(Alan Cross blogs at Downshore Drift) Juliet: O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet. Romeo: [Aside] Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this? Juliet: 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, … [Read more...] about The Name Change Won’t Matter Unless We Have a Heart Change (by Alan Cross)
SBC Megachurches…(by William Thornton)
...love them, hate them, or be ambivalent about them. According to Thom Ranier, head of LifeWay there are 177 of them in the SBC. That is, 177 churches that report on the Annual Church Profile an average primary worship attendance of at least 2,000 weekly and who give something to the Cooperative Program. Not all churches reported, so there's probably a few missing from this list. Some that are on the list are probably only nominally SBC. Some observations on the 177 megachurches: About 0.4% of SBC churches are megachurches but on an average Lord’s Day of the 6.2 million people that … [Read more...] about SBC Megachurches…(by William Thornton)
NAMB and Restoring Lost Trust (by William Thornton)
(I saw this over at SBC Plodder and thought our readers might like it - so I stole it. Don't tell William.) Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong have always been one-two in special offerings for the churches I have pastored over the last three decades. We didn't have to pray about it, think about it, decide about it; come December and March it was Lottie and Annie and that was that. Then NAMB's head took a private jet to a movie in London, at our expense, and Spending God's Money came along, more revelations about wasting money, a hasty resignation followed by SBC heavyweights putting out … [Read more...] about NAMB and Restoring Lost Trust (by William Thornton)
The P-Word: Part 1 (by Jim Gifford)
Hi all, Today I want to discuss a theological word that has become more familiar to the Evangelical and Baptist world over the last couple of decades. That word is perichoresis. I’ve spent a fair amount of time around this word and I want to share some of my findings with you. Perichoresis is a word that describes, primarily, the relationship enjoyed by the persons of the Trinity. Though the word is not found in the Bible, and not found in theological literature until the fourth century, the concept is very biblical. Several times in the writings of John, and most notably in chapters … [Read more...] about The P-Word: Part 1 (by Jim Gifford)
Youth Minister Interview Questions (by Rick Patrick)
You Can’t Make This Stuff Up (by William Thornton)
(from the SBC Plodder) Here is an abstract of one of those Calvinist church situations that caused me to write an earlier piece on being wary of my five-pointer brethren - another place, I know some of the players, passed along to me by one close to the matter. Before anyone accuses me of making this stuff...you CAN'T make this stuff up. And, you can't survive in the SBC without a sense of humor. Good church calls Calvinistic pastor who proceeds to implement his vision of what the church should be. Things don’t go well. Church declines. Pastor encouraged to leave. He leaves...but not … [Read more...] about You Can’t Make This Stuff Up (by William Thornton)
My Brick Wall: Three Simple Questions (Guest Blogger)
(A friend who has been following my Brick Walls and Picket Fences series sent this to me and asked if I would be interested in publishing it. I appreciated that he interacted with what I wrote. For reasons that seem reasonable to me, my friend desires to remain anonymous. For those who are interested, he DOES attend a Southern Baptist church!) Dave Miller has been writing this past year about Brick Walls and Picket Fences that has caused me to think quite a bit about how I would define who I believe are outside a Brick Wall. I mean, the Picket Fences is to me simpler to explain than a … [Read more...] about My Brick Wall: Three Simple Questions (Guest Blogger)
Christian Marriage: A Model for Surviving the Future (by Jerry Corbaley)
Jerry Corbaley lives in Hawaii and blogs at "Think the Thoughts?" This article first appeared there. Yes, I am also unhappy with what the United States is doing in regard to defining marriage. Yes, I am glad that many are working politically against the trend of redefinition. Yet, Christians are still free to emphasize God’s purpose of marriage. Why wait until the concept of ‘marriage’ is further maimed within our culture? Perhaps we could equip our congregations with what is right in God’s eyes whether the culture ever agrees or not. I wonder, should we ignore the need for our … [Read more...] about Christian Marriage: A Model for Surviving the Future (by Jerry Corbaley)
Young, Southern Baptist, and Self-Important? (by Alan Pearce)
I am writing in response to Brad Whitt’s article “Young, Southern Baptist and irrelevant?” which was recently published in The Baptist Banner (vol. 24, no.6, pp. 5-8). He laments over what seems to be a self-perceived irrelevance brought on by a minority that he describes as “outsiders from within” (p. 8; code, I think, for Calvinists). This minority of men in the SBC has appropriated the Convention microphone and is taking its cues from not a few prominent non-traditional, non-SBC pastors. The bottom line is that these me are hurting the Convention, and if he, and others like him, could … [Read more...] about Young, Southern Baptist, and Self-Important? (by Alan Pearce)
Adoption: It’s For All of Us (by Jim Giffords)
Hi all, Today I want to write about a topic that is near and dear to my heart – adoption. Adoption is wonderful in so many aspects. I have had the wonderful privilege to adopt three children (and perhaps more in the future). I want to say a few things about adoption. First, it is a wonderful way to rescue children. I cannot imagine what it is like to not have a home. But every time I look at my children, I see children for whom there was a time when they had no mom or dad. My boys were too small to remember it, and likely my daughter won’t remember it as she grows older either, but it is … [Read more...] about Adoption: It’s For All of Us (by Jim Giffords)