Dave Miller

Louie Giglio is hardly a fundamentalist firebrand. But in the brave new world of Obama's progressive secularism, little distinction is made between Giglio and Fred Phelps. Anyone (and according to Lifeway research, that is 44% of Americans) who believes homosexuality is a sin is unwelcome in the public square. One who holds to the biblical truth about this subject will not be eligible for appointed office or elected to significant places of service. I mentioned this in a post last week, that we are going to have to get used to being a minority, and increasingly, I believe, an excluded and … [Read more...] about If You Had Any Doubt, Evangelicals Are Now an Unwelcome Minority in America!

Ecclesiology is always a hot topic among Baptists. One of our bedrock beliefs is congregational church government. But not all congregational government is constructed alike. I've been the senior pastor of three churches over the last 27 years. My first church was governed by its eight deacons, who ran the church with something just less than an iron fist. Everything went through the deacon board. The church's committees and officers had to go through the deacon board to get anything done. They even felt they had the authority to tell me what I could and couldn't preach (let's just say we … [Read more...] about Every Church is Elder-led; Every Church is Congregational

We have had a fairly lively discussion of the Rev Dr. Plodder's post on pastor's salaries. A few pastors shared that they were paid above average, most claimed to be below average in compensation. I have another question that I thought might be an interesting discussion. Is your salary public information at the church? In my experience, it is common practice in smaller churches for the pastor's salary to be public information.  In larger churches, that information is kept private. Often, the budget is presented with a line item that groups all staff and support staff … [Read more...] about Pastor: How Confidential is Your Salary?

We love our systematic theology and our interpretational guidelines. Dispensational. Covenant. Calvinist (or non-Calvinist). Deeper life. Baptist Identity Gospel-centered or Christ-centered. There is a lot to be gained from theological systems. They help us unify and organize our thoughts and see consistent themes in the study of Scripture. They help us link Genesis to Leviticus to Matthew to Romans to Revelation. It is great to have an organizing hermeneutical principle when we are studying scripture. But these controlling hermeneutical principles have some inherent … [Read more...] about The Dangers of Theological Systems

I write this with some trepidation, because I am well aware of the all-too-common tendency among us to misread, misinterpret, misunderstand and misapply. So, let me be clear about what I am NOT going to say in this post before I try to make my point. I am NOT saying that Christians should retreat from engagement in the social and political arena. I do not believe that the church’s task is political, but spiritual – we are here to introduce sinners to Christ who is their only hope of salvation and to teach the full truth of God’s Word through which the Spirit works to transform us to be … [Read more...] about Christian Social Engagement in a Post-Christian America: Maybe We Should Change Our Tune?

I contacted Southbury Baptist Church, which Baptist Press said was on the front lines of our efforts to minister to the Newtown Community. It is, I believe, the closest Southern Baptist church to Sandy Hook. I received a letter from John Rowe a few days later (I'm guessing they are inundated) and I would share this letter with the Voices community. There are some prayer requests and information on more tangible help. Here is John's letter: ___________________________________ Mr. Miller My name is John Rowe and I am heading up the response to the contacts that we are receiving. Forgive … [Read more...] about Helping Those Who Help in Tragedy

Here are my predictions for the Bowl games: They don't matter. Oregon/KSU should have been the BCS championship, but they got stupid and lost. The BCS championship game should be cancelled due to overwhelming evil and shame. … [Read more...] about Merry Christmas, CB Scott: A Bowl Game Open Forum