Dave Miller

All week long, my car ran great. Here and there, across town and back, up hills and down; no problems. I turned the key, the engine fired and I was on my way. Then, suddenly, on Friday, a terrible thing happened. I was cruising along when it coughed a couple of times, sputtered, harrumphed, and then quit. Nothing. It would turn over, but not fire. I was stranded. Being the master mechanic that I am, I walked around the car and gave all four tires a firm kick. I opened the hood, jiggled a few wires, pulled and twisted stuff and burned my hand on something hot. But no matter what I did, the … [Read more...] about Living the “Car”stian Life – A Modern Allegory

Thom Rainer posted an article last week called "When Great Churches Fail."  It was an intriguing examination of once great churches that had lost their grip an begun to struggle and dwindle.  He identified three key elements that seem to be common elements in these declines. Hubris. The word means pride or excessive self-confidence. Here it refers to church leaders who have seen great days at their churches, and who are convinced that their churches are the models for others to emulate. They talk about the methods they used, instead of the biblical principles and passions behind the methods. … [Read more...] about Rainer, Why Churches Decline, and the Future of the SBC

Christians today seem to find a way to argue and even divide over just about everything, don't we?  There is a growing rift in some churches and between some Christians over the decision that parents make about how to educate their children. Our four children went to Christian schools, public schools, and even homeschooled a little.  We tried it all.  We found a system that worked well for us - the Miller System of Edumacation!  We put our kids in Christian schools through eighth grade to get a solid foundation, then put them into the public schools where there were educational and … [Read more...] about Educating Our Children and Dividing Our Churches?

There is a lot of debate on blogs about how much part patriotism ought to have in worship services. But on this, there can hardly be debate. On 11/11, we can all agree that the freedoms we enjoy were not free, that they have come to us at the expense of the sweat and sacrifice of those who serve this nation as soldiers.  They live in undesirable places and do undesirable things so I can sit in my recliner and write blogs and sermons in comfort. That kind of sacrifice should be remembered and honored daily, not just once a year. Thank you to those of you who wore the uniform and … [Read more...] about Thank You, Veterans

I'm not shutting these posts down or anything, but the discussion seems to be winding down to the "gnawing on the bones" phase, so let me do a little post-mortem observation. This is, of course, my opinion, which I hardly need to say you are free to disagree with. 1)  The thirst for discussions of Calvinism is almost unquenchable.  If you look at the statistics here the last 48 hours, you will see that.  I try not to write things just to "stir things up" but if I was going to do that, I'd either write about alcohol or about Calvinism. 2)  I remain convinced that the Calvinism issue is … [Read more...] about Epilogue (at least for now) to our Calvinism Discussions

Calvinism is never far from the front pages in the Southern Baptist Convention.  It is a crucial topic and one of the hardest to discuss in a calm and productive manner.  On September 15, I published an article saying that any future discussions of Calvinism here would have to be productive, not derisive. That is a hard thing to manage, and more than a few of you will think today that I violated my commitment on the subject. But we cannot be "SBC Voices" without addressing the subject that is at the root of much of the SBC's splintering. So, today we will be talking Calvinism all day - … [Read more...] about A Day Devoted to Calvinism at SBC Voices!

Iowa Hawkeyes  24, Michigan Wolverines 16. Northwestern Wildcats 28, Nebraska Cornshuckers 25 LSU 9, Alabama Crimson Crud 6 Oh, yeah!   … [Read more...] about Life is GOOD! (The “Roll Tide” Edition)

I'm leaving tomorrow to head to the Baptist Convention of Iowa Annual Meeting.  Our meetings are almost always completely free of tension and drama of any kind.  How about yours?  If you attended your state convention meeting this year, tell us about it. This is pretty much an open forum for state convention related discussions. … [Read more...] about State Convention Meeting Forum

Is anyone tired of the discussion of the name change for the SBC? I am often amused by comments in which people express weariness of the discussions of certain topics.   But I watch the statistics on this blog.  In spite of what people say, there is a nearly unquenchable thirst for discussion of certain topics - Calvinism, alchohol, the GCR, whatever.  What we sometimes run out of is fresh insights and we end up rehashing the same arguments over and over. Statistics would demonstrate that Southern Baptists care a lot about the issue of the name change.  But I think we've been rehashing a … [Read more...] about Trevin Wax’s Insights on the SBC Name Change