Bart Barber

I am thankful for the decision by Willy Rice not to have Ben Carson as a speaker at the 2015 Pastors' Conference. I am also thankful for his blog post explaining his reasoning. There is much there to affirm. He reminds us that Carson is a man who sincerely and convictionally follows his faith. I have no doubt that this is true, and I am thankful for Carson's influential voice in the arena of national politics. We have a heritage of religious liberty in which we welcome people of all faiths and denominations to participate alongside us in our civic lives, and it is a joyful thing to have Ben … [Read more...] about Gratitude for Ben Carson’s Withdrawal

In his recent post entitled "The Christian Butcher, Baker, and Wedding Picture Maker", William Thornton offered a numbered list of nine critiques against the SBC's handling of the present religious liberty contest that is before us. Of those nine, one predicted heightened judicial activity in this area (with which I certainly agree), seven were variations of the basic argument that religious liberty is unpopular right now, but one deserves a careful and specific response. SBC Voices has once again, for the second time in a few weeks, completely shut me out from making comments, so I'm … [Read more...] about Has the SBC Been Serious About Religious Liberty?

"Introduction to Missiology" was not my best class in seminary way, way back in the last century when I took it. I'm tempted to chalk that up to deficiencies in the professor, but it's likely that my deficiencies as a student contributed just as much or more. Having blogged a bit about missions from time to time, having embraced an Unengaged Unreached People Group through the IMB, having worked hard to lead an Acts 1:8 Challenge church, and having hung out with some real, live missionaries, I've discovered that our missionaries have their own jargon, their own alphabet soup, and their own … [Read more...] about Missionary Strategy Confuses Me Sometimes

People burn American flags. That's despicable. The Ku Klux Klan holds a meeting. Every time that happens, it makes our society weaker and darker. William Randolph Hearst was able to use his newspaper empire to plunge our nation into the Spanish-American War. What an abuse of power! This parade of horribles represents the price we pay for having a First Amendment. We all know that Freedom of Speech is something that people abuse. We all know that Freedom of Assembly is something that people abuse. We all know that Freedom of the Press is something that people abuse. We consistently … [Read more...] about America: Where We Deliberately Allow Freedoms to Be Abused

Ted Cruz has announced his candidacy for the Presidency of the United States of America. And thus has begun both the 2016 campaign and the quadrennial Southern Baptist navigation of it. The 2012 election was a traumatic one for me. Democrats ran the incumbent president with the worst record on religious-liberty issues in the history of the country. Republicans ran not an elephant but a RINO. This I might have tolerated, but for the fact that we also watched as Christian organizations willfully subjugated what they believed about Heaven-and-Hell issues to serve what they believed about … [Read more...] about A Plea at the Premiere of Presidential Politicking

I do not favor secession and civil war over the issue of same-sex marriage. If that makes me a left-wing, progressive, liberal, pinko, Commie sell-out in your eyes, then so be it. Since I do not favor secession and civil war over the issue of same-sex marriage, once the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled to mandate legalization of same-sex marriage in every state (and that's coming soon), I believe that every state should come into compliance with the dictates of the Court. Judge Roy Moore and all the other judges in Alabama must do precisely that—must abide by whatever decision … [Read more...] about Same-Sex Secession?

I don't have Cable TV. I don't have Satellite TV. I don't have any regrets about that. Because of the facts that I just placed into evidence, I'm certainly not the leading authority when it comes to the Fox News Channel. We do have Sirius/XM Radio in one of our vehicles, and I've listened to Fox News before while driving (although my children and I much prefer "Forties on Four" and "The Message"). I sometimes visit family who have Cable TV or Satellite TV, and I've consumed some Fox News programs there. We once had Dish Network TV, and the Fox News Channel was a part of our package. Indeed, … [Read more...] about Why Hate Fox News?

At a large number of our entities (I suspect that this is true of them all, but am unwilling to do the necessary research to make the universal statement), giving money directly to that entity will win you some enhanced level of recognition or access. In my fifteen years at FBC Farmersville, Dr. Ken Hemphill first admitted us into the President's Club at SWBTS. We've been invited to meals because of our level of contribution to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. Our entities, like virtually all donation seeking entities in the world, show appreciation … [Read more...] about Why Doesn’t the CP Count?

I've been hanging out with Koulandiso Tendeng this week (you know him as Dave Miller) in Africa. We've spent the week together sharing the gospel and trying to plant churches. I've got to die someday: I really hope I die someday doing something like this rather than playing Bejeweled Blitz. It scares me sometimes to stand at the headwaters of what I hope will be a family of enduring churches. To try to insulate them from my mistakes, I often tell them, "We just want you to read God's Word and do what it tells you to do." Sounds so easy, right? But can we all be honest enough to admit … [Read more...] about Read the Bible and Do What It Says

Second only to baptisms in frequency and hilarity, funny church stories often concern people who fell asleep in church. A man I knew from little Bethabara Baptist Church of my childhood went to church one winter morning. More than the real estate market, wintertime seating in that church building was all about location, location, and location. Too close to one of the Dearborn heaters meant you would roast; too far away meant you would freeze. Crook Hurdle (I grew up there, and the nicknames don't seem strange to me at all) had chosen wisely—optimum range. He sat on the outside seat of the pew, … [Read more...] about Wake Up, O Sleeper!