There really is no good time for writing an article like this. It always runs the risk of having motives assigned to it that I assure you do not exist. I started writing this article after last year's convention, but I never finished or published it. I pulled it back out and edited it some more several months ago, but I still did not publish it. I am publishing it now because I still agree with what I have written here, and while it's a relatively minor thing, it is something I think should be considered. Please do not interpret this article as a slight against the current recording … [Read more...] about Recording Secretary and the Executive Committee
McRaney lawsuit against NAMB dismissed
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
Ronnie Floyd has hit the ground running
As of Tuesday, Ronnie Floyd is the new President-elect of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee. I assume the 'elect' part of his new title will be dropped after Sunday when he officially resigns as the Senior Pastor of Cross Church in Northwest Arkansas. It is clear, however, that his dual status this week has not prevented him from hitting the ground running. This is a good thing since we are now 68 days away from the 2019 Annual Meeting in Birmingham, AL. There's no time to waste. Yesterday Baptist Press did a story on a number of conference calls Dr. Floyd has already … [Read more...] about Ronnie Floyd has hit the ground running
‘Pretty much all lies’ is not good enough
Yesterday Ronnie Floyd was elected President of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee. Congratulations! We should all be rooting for Dr. Floyd. I know I am. This is an important time in the life of our convention and we need strong, wise leadership coming from the Executive Committee. Let's all commit to praying for Dr. Floyd as he assumes this important role at the EC. Lost in the shuffle, though, were comments made by search committee chairman Steve Swofford regarding an article that appeared late last week in the Houston Chronicle. I do not know the exact context for the … [Read more...] about ‘Pretty much all lies’ is not good enough
JD Greear Was Right to Name Churches
There has been a lot of discussion over the last few days about whether JD Greear was right to call the names of specific churches during his recent address to the Executive Committee. The manuscript for Greear's entire speech has been published here at SBC Voices. Here's the relevant portion of the speech: In media reports over the last week, churches who are currently in cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention were alleged to have displayed a wanton disregard for the seriousness of abuse. In some cases, they were alleged to have directly acted in a manner that was … [Read more...] about JD Greear Was Right to Name Churches
‘God’s Man’
The Executive Committee Presidential Search Team announced Tuesday that they have found "God's candidate" to lead the Southern Baptist Convention's administrative entity. The announcement comes nearly eleven months after the position of EC President was vacated by Frank Page. I have no doubt that the search team has rightly prayed and sought God's guidance throughout the process. They are, therefore, convinced that they have found the right person to lead the EC. EC Chairman Mike Stone said, "God was guiding us." I am thankful that they experienced the guidance of the Lord throughout the … [Read more...] about ‘God’s Man’
So…what happened?
I am on the wait list for the Westin Hotel in Downtown Birmingham for this year's Southern Baptist Convention. It is one of the convention hotels that is connected to the convention center. Hotel registration opened on Friday at 9am (EST). I was turning my computer on at that time to register. By the time I got my computer on just a few minutes after registration opened, the only option I had at either convention hotel was the wait list at the Westin. By the time I filled out my info for the wait list, there were no more rooms available within a mile of the convention center. I realize … [Read more...] about So…what happened?
#SBC19 Hotel Reservations Open Friday
The 2019 Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention is still 8 months away, but online hotel registration will open on Friday, October 12 at 9am EST. Normally reservations open on October 1, but this year there have been some complications with renovations at the convention center. This led to the date for reservations being pushed back. Here's the info from the annual meeting website: Due to the recently announced renovation of an entire wing at one of our Co-Convention hotels in Birmingham, we have postponed until October 12 the opening of online hotel reservations for the 2019 … [Read more...] about #SBC19 Hotel Reservations Open Friday
#SBCPC19 Website Is Live
I haven't seen an announcement in Baptist Press, but today I stumbled across the website for the 2019 SBC Pastors' Conference in Birmingham, AL. The conference will be held June 9-10 at Legacy Arena just prior to the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. The conference president is Danny Wood, pastor of Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Birmingham for more than 20 years. The theme for the conference is Kingdom Character. Here's an excerpt from the conference website: The theme for the 2019 Pastors’ Conference is “Kingdom Character” and will focus on the Beatitudes. … [Read more...] about #SBCPC19 Website Is Live
How to Increase Your Missions Offerings
We recently received good news from both the North American Mission Board regarding Annie Armstrong and the International Mission Board regarding Lottie Moon. Both offerings were up. The amount collected for the AAEO was the largest in the offering's history. The amount collected for the LMCO did not quite meet the goal, but it was the second largest amount ever collected. These are encouraging results. I have led both churches I have pastored to give generously to both of these offerings. My first church always gave tremendous amounts to Lottie Moon. We would light a candle and place it on … [Read more...] about How to Increase Your Missions Offerings