This morning I am boarding a plane for Dallas, Texas. The Pastor’s Conference team is headed to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for the much awaited speaker colloquium. All 12 of our speakers will be gathering today and tomorrow to meet one another and study Philippians together. The speakers will also be subject to photography and […]
Against the New England Patriots
I have decided that it’s time to take a stand. Below you will find a resolution I will be submitting to the Resolutions Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention for their consideration for our 2017 Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Aside from the Pastor’s Conference, voting on this resolution may be the most important thing […]
Degrees of Separation
Some among us were recently up in arms over the decision by Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, DC to call a lesbian couple as co-pastors. The story was even covered by The Washington Post. When I first read the story at the Baptist News Global site, I shrugged my shoulders. It wasn’t that I approved […]
Sexually Immoral Senior Adults
Dave wrote recently about funeral trends. The discussion that ensued was very interesting. It seems like there are some trends that are regional, while others are more universal. More and more people are having funerals on Saturday. More and more people are being cremated. The visitation thing seems to vary more by region and culture. […]
Where Are the Ladies and Lay People?
SBC Voices is appropriately named. It is a place where people from a diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints across the SBC spectrum can come to discuss various topics of interest. In some ways we do a good job of accomplishing that objective here. We are not here to push an agenda. We are here to […]
Cartwright, Jeffress, and Boldness in the Gospel
There’s a story that I had heard before but read again last week in preparation for this past Sunday’s sermon. I shared it with our congregation, and I think it provides us with an important reminder. The story is of a man named Peter Cartwright who was a great circuit-riding Methodist preacher in Illinois. He […]
I Am a Thankful Southern Baptist
Yesterday I attended a Young Pastors’ Summit at our state convention office. The church I pastor partners with the SBC of Virginia. I was excited for the event, and I left Richmond yesterday blessed and encouraged. We heard an excellent presentation from Dr. Jeff Iorg from Gateway Seminary, and had a great time of Q&A. […]
The Only Way Forward
That word “only” can sometimes get us into trouble. We all have a tendency to view our own thoughts as the only reasonable way to think about difficult subjects. How could anyone see it differently? That’s impossible! Especially for a true Christian! And thus, insults are hurled, people are offended, relationships are fractured, and our […]
Announcing the Preachers for the 2017 SBC Pastors’ Conference
I am excited for the 2017 SBC Pastor’s Conference in Phoenix, AZ. As we gather together in Phoenix June 11-12, we will have the opportunity to hear from twelve excellent expository preachers as they preach through Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi. These preachers all come from average-size Southern Baptist Churches. They also represent […]