Archives for 2013

Have you ever been around someone that has a tendency to go from A to Z faster than a bobcat on an energy drink? You know what I mean. Said person gets stuck in traffic. They then play out the entire litany of consequences that will come from their impending tardiness. In their mind they are about to get fired. Then they will not be able to pay their bills so they will lose their house. The next thing you know the guy is talking about how he will be homeless and eating raw onions out of someone’s garbage can. A similar thing happened to Ahaz in Isaiah 7. He was told, “Syria is in league … [Read more...] about Where Instability Comes From

I have been working my way through the Bible on Wednesday nights for about 7 years and have made my way to the book of Nehemiah. The first 7 chapters of the book describe Nehemiah's return to Jerusalem and his leadership in rebuilding the walls around the city. He was a remarkably effective leader for God's people. Tonight, I identified twelve principles of effective leadership from his life and work. I thought some of you might find them interesting. I'm going to try to resist my temptation to make this a 3000 word post. I will list the principles with a few brief comments. 1) Operate on … [Read more...] about Nehemiah: Twelve Principles of Leadership

Dr. David W. Manner is the Associate Executive Director for the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists. He blogs at  http://kncsb.org/blogs/dmanner . You can follow him on Twitter:  @dwmanner.  If I sing like my favorite worship artist, but do not have love, I am just a loud kick drum or cheap crash cymbal. If I have the gift of creative verbal transitions and understand the mystery and knowledge of chord charts and choir scores, and if I have the faith that can move the emotions of an entire congregation, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give the old sound system to a … [Read more...] about Worship Leader…Show ‘em Some Love (by Dr. David Manner)

A little over a year ago Jason Taber had supper with his sister, Tonya. This was no ordinary meal. This was the first time they had met. On Jason’s 38th birthday he reached out to his sister for the first time in his life. Now, one year later Jason stands beside Tonya’s hospital bed as she is fighting complications from Hodgkins lymphoma*. Their story is a testimony of God’s grace and the uniting power of the gospel. Jason was kind enough to share his story with us. Jason, can you share the back story to your relationship with Tonya? What inspired you to finally reach out to Tonya? My … [Read more...] about When Cancer Hi-Jacks Your Reunion

First of all, truth time. I'm a Tim Tebow fan. I have to confess my shame. For his senior season at the College-that-shall-not-be-named, I actually found myself rooting for a team I'd have never thought I could root for. His testimony for Christ and his enthusiasm actually made me a fan of the Slytherin Gators for one season. I've been a Steelers' fan since the Steel Curtain dominated the scrimmage line in the days of my youth. But when Tebow's Broncos faced Pittsburgh in the playoffs, I was rooting for Tebow and rejoicing at his miraculous overtime victory. And, also by way of admission, … [Read more...] about Why I Can’t Completely Let Tim Tebow Off the Hook

My wife has been really busy this past week putting together a Christmas play. This means that for the entire week I have been the chef of the house…which also means that our best meal of the week was either fish sticks or cheese pizza night. Most of the time I just find something to put in the microwave. I’ve discovered that there are two types of TV dinners. One type you stick in for 4-5 minutes then have to turn something, or cut something, or stir something, and then put the thing back in for another 5 minutes. The second type, and my preferred type, is the one that allows you to stick … [Read more...] about Microwave Suffering

I am not a church or Baptist historian. I've done some reading, but the distance between my level of learning and expertise is significant. But I watched Dr. David Dockery's explanation of Baptist history at the Kentucky Baptist Convention-sponsored conference last year, which were (not surprisingly) highly instructive. If you have not yet, I would encourage you to watch these videos, available on YouTube. Here is Part 1 and Part 2. Basically, Dockery identifies how the two streams, which he identifies as Particular Baptists and General Baptists, were present in SBC life from the very … [Read more...] about The SBC Benefits from a Balance of Calvinists and Non-Calvinists

Andy Hynes is a PhD candidate at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. Follow him @ABHYNES on Twitter. When you hear my title, I am sure there are many different things that come to mind.  What comes to my mind these days is preaching.  As I listen to sermons, I continue to hear pastors majoring on the minors.  Please understand that I realize that “all” Scripture is God-breathed and inspired.  However, I also know that there are major themes and less major themes.  When you come to a particular passage there is one main truth that the biblical writer was seeking to accomplish.  Our job … [Read more...] about Majoring on the Minors (by Andy Hynes)

The debate between Calvinists and non-Calvinists (including Traditionalists) has been dominated in the SBC by the extremes on both sides. It is time for that to end. There are some Calvinists who annoy me - they seem intent on labeling the other side with pejoratives, never admit fault on their side, and come across as condescending and arrogant. There are some non-Calvinists who annoy me - they seem intent on painting Calvinists with dark, conspiratorial motives and appear to be content with nothing less than pinning a scarlet C on every Calvinist and banning them from leadership in SBC … [Read more...] about It’s Time for the Cooperative Middle to Assert Itself

I won't be at the keyboard much this weekend. I have to head to Des Moines for a BCI executive board meeting tomorrow, then I am flying to DFW to speak at Cornerstone Baptist in Arlington on Sunday. Sunday afternoon I'm going to be touring several airports for my return trip. And I am not sure I'll have time to do much posting during that time. I don't plan to try. Contributors, if you have something to post, have at it. Hopefully, it won't be about Calvinism! I'm nervous about leaving the site, because some of our discussions have started getting a little chippy. People wonder why we … [Read more...] about A Blogging Break