LifeWise Academy was at the Southern Baptist Convention’s 2026 Annual Meeting and Pastors Conference this week in Orlando Florida.
Notice their listing on the official exhibitor platform for the SBC conference? LifeWise’s “product”? The goods and services they are selling?
“Discipleship/Evangelism Ministry.”
Not character education, not religious instruction, Discipleship and Evangelism Ministry, inside our public school system.
The broader picture and timing are both hard to ignore.
This is the same conference where the Southern Baptist delegates elected Willy Rice as their next president. According to AP reporting, Rice “drew support from advocacy groups such as the Center for Baptist Leadership which have argued SBC leadership has gone “woke” on issues ranging from race to gender to immigration.”
AP also reports Rice has criticized the SBC’s internal sexual abuse reform efforts claiming they went “off the tracks” and were not really about stopping abuse, but about introducing “secular ideologies” as well as “stopping the nation’s largest group of conservative Christians.”
This is also the same conference where the delegates voted to advance a constitutional amendment which formally bans women from serving as pastors at churches within their ranks. The measure passed with approximately 75% support during the annual meeting.
So let’s put that next to what we already know.
LifeWise has had multiple people connected to its programs make headlines for serious child-safety concerns, including sex offense allegations involving minors.
LifeWise is overwhelmingly staffed at the local level by women.
And LifeWise is showing up at this convention.
A convention where leaders are voting to amend their organization’s constitution, just to prohibit women from serving as a Pastor or performing similar leadership roles.
A convention where leaders elected a President who has downplayed sexual abuse reform efforts.
That should matter to every parent, every school board member, and every community being told this is just harmless “Bible education.”
Because SEA did not stumble into this conversation by accident. We had to expose what curriculum LifeWise was using.
LifeWise’s curriculum traces back to The Gospel Project, published by Lifeway Christian Resources.
Lifeway is an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The rights and permissions for the “LifeWise Curriculum” also point back to Lifeway Christian Resources – a detail discovered after LifeWise sued one of SEA’s co-founders.
So no, this is not neutral. This is not just character education. It isn’t non-denominational.
This is a public-school-day program tied to Southern Baptist curriculum, appearing at the Southern Baptist Convention advertising that they provide discipleship and evangelism ministry.
While telling local church leaders and congregations they’re providing religious instruction.
While telling local schools and administrators they’re just doing character education.
Then asking parents to trust them with public school children.
https://abcnews.com/US/southern-baptists-vote-ban-women-pastors-sparks-outcry/story?id=133747095
What people are saying:
- Facebook User: Follow a patriarchal mythology, get patriarchy…
- Facebook User: This is what happens when church and state mingle!💔
- Facebook User: Because religious beliefs belong in the home, never at public schools, public functions or in policy.
- Facebook User: Do you want your little girls to be told they’re not allowed to be preachers or admirals?
- Facebook User: Facebook User this comes down to scripture. What in the article said they were banning women from being admirals?
- Facebook User: Facebook User https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5918902-hegseth-navy-air-force-blocked-promotions/
- Facebook User:
- Facebook User: No Lifewise indoctrination in our schools. Period. Ever.
- Facebook User: Facebook User you can have drag queen reading hour, but not a Bible study?
- Facebook User: Facebook User why are you against costumes and reading?
- Facebook User: LifeWise should not be in public schools in any capacity.
- Facebook User: Facebook User why?
- Facebook User: Facebook User one because it’s a violation of the separation of church and state. Two because it’s coercive and exclusionary and three because it’s intentionally disrupting the school day and cutting into learning time and using school resources to check kids in/out… if parents want religious education, there are plenty of churches offering it after school or on the weekends… it’s not needed during the school day. And would you feel differently if it was a Hindu or Muslim program?
- Facebook User: Facebook User I don’t believe you understand separation of church and state. This being allowed to be offered is no different then having the option to take any other course. I would argue your desire to ban it constitutes the government restricting your ability to exercise your freedom of religion. Trying to ban it is unconstitutional. A person should not need to prove to you that they need anything to exercise their freedoms. No, if a different religion can exercise as they choose. However, I would venture you wouldn’t provide them the same criticism.
- Facebook User: Facebook User because its a parent’s responsibility on THEIR TIME not public schools’ time to do religious instruction if they choose public education.
- Facebook User: Facebook User I don’t think you understand… parents don’t just surrender their kids to the school and the school then gets equal say. This isn’t a joint custody situation. Parents, as well as the kids, have the right to practice their religion freely if you or the school likes it or not. What a weird notion to pretend the parent is somehow lesser during the “school’s time”.
- Facebook User: Facebook User you made a choice. Secular education. That limited time shouldn’t be sacrificed because of your selfishness. Parents have 5x the time with their kids than school does. Your CHOICE shouldn’t impact other kids’ education.
- Facebook User: Facebook User lol. Cool story. People like you are the reason charter and private schools are growing more popular. Even if I have 5x the time, they are my kids. Full stop. Nothing else you have to say can change that. At no point did my choice to send my child to a public school surrender my rights as a parent.
- Facebook User: Facebook User I’m gonna rip public money from those too. 😎
They are your kids pay for them to do your religious stuff on YOUR time and not public education time.
The RTRI loophole WILL BE CLOSED. 🤣✌️ - Facebook User: It’s all my time. It sounds like you’re one of those parents that relinquish your kids to the system and expect them to raise them 8 hours a day. The other 8ish they are sleeping. It sounds like you are ok being a parent 1/3 of their life. You do you. I refuse to surrender that to you or any other government entity.
