William Thornton is the SBC Plodder. Occasionally, I run across an assertion or a statistic that stops me cold. Here is one that did just that: "Fear of change is one of the reasons one in four congregations will close during the next 15 years..." Let me digest this: Twenty-five percent of American congregations will not be present fifteen years hence?Jeff Brumley of Associated Baptist Press has an interesting article on the future of churches, Experts seek balance between optimism and pessimism in future of congregations, in which he quotes Bill Wilson, founder of The Center for Healthy … [Read more...] about Will one in four SBC churches be closed by 2030? (from William Thornton)
Archives for July 2014
Gearing Up for Growth
Are you gearing up for growth? Brothers and sisters, we are heading into the fall of the year, which is a prime time for church growth. I’m so excited to see what God is going to do! Perhaps you’ve not thought about it in this way, but there are at least five different types of church growth. One type is “biological growth,” which I like to call “baby growth.” It’s when the physical church family grows through the birth of children or adoption. Now don't think that I'm going all Presbyterian on you here. While these children are not part of the Kingdom of God or the New Covenant until … [Read more...] about Gearing Up for Growth
Will you hear his story? A Baptist pastor reviews a gay author
A year ago, I had a brief email correspondence with author Scott Terry about evangelicals and homosexuality. The following is a review and response to his book, Cowboys Armageddon, and the Truth: How a Gay Child Was Saved from Religion Note: Parts of this post are rewritten, with permission, from my personal correspondence with the author. In that section, I refer to him by his first name. How I came to read the book My initial contact with Terry was regarding an art piece that he created that quoted various hateful and homophobic statements about LGBT people. I had … [Read more...] about Will you hear his story? A Baptist pastor reviews a gay author
What Did Jesus Mean When He Told Us Not to Judge?
It’s Friday night. It’s Fall. It’s Football season. You load your family up in the minivan to support the local high-school football team. You scan the bleachers for a space large enough to contain your squirrely children. Up a few rows in the bleachers you find a spot and unpack the house and set up camp with your kiddos. No more than five minutes into the game you begin regretting your choice of seats. Your children and their virgin ears are being treated to a litany of new words. “F” this and “F” that. And the poor ref has already been called things that even you have to look up on … [Read more...] about What Did Jesus Mean When He Told Us Not to Judge?
My top 10 tips of advice to a church walking through a scandal
Sadly, it appears church after church are having to respond to immoral actions of pastors falling from grace. It deeply grieves me and causes me to really hurt for those churches. Young Christians and seekers become disillusioned and it can become a major crisis of faith for many within the church. Doubt and gossip can spread like wildfire, especially with social media and blogs. It is a time to balance between healing the church from the pain of betrayal and moving forward as a congregation from the actions of one. It is a delicate balance and one many churches need to act in a sensitive way … [Read more...] about My top 10 tips of advice to a church walking through a scandal
No, We Have NOT Shut Down
This is the fewest posts we've had at SBC Voices in a week since I took over this site about a hundred years ago. I apologize for the lack of diligence. I have been both lazy and busy. I guess I'm going through my normal post-SBC burnout phase. It tends to happen. Evidently, my crack staff of writers are about as burned out as I am. Hopefully, we will all get inspired soon! I have two series of articles I want to write, but time is a problem there. We'll see. I hope next week will be more active than this last week was. … [Read more...] about No, We Have NOT Shut Down
Simple Things Work
If you have read my posts, you know I am a Sunday school guy. Specifically, I am a fan of Lifeway Sunday school. I believe it works, and I think churches will grow if they use it correctly. Read David Francis' books on Sunday school. Download then free at Lifeway's website. There are simple things you can do that will help a great deal. Today, I want to challenge you to try one simple trick. One little thing that I've seen work over and over. Pastors, this ifs for you, and it needs to come from you. On Sunday morning when you stand up to preach, say something like this: "I hope you were … [Read more...] about Simple Things Work
Why Marijuana Should Remain Illegal (by David Brumbelow)
David is a pastor and author of “Ancient Wine and the Bible.” He writes at gulfcoastpastor.blogspot.com. Washington State has become the second state to legalize marijuana. Christians need to be prepared to speak to this issue. Reasons to oppose marijuana are here given in the form of Questions and Answers. 1. Marijuana is no more harmful than alcohol, and alcohol is legal. Alcohol is America’s number one drug problem. Why should we now unleash another harmful drug on America? When marijuana has been legalized, it has led to an increase in crime and societal problems. Alcohol and … [Read more...] about Why Marijuana Should Remain Illegal (by David Brumbelow)
An Acts 17 Moment: What Burger King has right about LGBT people
The new Proud Whopper is the latest instance of a corporation coming out in support of the LGBT community. While evangelicals reject these types of campaigns as contrary to the Bible’s teaching about sexuality, the Proud Whopper provides us with an Acts 17 moment. Burger King has unwittingly made a statement about LGBT people that evangelical Christians can stand in agreement. I suggest that Christians use this opportunity to remember their own need for Christ, then engage in conversation with our neighbors and witness to the truth of the gospel. After all, whatever the intent of their … [Read more...] about An Acts 17 Moment: What Burger King has right about LGBT people
EXPOSITORY VERSUS TOPICAL PREACHING? (by John Wylie)
John Wylie is a pastor in Oklahoma and a frequent commenter here. There is an ongoing debate in the SBC and in fact, many evangelical circles concerning the the superiority of expository sermons over topical messages. There are a number of things to take into consideration, in my opinion, if one wants to have a productive discussion on this topic. 1.) It's Important to have a cogent definition of the various classifications of sermons. The reason I say this is because you can look in various texts on homiletics and each one will vary slightly in its definition of the classes of … [Read more...] about EXPOSITORY VERSUS TOPICAL PREACHING? (by John Wylie)