Top 10 most read Baptist Report stories of 2024

2024 was an eventful year in Baptist news and evangelical Christianity. Launched in March, the Baptist Report curates and summarizes important news and events to help readers understand an increasingly complex world. Below is a list of the top stories of the year that readers found most interesting and informative. If you know someone who would benefit from reading the Baptist Report please invite them to join our 7,000-plus subscribers in 40 states and 14 countries worldwide.

10. Former Baptist pastor and founder of the Pulpit & Pen blog found guilty of felony embezzlement, fined $15,000

Jordan Daniel “J.D.” Hall, a former Baptist pastor and founder of the Pulpit & Pen “discernment” blog, has been ordered to pay more than $15,000 to his former Montana church after being found guilty of felony embezzlement. As part of a deferred sentencing agreement, Hall must report to probation, abstain from drugs and alcohol, and avoid weapons, the Montana Free Press reported. “It’s with my deepest regret and full admission of my own personal failures, and to be clear, sins, that I have deeply hurt the church I loved and formerly served for so long a time,” Hall wrote in a court-ordered apology to Fellowship Baptist Church in Sydney. Read

9. Trump names Prestonwood Baptist associate pastor and former Texas state Rep. Scott Turner to lead HUD

Former Texas state Rep. Scott Turner and associate pastor of Prestonwood Baptist, a multi-campus megachurch based in Plano, has been tapped to serve as secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the incoming Trump Administration. Turner, 52, is the first black named to President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet. Read

8. U.S. church leaders encourage prayer in response to possible post-election violence and unrest

With only days left before the contentious U.S. election comes to a close, church leaders have announced plans for possible post-election violence and unrest. Galen Carey of the National Association of Evangelicals emphasized patience during a Religion Media Center briefing as votes are counted, reminding the public that delays should not be interpreted as fraud. He called for respect towards election officials and urged prayer for the nation’s leaders as the situation unfolds. Read

7. ‘Grace and humility’ urged by Southern Baptist megachurch pastor Jack Graham following Trump's election to a second term as president

Christians who supported former President Donald Trump should be on their knees after he was elected the 47th president of the United States, Jack Graham, senior pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, Plano, Texas, told The Christian Post. “The posture for Christians should be on our knees, the posture should be prayer, and we should pray for unity in the country,” the former Southern Baptist Convention president said. “We know the country is deeply divided and half the country is disappointed in the result of the election, and yet now is our opportunity,” he said. “If you supported the election of President Trump, as I do, it is our opportunity to now, with the president and our government, to govern well and to respond with grace.” Read

6. Radicals are at the gate and they're hellbent on destruction

This is not a normal election. Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves. The United States is the victim of an exclusive two-party system, and thus, there are only two real and viable choices offered to the country on Nov. 5. Therefore, it is time to seriously consider our choices and make the right and God-honoring decision. As a professed follower of Jesus Christ take a moment to consider the following. Read

5. Judge sets June 17 for civil trial in case of Johnny Hunt vs. the Southern Baptist Convention

The civil jury trial of Johnny Hunt v. the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is set for June 17, Judge William Campbell announced Dec. 3, according to media reports. The date for the trial was originally Nov. 12 in the United States District Court for the Middle District in Nashville, Tenn., but was delayed when the parties failed to settle in a court-ordered mediation in September. Hunt, former SBC president and a prominent pastor in the denomination, sued the SBC, the SBC Executive Committee, and Guidepost Solutions in March 2023 for defamation, claiming that Guidepost used Hunt as a “scapegoat” in a sexual abuse investigation conducted by the organization for the Executive Committee. Read

4. Trump nominates Mike Huckabee to serve as U.S. ambassador to Israel

Mike Huckabee, 69, former Southern Baptist pastor, governor, and U.S. presidential candidate, has been nominated to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Israel, President-elect Donald Trump announced Nov. 12. “Mike has been a great public servant, governor, and leader in faith for many years. He loves Israel and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him,’ Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East!” Read

3. Southern Baptists are included in President-elect Donald Trump’s picks for his new administration

Three Southern Baptists are among President-elect Donald Trump’s picks for top positions in his new administration. Five of the announced top advisory role selections and the press secretary in the new Trump administration are Catholic, with all others identifying as Christian except Tulsi Gabbard, a Hindu, nominee for director of national intelligence, Lee Zeldin, nominee for Environmental Protection Agency administrator, who is Jewish, and Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who identifies as a secular Muslim. Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio, Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, are Catholic, along with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nominee for secretary of health and human services, John Ratcliffe, nominee for CIA director, Elise Stefanik, nominee for ambassador to the United Nations, and Karoline Leavitt, who has been appointed White House press secretary. Read

2. Texas Baptists reject motion to affirm the SBC’s 2000 statement of faith that limits the role of pastor to men, opt to stick with the 1963 BF&M

Messengers to Baptist General Convention of Texas Annual Meeting rejected a motion to affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message (BF&M) over the 1963 version of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) statement of faith, according to Texas Baptist Standard. At the center of the debate is the 2000 statement of faith that limits the role of pastor to men. Read

1. Documentary on David Platt's tumultuous tenure at McLean Bible Church debuts

“The Real David Platt: The Hijacking of McLean Bible Church” premiered on October 20 nearly a year after a teaser about the film was released. The documentary, produced by the Church Reform Initiative, features interviews with numerous McLean church members, including the former church treasurer and elders, who describe leadership and financial deception by Platt after coming to the church. Platt was president of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board from 2014 to 2017 before leaving for McLean. Read