Good luck stopping it. What you fail to realize is that your mentality is the strongest supporter of the charter school movement. Your words sound like you are against it, but your message makes it incredibly appealing. I don’t have to be loud, I just have to let people like you speak.
Btw putting something in all caps may appear to show emphasis, but it looks more like desperation. Best of luck to you and thank you for your support.
- Facebook User: Facebook User nope, nice try not responding directly.
There’s 24 hours in a day.
I partner with my school. I’m aware of the curriculum. I’m at school board meetings. We address them together now that they are older.
Currently RTRI is legal. It won’t be for long. Same for vouchers. You can pay for religious schooling on your dime per the Constitution.
I love it when people like you speak because you make our case stronger.
Toodles lazy bones. - Facebook User: Facebook User the great thing about freedom is I can respond when I want. It seems pretty clear you’re not a fan of freedom. I also don’t think you understand the constitution. It’s cute how you parrot my comment. Your silly insult is childish.
- Facebook User: Facebook User I’m a big fan of our government not subsidizing yours or anyone’s religious beliefs. Its cute and childish to think that it should.
- Facebook User: Facebook User but you want to have the government subsidize the sterilization of children and you want to teach my kids that it’s ok to pretend boys are girls and girls are boys? Your religion is substantially scarier than mine.
- Facebook User: Facebook User untrue. No to sterilization of children.
I want to teach your kids to be kind to everyone, regardless of what they believe, how they were born, where they were born, and what kind of family they have.
Your religion likes to say that people like me deserve death. That’s pretty scary,because I am not saying that. - Facebook User: Facebook User no, my religion is saying that people like us )you and I)deserve death. People like you, that reject God, are choosing death. At the same time, that doesn’t make me any better than you. That’s an issue between you and God. I can disagree with you and think your wrong and still be respectful. However, respect is a two way street.
However, you are misrepresenting your religion. It’s not just being kind. It requires people to validate and pretend as well. We can treat someone with respect and disagree with their lifestyle. Too bad progressive people can’t do the same.
You conflate and misrepresent your example of “where they were born” because no one cares about people that were born somewhere else. They care about the people that have ignored our laws, over crowded our schools and placed tens of thousands of little girls in the danger of being sexually abused as they are being brought into the country.
- Facebook User: Facebook User Exodus is pretty clear. I should know, it was an attempt on my life.
- Facebook User: Facebook User you escaped slavery in Egypt? That must have been challenging. I feel like I’m missing a piece of the puzzle.
- Facebook User: Facebook User Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. · Exodus 22:18
Screamed at me because of a necklace I wore.
I’m Pagan, not Wiccan, I believe in a natural world explained by science.
Everyone always assumes I’m an humanist or atheist to but many of us are religious that despise Christian Nationalism and its tyranny. - Facebook User: Facebook User I’m not saying that didn’t happen, but I can tell you unless it’s the same person, it doesn’t happen often. I can promise you that there aren’t people going around hunting witches in 2026…. Btw, I think you meant Atheist. Pegans have multiple gods and aren’t based in science necessarily.
Christian nationalism isn’t a real thing. It’s a weird term created by progressive to try their best at creating slurs. They are attempting to change the meaning of nationalism and they are trying to imply that you have to be racist to support America. At the same time Christianity is the only religion that people feel they can criticize. The Left will have massive protests for Palestine and at the same, the country they support don’t allow women to speak and throw gay people off of roof tops. Make it make sense, but you still have gays for Palestine. If a few of them went there, then that could see how tolerant they are.
The left also likes to throw the word tyranny around. All it does is highlight their privilege. If you truly believe you are oppressed and facing tyranny and all you’re doing is post mean Facebook comments and possibly going to a no kings protest …then you deserve it.
- Facebook User: Facebook User Pagan Deist.
Christian Nationalism is a word that has a long history
Christian Nationalism was coined in the 20th but has its roots in Puritanism. The goal to make America into a Christian Nation ruled by the Bible. People criticize all the religions but only 2 throw absolute hissy fits when their negatives get brought up. - Facebook User: Facebook User throw hissy fit? I have issues with people misrepresenting my beliefs and making false inferences about me.
Let me tell you how the term Christian Nationalist sounds from my end. It sounds like the idiots who say the Pride agenda is to turn all the kids gay. Sure, there’s people that want that. You can look at the Constitution, America being ran like England in the 1800s just can’t happen. The flip side to that are the people that repeatedly imply Christianity and it’s views can even be represented. They want to ban it. That’s a legit movement.
- Facebook User: Facebook User have you even read part of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025?
Or heard of the Seven Mountain Mandate?
The seven mountain mandate, or seven mountain prophecy, is a strategy for cultural engagement popularized by Lance Wallnau and Bill Johnson in their 2013 book Invading Babylon. Since its advent, the perspective has gained popularity, especially among charismatic and Pentecostal Christians. Proponents of the 7M mandate call on Christians to retake seven spheres (or mountains) of cultural influence: religion, family, government, education, media, arts/entertainment, and business. (Source: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/seven-mountain-mandate/)
Lifewise Academy is definitely a part of it.
- Facebook User: More people need to be exposed to and understand their motives.
- Facebook User: Wacky
- Facebook User: Yeah the cowboy get up.. professional
- Facebook User: Amen
- Facebook User: Perfect place for Lifewise to be….with more idiots
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