Last week I posted an essay on Baptist church autonomy. As I did the research for that essay, I found some interesting material in Howard Forshee’s Broadman Church Manual. This manual is quite helpful, and I’ve given copies to several new pastors. In his book Forshee quotes from Lee McCoy’s book, Understanding Baptist Polity, sharing […]
More Americans are dying at home. Notice the change pastor?
When I took my first pastorate almost forty years ago, one noticeable aspect of it was that when there was ministry to be done for those who were near death, it almost always occurred in an insitution, primarily hospitals. I made countless visits to intensive care units to pray for church members who were near […]
Top SBC News of 2019, Part One
Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express story on sex abuse. The SAE must have lost a coin flip over who gets top billing. A compilation of stories of sex abuse in SBC churches over the past two decades, the series has dominated news in the SBC for the year. Credit to Rob Downen and John […]
It’s Complicated: Hong Kong and the Church – Part 1 (Shawn Powers)
A Cry for Understanding The day started like any other. As I reviewed about a dozen messages sent me overnight, one message stood out, it was from Hong Kong. My friend wrote, If Jesus is good, why does he not just come and help Hong Kong right now? The private message, sent me through a […]
Cooperative Program off to best start since Mark Sanford fake-hiked the Appalachian Trail
I can easily top the headlines that Baptist Press uses. Use any headline you like but it’s good news that the venerable Cooperative Program is off to its best start in a decade. CP giving off to best start in a decade sayeth Baptist Press. The numbers are up over a million dollars over the […]
Pray for Tom Ascol
Eleven years ago this week Tom Ascol asked people to pray for me. Today I’m returning the favor. Will you please pray for Tom, who collapsed during yesterday’s worship service and fell unconscious? Today https://founders.org/ 2008 https://tomascol.com/pray-for-bart-barber/
Week in Review: It’s all about Bowls
It’s time for the week in review. Is this the third? Or maybe it’s two. What happened this week in Southern Baptist life? There was no fussing, no cussing, no strife. Paige Patterson authored a letter, That doesn’t make him look any better. Maybe he thought no one would see How he questioned Luter’s views […]
Re-Thinking Our Lottie Moon Giving (Dr. Steve Horn)
Some years ago, our church hosted an International Mission Board speaker to speak to us about his work and the importance of giving to that year’s offering. As I introduced him, I challenged our church to erase whatever we thought we were going to give and be receptive to hearing from God. At the very […]
Answer: Dee Parsons, because she has much greater power than the SBC Credentials Committee
Question: Who should I contact if I were or knew of a victim of abuse in an SBC church or at the hands of a minister serving in an SBC church and wanted something done? It’s not that I don’t support the idea that offending churches should be more often and rapidly excluded from “membership” […]
Response to Released Paige Patterson Letter
On December 4th my local New Orleans Baptist Association of Churches (NOBA) published a response to a letter that has been publicly released 7 years after its original recipient received it. Whether or not you are inclined to think the recent leak was appropriate, the letter itself is a commentary on how many people have […]
The Credentials Committee: A Call for Patience (Susan Codone & Megan Lively)
The Southern Baptist Convention seems to have been frozen in time for a few decades, entrenched in doctrinal disagreements, ongoing concerns of sexual and spiritual abuse, and so focused on operational autonomy that renders it unable to police itself. For good reason, a small army has risen to protest the harm this torpor has generated. […]
What Does Autonomy Mean for the SBC?
In the past months, writers and commenters here at Voices have used the word autonomy often. The word basically means “self-ruled.” For example, some nations have regions that are semi-autonomous, meaning the region has a measure of independence. What does this word mean in the context of the Southern Baptist Convention and its churches? To […]