No, this one isn’t about topical sermons vs expositional or that sort of thing. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but during the shutdown, I’ve fallen into a new pattern for preaching that I hope to continue now that the slow march toward normalcy has begun. I used to preach from […]
Loneliness, Isolation, and Ministry in a Pandemic
Our church has recently started up live services and I am glad. Sunday, we celebrated the Lord’s Supper together for the first time since late February, a great moment. Things are not horrible, but something doesn’t feel right either. I had a conversation with several friends last week about ministry during a pandemic and it […]
Just When I Thought I Was In, They Pulled Me Back Out
Last week I recommitted myself to regular writing here. I wrote two articles. Pulled one for personal reasons, but I wrote two days in a row. I was back. Now, I am sitting in SUX – yeah, that’s our airport here in Sioux City, preparing to fly to Palm Beach International Airport. Dad was an […]
Racism, Riots, and the Future
A couple of evenings ago, I decided to zip over to Sam’s club about a half-hour before it was scheduled to close to pick up a couple of things we needed. They were closed and the parking lot was abandoned. I wasn’t sure what had happened until a couple of hours later when my wife […]
That Time Dave Had a Really Stupid Thought
No, it wasn’t the suit – that is still classy after all these years. I remember when we first started facing the idea of a shutdown from the coronavirus, and my first thought was, “I won’t have anything to do.” It was going to be like a lengthy vacation. Sometimes, a man just isn’t thinking […]
The Final Nails in My Coff…er..Theses
This is the final in my series of three posts about politics. I am not endorsing a candidate or telling anyone else for whom they should or shouldn’t vote. My purpose is to attempt to define biblical principles for political engagement. Part 1 Part 2 Here’s part 3, in which I put the final nails […]
A Pandemic of SBC Controversy
The last couple of weeks have been momentous in the life of our beloved convention. Southwestern Seminary is still dealing with financial issues, exacerbated by the COVID-19 shutdown. Departments were reorganized and we understand there were some personnel reductions. Of course, the biggest news was their dealings with the fraudulent Dead Sea Scrolls scraps purchased […]
The SBC, Pastors, and Politics: Nailing My Theses – Part II
The first set of ten was more background and these get a little more specific, and possibly more offensive to some. I am not hopeful anyone will follow this, but we’ve had a couple of posts recently where we discussed political things. I would love it if we stuck to these points for our discussion. […]
The SBC, Pastors, and Partisan Politics: Nailing My Theses on the Wall
I believe that the 2020 presidential election season has the potential to be one of the final nails in the coffin of the SBC. If we continue on our current course we may well see this as the point at which the die was cast and our fate was sealed. (Let me see if I […]
Some Southern Baptist Realities
1. Calling off Orlando was 100% the right thing. I love the annual meeting and look forward to it. Calling this one off was the right call. Even if we are blessed and the COVID-19 virus crisis fades quickly, we need to be spending the next couple of months ministering in our communities, not preparing […]
The SBC Annual Meeting Has Been Cancelled
Baptist Press has just released a statement informing us that the SBC annual meeting in Orlando has been canceled. The EC voted 77-0 to take this action. This has been expected for a couple of weeks but is now final. Key information: 1. The elected officers will continue for another year. J.D. Greear remains president […]
An SBC Voices Forum: How’s It Going, Televangelists?
I am in the “studio” this Sunday morning – except it is Saturday and I’m going to confused all week. I got up early like I do on Sunday, got dressed up like I do on Sunday (as all respectable pastors do!), came into the church to finalize my sermon and preach it, like I […]