Supreme Court Refuses to Hear SBC McRaney Lawsuit, Ending Decade-Long Internal Battle
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear former Southern Baptist state convention leader Will McRaney's lawsuit against the North American Mission Board, effectively ending a decade-long legal battle over one of the most contentious internal disputes in the Southern Baptist Convention's modern history. The decision allows a lower court ruling against McRaney to stand, settling a case that had tested the boundaries of the First Amendment's ministerial exception doctrine and the autonomy of religious organizations to manage internal personnel matters without judicial interference. The ruling carries significant implications for how courts treat disputes within America's largest Protestant denomination.
Read Full Story at Christian PostIf any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord's people?
— 1 Corinthians 6:1
The apostle Paul's instruction to the Corinthian church about resolving disputes internally rather than in secular courts resonates deeply with this case — though the decade-long battle also reveals how difficult it can be for believers to resolve institutional conflicts without legal intervention.