Adam Blosser

The best conservative Baptist network that I'm aware of is the Southern Baptist Convention. The SBC is a network of over 50,000 cooperating churches and church-type missions spread all across the United States. These like-minded churches cooperate together primarily for missions and theological education under the banner of a shared statement of faith known as The Baptist Faith & Message. As I teach prospective members in our church's new member class, you couldn't always refer to the Southern Baptist Convention as a conservative Baptist network. There was a time when we had professors … [Read more...] about The Conservative Baptist Network

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus. -1 Corinthians 1:4 I love this verse. The Corinthian church was one messed up church. Paul didn't pull any punches when writing to them in 1 Corinthians about all of their many issues. He tackled each issue head on. Yet as he began writing, he told them of how he gave thanks to God for them. Despite all of the issues in Corinth, Paul saw the grace of God in their midst. What about you, pastor? I know you see the issues in your church. Some of those issues may be obvious for all to see. … [Read more...] about Evidences of Grace

I recently listened to a podcast discussion between two SBC pastors. The discussion caught my eye when I received an email about it. It was a discussion about the new curriculum put out by The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission called Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused. I was interested to know what these two SBC pastors had to say about the curriculum, so I gave it a listen. As I began listening, I quickly became very frustrated. While these two pastors admitted that the curriculum has some clear things to commend it, the discussion was not a thorough review of the … [Read more...] about Should we ‘Believe the Victim’?

I am currently on a social media hiatus. You could call it a detox. I realize that may sound strange since I am writing this article. I know blogging is a form of social media. But it's really just Facebook and Twitter that I am breaking from for a while. Let me explain. I have wanted to do this for a while, but there have been a couple of legitimate things that have kept me from taking the plunge. The first is that social media is the way I stay in contact with some of my friends. I participate in a discussion group on Facebook Messenger that is an encouragement to my soul. That group has … [Read more...] about Some thoughts about social media

The ERLC is currently holding a panel discussion on sexual abuse and the Southern Baptist Convention. You can watch it live at the link below. https://www.facebook.com/165566613453452/posts/2560146210662135/ … [Read more...] about Sexual Abuse and the Southern Baptist Convention

I am sitting in the Executive Committee meeting. We just listened to JD Greear's presidential address, and he said something in reference to sexual abuse that I've heard him say before: "This is not a distraction from the mission. This is the mission." Some may recoil upon hearing that statement. But I think Greear is exactly right. Let me briefly explain. Of course salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus. No one will be won to Jesus this week by how we respond to sexual abuse in our midst. But our mission does not end when a person comes to faith in Christ. We are called to make … [Read more...] about ‘This is the mission’

We are now just 21 days from the start of 2019 Southern Baptist Convention. You know by now that the theme established by SBC President JD Greear is Gospel Above All from 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. I am looking forward to being in Birmingham for a couple of days as we hear reports, consider recommendations, and celebrate what God is doing in and through our convention of churches. The schedule for this year's annual meeting was released a few weeks ago. You can find it on the annual meeting website or at Baptist Press. The proposed schedule must be approved by the messengers once we arrive in … [Read more...] about 2019 SBC Annual Meeting Schedule

Much has been written about what Al Mohler has called theological triage. I guess that Mohler first used the term in print in a 2005 article at albertmohler.com. At least that's the earliest reference that my quick Google search turned up. In his article, Mohler identifies what he calls "three different levels of theological urgency." He argues that there are first-level, second-level, and third-level theological issues. Mohler defines first-level theological issues as those doctrines most central and essential to the Christian faith. Examples include doctrines such as the Trinity, the full … [Read more...] about Complementarianism: Prioritizing our doctrinal disagreement

News broke this week that the lawsuit filed against the North American Mission Board by Will McRaney, former executive of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware, was dismissed on Monday. Senior Judge Glen Davidson of the U.S. District Court Northern District of Mississippi ruled that the lawsuit would require the court to determine religious elements in the case which "the court cannot do." Baptist Press posted an article yesterday about the dismissal which you can find here. ABERDEEN, Miss. (BP) -- First Amendment legal precedent has been cited in a federal court's dismissal of a … [Read more...] about McRaney lawsuit against NAMB dismissed