I’ve been reading John S. Dickson’s book, The Great Evangelical Recession. It is an accurate, but not uplifting, analysis of the state of evangelicalism in the USA. In one chapter he discusses the expectations church members have of their pastors. He writes about how those expectations have changed over the years. Fifty Years Ago Pastors […]
My Visit to Southern Hills Baptist in Sioux City
I’m writing this post for two reasons. First, God instructs us in His word to be encouragers, to spur one another on to good works. I want to be an encourager. Second, our fearless leader, Dave Miller, sounded like he needs a little encouragement, judging from his last post. My family vacationed at Mt. Rushmore […]
Baptists You Should Know, B. Frank Belvin and the Jesus Road
The history of the SBC includes thousands of missionaries, pastors, workers, and others who often get lost to history. My goal is to highlight a few of those people in order that we can be encouraged and inspired by their lives and sacrifice. “I’ll skin every white man I can.” B. Frank Belvin hated white […]
Are you feeling called to Charlestown, Indiana?
I clicked on a link to a page on the SBC website recently and discovered that the link was broken. What happened? Well, it seems that the entire site has been overhauled, and it looks pretty good. I’m surprised the Baptist Press didn’t cover it. It’s been a while since I shared a job listing, […]
Ministry in a Pandemic is Wearing This Old Codger Down
I woke up a couple of hours ago and I already wish I hadn’t! That’s perhaps a bit extreme, but it has been a gloomy 120 minutes. I got a call from our oldest member that his wife had died and since I’m about to leave on vacation to see my newest grandson, my schedule […]
Is Being “Woke” So Bad?
“Woke” is a common insult thrown around by those who oppose the pursuit of justice as a Christian mandate. When they are upset at the stands that other conservative Christians take on racial issues, on sexual abuse issues, on political matters, when some refuse to acquiesce to GOP/conservative orthodoxy, they resort to dismissive name-calling. Derogations […]
Undermining the Cooperative Program, you say?
The Cooperative Program is our grand cooperative funding mechanism. SBC churches give on average a little under 5% of their undesignated offering plate dollars to the CP, totalling over $460 million. It is the envy of other denominations. But you knew all that, right? Ronnie Floyd, CEO of our Executive Committee has outlined a plan, […]
My Wife, a Teacher in the Midst of COVID-19
My wife is a hero. She is the ultimate educational “utility player.” When I met her she was a young college assistant professor. Since I have known her she has served anywhere she has been needed in both public, private, home-school and college settings. She has taught high school, pre-K, middle school, college courses and across […]
Baptists You Should Know, Victor Kaneubbe
The history of the SBC includes thousands of missionaries, pastors, workers, and others who often get lost to history. My goal is to highlight a few of those people in order that we can be encouraged and inspired by their lives and sacrifice. This week we look to a pioneer in Native American Ministry. Half […]
After the Pandemic, What Then?
I’ve been reading articles about what life will be like after the pandemic. Lots of folks long for things to “return to normal,” but many commentators express doubt that things ever will be the same. For example, all the buffet restaurants in our area have closed, and most will never reopen. The Chinese buffet in […]
ERLC should answer questions from the Executive Committee [update: I hear there has been answers submitted]
[But I don’t know what the answers are. They will be dribbled out to the hinterlands eventually, I suppose, unless some Baptist pundit gets his hands on them and tweets them.] This is a long-running, slow motion deal. It is critical in many ways that we get this right. SBC Executive Committee creates ERLC study […]
Ridgecrest Conference Center scares me…
…only because I’m here at the place and looking around at things to spend money on if I owned it. When I arrived mid-week, I didn’t see another guest. Lots of staff. No paying customers save for one pastor who is appreciatively discounted. No complaints from me. Lifeway announced earlier this year that they were […]