Scatter shooting while trying to find a cool place in Texas. It’s so hot in Texas that people are telling hot jokes to cope. (The high today in Fort Worth will be 106.) Here’s one—It’s so hot; my dream home is any house in Alaska. If you’ve got a good “hot” joke, please send it. We are struggling to cope here in Texas. Here’s a great piece from A. W. Tozer: GLORIOUS CONTRADICTIONS God has revealed so many glorious contradictions in the lives and conduct of genuine Christian believers that it is small wonder that we are such an amazement to this world. The Christian is dead and yet he … [Read more...] about Scatter Shooting, Part 7
Thirty questions on our ecclesiology
If a church has multiple pastors, who is the pastor and how does the congregation express this? Is the fresh-faced nineteen year old summer student pastor the same as his ultimate supervisor? The SBC spent decades with a pastor/deacon model. Those decades were the greatest in our growth. Why is that model so easily discarded? How much of our ecclesiology can be traced to American affluence and liberty? If churches didn't have buildings and budgets would church governance look different? Is it fair to say that Southern Baptists, once megachurches and their celebrity pastors moved … [Read more...] about Thirty questions on our ecclesiology
What Do Only Pastors Do? (Stephanie Jones)
At the heart of the proposed (and first-vote-affirmed) amendment to the SBC Constitution are two doctrinal beliefs held by a majority of Southern Baptists. (Count me among those who hold them. Men and women, while both created in the image of God, were created with different roles to play in both the home and the church. Only men are to be responsible to fill the pastoral role(s) in the church. What, then, does the Bible say that only pastors do? No one seems to be addressing this question either. This is at the root of disagreement between the varieties of complementarians. Is … [Read more...] about What Do Only Pastors Do? (Stephanie Jones)
How Will Churches Respond to a Moratorium on Female Pastors? (Stephanie Jones)
At the Annual Meeting, messengers voted multiple times overwhelmingly in favor of complementarianism. One of those votes included amending Article III of the SBC Constitution with a sixth requirement of churches. The exact wording of that section of Article III would read: “The Convention will only deem a church to be in friendly cooperation with the Convention, and sympathetic with its purposes and work … which: … 6.Affirms, appoints, or employs only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.” If messengers in Indianapolis next year give a second affirmative vote … [Read more...] about How Will Churches Respond to a Moratorium on Female Pastors? (Stephanie Jones)
Could you cooperate with this church?
That is the question. Here's a church: The church has always been SBC, at every level, association, state convention, and national convention. The church supports each of those "levels" of SBC life through contributions. The church is doctrinally orthodox and closely identifies with the BFM although it has not been formally adopted as the church's statement of faith. The lead pastor has two degrees from one of the six SBC seminaries. The lead pastor is ordained by an SBC church, has never been anything other than a Southern Baptist. The lead pastor has started several … [Read more...] about Could you cooperate with this church?
What CAN Women Do in the Church? (Stephanie Jones)
Around the time discussing Beth Moore’s Mother’s Day activities became controversial, my pastor husband and I began having regular – and sometimes heated – conversations about what women can’t do in service of the church. The question I started asking was, “What, then, can women do in the church?” As complementarians, we are quick to make lists, and they vary from church to church: women cannot preach, women cannot teach mixed group classes, women cannot be ordained, women cannot baptize, women cannot be the worship leader, women cannot be deacons, women cannot be in authority over a … [Read more...] about What CAN Women Do in the Church? (Stephanie Jones)
Scatter Shooting – Part 6
Scatter shooting while thinking that Bart Barber is out, standing in his field. Color me pleased that Bart Barber won the SBC presidency for a second time. He has served us well and deserved a second term. Beyond that, he has proven one need not be a mega-church pastor to handle the demands of the office. That opinion was often voiced in the past. Color me perplexed that Mike Stone chose to run in 2023. Surely, next year would have been better for him. He was bucking SBC tradition—to give a president a second term—and a popular candidate, also. I was not surprised that the SBC … [Read more...] about Scatter Shooting – Part 6
Baptists Love Task Forces!
At the 2023 meeting in New Orleans, one common thing that came up over and over was proposals for a task force/committee. There were several calls, proposals, submissions, motions, and more about creating task forces. They were to study the BFM, study the seminaries, study the mission board, and study all sorts of things. A couple were approved from the floor as Baptist Press reported: The convention also approved the appointment of a task force to study the impact of the Great Commission Resurgence recommendations adopted in 2009 and a task force to study how the Convention should regard … [Read more...] about Baptists Love Task Forces!
On Pastoral Ministry and Job Titles (Phillip Powers)
Language really is a funny thing, because so often how words are used determines what they mean regardless of their actual definition. Or to put it another way, meaning is dictated by connotation more than by actual denotation. This is especially so when it comes to current discussions in the Southern Baptist Convention about who can and cannot serve as pastor. Over the past several decades, the titles and types of pastors on church staffs all across this country have proliferated exponentially. We now have Senior Pastors, Lead Pastors, Teaching Pastors, Executive Pastors, Assistant … [Read more...] about On Pastoral Ministry and Job Titles (Phillip Powers)
Jay’s Top 10 (and thank-yous) from New Orleans #SBC23
This is gonna be a long one. For the last few years I have posted a list of things I would identify as my top 10 takeaways, favorite things or memorable events from the annual meeting. This year’s list will be different than my normal post-convention review for 2 main reasons. First, I have had a peek behind the curtain into the making of the convention and it has been an eye-opener for me. I wish everyone in the convention could see what I’ve seen over the last 16+ months. Second, I had the privilege of being involved with the planning of this meeting and it has been personally satisfying … [Read more...] about Jay’s Top 10 (and thank-yous) from New Orleans #SBC23