Archives for 2013

Hold your ammo, there, Bubba. I give an invitation every Sunday. I give people an opportunity to respond and to come talk to me about spiritual issues. No pressure or manipulation is used. But I think it is a good thing to offer people a chance to make a public profession. It is not a biblical mandate and I realize that there are other ways to accomplish the same goal. But, at my church, we close our service with a hymn and give people an opportunity to respond. But there is one thing I don't like about the invitation - it's not really the invitation but the way people view it. I've noticed … [Read more...] about What I Don’t Like about Invitations

Sorry, I got all Baptist with my alliteration in the title. I won't let that happen again! Have you been to a good conference recently? Maybe one of the many Calvinist/Reformed conferences that focus on the "gospel" (as they see it). Perhaps you've been to one of the several "Calvinism Ain't Good" conferences that examine the points of Calvinism in order and expose their weaknesses. Perhaps you have gone to a church planting or church growth conference, or a spiritual life conference or a pastors' conference or...well, there are so many! And each of them has their own benefits and … [Read more...] about Conferences that Build Up instead of Bash, Bludgeon and Blast

Let me make two statements before I address this topic: 1) I am a longtime fan of John MacArthur's ministry, his writings, and his theology. I am in no way anti-Mac. 2) I did not attend or stream his recent "Strange Fire" conference, nor have I read the book. My experience with MacArthur and his views on the charismatic movement are based on his older book, "Charismatic Chaos" and other books I read as a young cessationist preacher boy (fresh out of Dallas Seminary), which informed my view on charismatic/Pentecostal issues for the first decade or so of my ministry. John MacArthur and the … [Read more...] about “Strange Fire”: John MacArthur is Right…and VERY Wrong

Let me preface my post by saying, I hope my thoughts are incorrect, but I do not think I am. You may be in an atypical ministry location that is not concerned about professing believers being “deistic” in their thinking and practice. However, the more I hear, see, and discuss the biblical foundations of Christian Theism, the more convinced I am that men and women in the church today do not have a proper foundation. The natural result is a tendency toward “practical deistic ideas.” Probably all our church members would deny a profession of Deism, but what if their thinking leans toward … [Read more...] about Are you a Kind-Hearted “Practical Deist?”

It certainly wasn't the first time I'd aggravated a denominational leader. And it, unfortunately, was far from the last time. Twenty years ago I was asked to speak at a BCI meeting with church planters to share the "success" of my church. In the two years I had been in Cedar Rapids, our church had doubled in size, then tripled. Eventually, we almost fourpled, before our attendance became more stable (unfortunately, I guess). We Baptists have a one-size-fits-all concept built deep within us. Whatever I was doing at Northbrook needed to be analyzed, quantified and reproduced in other churches. … [Read more...] about Numbers and God’s Blessing: Baptists’ Uneasy Romance with Statistics

Immanence is mostly forgotten as an attribute of God and a method by which He works in the world. Calvinists and Traditionalists argue over the limits of God’s transcendent acts of grace and the limits of men without such transcendent grace. Both sides, it seems, have a presupposed agreement to frame the debate around a transcendent grace, while the solution sits dust-covered in the theological closet. That solution is found in God’s immanence. God is said to act transcendently when He works in ways that are above natural law and the created order; but He is said to act immanently when He … [Read more...] about Compatibilism: A More Immanent Grace (by Ken Hamrick)

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” So what if the person’s weeping is unfounded? Or what if their rejoicing is foolishness? Am I still called to rejoice with them? To weep with them? It’s pretty easy to say that if some guy is rejoicing because he just had an affair, I should not join in his cheer. Nor should I match the anguish of soul my daughter feels when she skins her knee. Rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep does not necessarily mean matching their emotion. What I see Paul saying in this verse (and the surrounding context) is … [Read more...] about Should I Still Mourn With Someone Whose Mourning Isn’t Based in Reality?

A SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION PASTOR’S PRESENCE AMONG PREACHERS OF LA One Size Does Not Fit All  BY WM. DWIGHT MCKISSIC, SR.   Materialistic; Immoral; Egotistical; Prosperity Preachers; Pulpit Pimps, Soft on Homosexuality; and Celebrity Seekers; are among some of the nicer descriptions tossed about relative to the “Preachers of LA.”   The debut telecast had one million viewers—the second highest ranked cable TV show that aired on that Wednesday evening—which is historically a church mid-week worship night. With an audience of that magnitude, church goers and … [Read more...] about A SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION PASTOR’S PRESENCE AMONG PREACHERS OF LA: BY WM. DWIGHT MCKISSIC, SR.

SBC Voices published a post in early September authored by Bart Barber entitled, “The Nature of the Biblical Gift of Tongues: Consideration of Relevant Narrative New Testament Passages.” In the comment section of Barber’s post he addressed the following remark to yours truly:   Dwight, I appreciate the thoughtful work that you’ve put toward an exegesis of 1 Corinthians 12-14 from your theological vantage-point. If you would like to offer your understanding of the narrative passages in Acts, to refute the points that I have tried to make, then I would be interested in reading … [Read more...] about A RESPONSE TO BART BARBER’S QUESTIONS REGARDING THE RELATIONSHIP OF TONGUES IN ACTS AND I CORINTHIANS 12-14 BY WM. DWIGHT MCKISSIC, SR.