Dave Miller

1) A team that everyone is predicting will be bad will surprise veeryone and turn out to be very good. 2)  A team that everyone is predicting will  be good will fail miserably and everyone will wonder what happened. It will probably be the Cowboys. 3) Football coaches will be interviewed and will always say the word football in front of everything. "We played a great football game today, because we are a great football team. Smith is a great football player who really helps this football team play a great football game." This is likely because of the large number of head injuries … [Read more...] about 12 Can’t-Miss NFL Predictions for 2012

I am afraid that sometimes we fail to preach the full story of the gospel. We focus on Christ's death for sin (as we should) but we sometimes neglect the primary emphasis of gospel presentations in the Book of Acts - the victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ and his exaltation as Lord of all!  We need to proclaim both the substitutionary death and the glorious resurrection of Christ. Here is a message I preached August 19, 2012 at Southern Hills Baptist Church, if anyone is interested. A couple of things: 1) The video and audio get crossways about halfway through the sermon, so the … [Read more...] about Preaching the FULL Gospel in a Baptist Church!

I feel so much like Michael Corleone right now.  I want to ignore the Calvinism wars. I want to talk about something else. I want to move on the things that I think are more important that are being ignored in our obsession with promoting or assailing Calvinism.  But, as soon as I make a commitment, then: Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in! Alan Cross wrote a powerful article at his site, Downshore Drift, called, "Does Al Mohler Need to Repent of Promoting Calvinism?"  In that article, he calls on Dr. Mohler to change his ways, asking him to tone down the rhetoric … [Read more...] about A Plea to Mohler, Nettles and the Founders

It is no secret that I am weary of the incessant and petty bickering about Calvinism that has marked so much of the SBC's discussion, and has been the driving force on blogs. Frankly, that is all that some people want to talk about. But maybe that is only because that is all we've given them to talk about. We have a big God and a big Bible and there are lots of interesting topics to write about. Ecclesiology. Ministry strategies. Missions. Engaging culture. There are a lot of things that we could talk about that are more important than the kerfuffle that has marked us.  Honestly, I never … [Read more...] about I Need Your Help – Contributions Needed (Articles, not Money!)

Some years ago, I was invited to speak at a statewide conference for pastors of mission churches. Northbrook Baptist in Cedar Rapids nearly quadrupled in size within a few years, so I was asked to share what we had done that others could do to grow as we had.  I was to share the methods and strategies we employed so that Iowa mission pastors could see what was working and imitate it at their churches. Such a Baptist thing to do, right? I found the entire premise of the conference somewhat silly – whatever was happening at Northbrook was a unique work of God that could not and should not be … [Read more...] about Failing in the Center of God’s Will

Owen Strachan had an interesting post last week in which he reflected on another article on the prevalence of boasting in modern social media. I won't repeat it, but I would recommend it if you haven't already read it. He talks about the danger of letting social media become a tool for self-promotion and braggadocio. It is certainly a struggle to walk that fine line. I've noticed something that bothers me. Maybe I'm just being crotchety in my advancing old age. But I've noticed that same kind of struggle in our promotion of our churches in social media. It seems to me that we walk a … [Read more...] about The Fine Line between Praising and Bragging

Saw this over at Denny Burk's site, then followed it to Youtube. Would ESPN intentionally cut away from a Tebow-related discussion because it got too "religious?" I'm guessing this is just a glitch, but it is a very suspiciously-timed one!   … [Read more...] about Did Skip Bayless get Censored for Talking about Tebow’s Faith?

I have been a regular attender at a Southern Baptist church since nine months before I was born. I've been a member of 10 different Southern Baptist churches over the last nearly five decades - and what a turbulent 50 years they have been. I was saved and baptized in February of 1964 at Immanuel Baptist Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It was a different denominational world that I was baptized into than the one I serve in today. I heard the frustration in my dad's voice a few years ago as he talked about his church search in the new community into which he and mom had moved. "I can't find a … [Read more...] about The Tie That Binds? The Sea-Change in Southern Baptist Culture

As I grow older, I understand more clearly what nostalgia is all about.  I remember days when life was simpler, when I had “free time” and hobbies; when I read books for fun; when I shot hoops in the driveway and took naps on Sunday afternoons. Life today is complex. There are bills to pay, yards to landscape, tasks to accomplish, posts to post, pressures to endure.  I hope that doesn’t sound like whining. I consider myself normal in this, not unique. We live in an all-out, pedal to the metal, fast-charging world. I don’t know what it was like to be king of Israel, but I imagine it had … [Read more...] about An Undivided Heart

WARNING: Having just declared my intent to steer away from discussions of Calvinism, I'm going back to the subject less that 48 hours later, now that Frank Page has named his Calvinism Committee (or whatever they are calling it). There is a certain irony intended in the title of this post. I have written forcefully about my disdain for the "God's Man" rhetoric that has been employed by search committee chairs. You can read one of my rants here. I may have mellowed a little, but I still agree with what I said two years ago. I think it is a dangerous tactic to label someone "God's Man" to … [Read more...] about Frank Page is “God’s Man” for THIS Moment (and…the Calvinism Committee is here!)