he decided to break from his fundamentalist background. He began attending a church that was nothing like the churches he knew before. Ryan shares what he had to release—and hold on to—in this dramatic opening of our two-part podcast. 
Ryan’s story is deeply moving. And his honesty about what he’s faced and learned along the way provides insights for anyone who’s been hurt by the church and is seeking healing.


 Guests 

  


Ryan George
Ryan George is the author of Scared to Life, Word on the Street, and his latest book, Hurt and Healed by the Church. He’s the blogger behind Explorience.org, where he tells stories at the intersection of physical adventures and spiritual discoveries on all seven continents. He co-founded and co-leads Dude Group, a parachurch outdoor Bible study and prayer group in the Blue Ridge Mountains where he lives with his wife, Crystal, and daughter, Deonnie.
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Hurt And Healed By The Church

The Roys Report

So. Baptist Insider Accuses Denomination of Abusing Power & Silencing Women

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