Dave Miller

There are only two reasons to use an apostrophe - a contracted word or a possessive noun. You don't need to use one any other time. Please stop. The "overuse" of "quotation marks" is both "rampant" and "annoying." There is no such word as irregardless. Their, there, and they're are three different words. Learn the difference. Same principle applies with to, too and two. Internet abbreviations (lol, etc) are as onerous as emoticons. The last book of the Bible is the Revelation-singular. One revelation of Jesus Christ, not many little Revelations. The word went should generally not be … [Read more...] about Dear Everyone….

This article is a reflection on "Southern Baptist Identity: An Evangelical Denomination Faces the Future," edited by David S. Dockery. This post is based on the Introduction, "Southern Baptists in the 21st Century," also by David Dockery. The introduction to this series appeared yesterday. How important is your rear-view mirror? It is an important aid in driving, but you cannot make progress through busy streets if all you do is stare behind you! I've known a few Baptists who are trying to steer toward the future by gazing only in their rear-view mirrors! Every problem we face has … [Read more...] about Southern Baptist Identity: Southern Baptists in the 21st Century

I carried on with prayer and Bible study, but the children's ministry took the night off. Some of the leaders stayed home and did some evangelistic stuff in neighborhoods. We had our "Fall Festival" last weekend. I was out of town and haven't heard how things went. Sounds like a lot of churches had Halloween parties (though the word never appears - its all Fall Festival or Harvest Night or whatever cover we use). Those draw big numbers but are they evangelistically effective? Let's talk about it … [Read more...] about How Did Your Church Handle Halloween?

Several years ago, in the "Wild West" days of Baptist blogging, I read a comment made by a prominent blogger, the pastor of a large church, disdaining the viewpoints of several others bloggers who pastored much smaller churches.  Because their churches were smaller than his, their opinions evidently carried less weight than his did. It was strange to see those words on the screen, but they represent a prevalent opinion in the Baptist world - that numbers are an obvious measure of God's blessings. We Baptists tend to be a "bigger is better" bunch. Our denomination is dominated by those who have … [Read more...] about Can We Measure God’s Pleasure? Examining Baptists’ Passion for Numbers

America has now become a “Culture of the Moral Negative.” I am not talking about “negativity,” the bogie man of the new age.   Actually, I am convinced negativity can be honorable.  Of God’s ten laws, eight of them are stated in the negative.  “Thou shalt not.”  That is an 80% negativity rate - from God.  Flawed human beings need limits to inhibit our sinful behavior. But that is another topic. I am talking about the kind of negative we used to get when cameras had something called film inside.   On the photographic negative, everything was reversed; dark colors appear as light and light … [Read more...] about The Culture of the Moral Negative

I was such a young whippersnapper when I went to seminary. I graduated from college at age 20 and from SWBTS (M.Div) at age 23, so I am really not kidding. I was a seminary grad before I could grow any significant facial hair. I had been active in churches and raised as a pastor's son, but I had very little practical knowledge of what it took to pastor a church. I learned a lot about theology, Greek and Hebrew and inductive Bible study (in my days at Dallas Seminary) and I got a lot of "practical" advice, most of which I had no frame of reference to judge. So, being the self-important young … [Read more...] about A Word of Warning about Change in Churches

Besides the Boston Red Sox, who are an evil beyond dispute, what is America's Greatest Evil? A.  The Alabama Crimson Tide 2. Bill Belichick/New England Patriots. Third. The existence of hockey. Talk amongst yourselves. … [Read more...] about A Discussion Forum: America’s Greatest Evil

Let me start off by making two statements, just to clarify. I want to see a new occupant in the White House in 2013, in the worst way. I think Barack Obama's policies are dangerous and destructive to the future of America. I don't have a huge problem voting for a Mormon to be the next president. Romney was not my first choice (Tim Pawlenty), my second choice (Herman Cain) or my third choice (Rick Santorum - for whom I caucused). His false religion was a part of my desire to find another candidate. But when he became the nominee, I made peace with that. So, I am a conservative … [Read more...] about Will We Gain the White House and Lose Our Souls?

It wasn't that long ago that Baptist churches were marked by five key services a week - Sunday School, Morning Worship, Training Union, Evening Worship and Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting. Training union was the first to enter the endangered species list, and Sunday night worship is not far behind. I would guess that Sunday night worship is now held at a minority of Baptist churches, but I've not seen statistical evidence on that. Certainly, it is true in Iowa. Wednesday night prayer meeting may be the next on that list. I am just wondering, as a discussion question, what you do at your … [Read more...] about Whither “Prayer Meeting?”