Archives for 2013

Alan blogs at Downshore Drift, where this article was originally published. After opposition arose against First Baptist, Dallas, TX and pastor Robert Jeffress for what were called "controversial" stands against homosexuals, Muslims, Mormons, and other groups, Tim Tebow, who was scheduled to speak there, has just cancelled his appearance in a series of tweets. @TimTebow: "While I was looking forward to sharing a message of hope and Christ's unconditional love with the faithful members of the historic...First Baptist Church of Dallas in April, due to new information that has been brought … [Read more...] about Under Pressure, Tim Tebow Cancels First Baptist, Dallas, TX Appearance (by Alan Cross)

Micah Fries posted a hilarious picture on Twitter a couple of weeks ago. It was a picture of a patch of grass with a light dusting of snow on it. I joked with him that they probably cancelled school because of that blizzard. Micah surprised me by responding that, in fact, Nashville schools had been closed. We are currently bracing for a major blizzard (though most recent projections are that the snow has gone south and is nailing Kansas City instead of us - sorry, Scott Gordon!). But, if we get the 8 to 12 inches of snow originally projected, life will slow down in Sioux City for a few … [Read more...] about Snowmageddon: You Prepare for What You Expect

    “When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. (Isaiah 1:12-15 ESV) The Lord created marriage.  He loves … [Read more...] about A Marriage God Hates

I just saw a post that told us that Dr. Howard Hendricks has passed away. I have never had a significant conversation with Dr. Hendricks, but he changed my life. At Dallas Seminary -  back in the old days, anyway - one of your first year classes was his "Inductive Bible Study Methods" class. After that class, you proceeded, over your four year course of studies, to do an inductive study of every book of the Bible. Dr. Hendricks emphasized a four-step process. Observation. Interpretation. Application. Correlation. I had been a preacher's kid with a lot of knowledge of the Bible that I … [Read more...] about Howard Hendricks Changed My Life: Now He Is with Jesus

I don't have much time today, either to post or to interact with comments. I'm in a week in which I've got a meeting every night, Monday through Thursday, then have to go to Des Moines for a Saturday meeting and fly to Ft. Worth later that day. Unless we have a snow day, I'm not going to be around much at SBC Voices. Hope some of my contributors will put some stuff in the queue for us to read! I'd just like to make an observation about SBC life today. It's a new world, folks, and we can love it or hate, but we should get used to it. Some of our more progressive leaders (I mean … [Read more...] about The Social Media Effect: It’s a New Baptist World

Early on in my ministry (both writing and in the local church) I felt the need to respond to every criticism. Now I do not. Awhile back I spent some time thinking through how to determine whether or not to respond to a critique. Mostly, this is dealing with online discussions but it has application with a few minor tweaks to local church ministry as well. These three categories have helped me, perhaps they will help you as well. I find it helpful to categorize comments into three categories. First, comment types of which I will never respond. Secondly, comment types of which I might respond … [Read more...] about Should I Respond To This Comment?

I've seen it in churches. We have certainly seen it in blogging. And we are currently seeing the phenomenon as the crisis plays out at Louisiana College. None of us likes to be criticized. It is uncomfortable, painful, frustrating and infuriating. And in today's "everything has to be positive," "never admit a problem," "sweep it all under the rug" Christian world, we see the unfortunate response that we are seeing at Louisiana College. Never admit or address the problem. Attack the people who identify the issues. If you have blogged very long, you've seen someone in power respond to … [Read more...] about Leadership 101: Fix the Problems, Don’t Attack Those Who Identify Them

Andy Hynes is a PhD candidate at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. Follow him @ABHYNES on Twitter. Have you ever thought about the difference between “knowing about God,” and “being known by God?”  There is a vast difference between the two.  When the information about God is transformed into a relationship with God, a life change occurs.  Is it possible to know a great deal about God and not be known by Him?  Could our churches or even our pulpits be filled with individuals who have never had a genuine encounter with the true God of the Scripture?  Maybe they have conjured an idea of … [Read more...] about Encountered by God (by Andy Hynes)

Contra our beloved editor and illustrious 2nd Vice-President of the Southern Convention of Great Commission Baptists, this post will reference Calvinism. Please, feel free to ignore the substance of the post and keep bickering over whether the lost people in your neighborhood are saved by grace because they believed because the Spirit moved when you told them or whether they are saved by grace because the Spirit moved when you told them and they believed. My dog in that fight is this: are you telling them? Because I think we cannot escape that we are commanded to do so. I am going to tell you … [Read more...] about Please, Spit in My Eyes

Bart Barber has published a post, "A Statement of Southern Baptist Soteriological Unity." It contains, if my count is correct, 33 affirmations, acknowledgements and denials concerning how Southern Baptists can find common ground in the Soteriological wars. I only have one problem with the document: I wish I'd written it.  Go, read Bart's statement and think about it. Do we not all agree on these issues? Can we not unite around these things. Is there anyone within the SBC who cannot affirm that document? Doesn't it show that we have MUCH more in common than we do in distinction, even in … [Read more...] about An Important Post from Bart Barber: A Statement of Southern Baptist Soteriological Unity