Dave Miller

Do you know a “close talker” - someone who stands too close to you as they talk.  When conversing with a close talker, I find myself slowly backing up, trying to get some distance, to maintain my “personal space.”  There it is; a mantra of our culture.  “Don’t invade my personal space.”  It makes me very uncomfortable when someone stands too close.  Each of us has a sense of territory and we want people to respect our privacy, our personal space. There are a lot of theological close talkers, who are not content to leave others their own personal space on issues of conscience.  On most issues, … [Read more...] about Personal Space Issues: Every Christian Has a Conscience! (Brick Walls, Picket Fences 12)

The gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes - from every tribe, nation and language on earth.  We forget that to our own detriment. "The gospel" is also a buzzword among young evangelicals, who talk about being gospel-centered and gospel-focused. Nothing could be better.  We need to understand the gospel and to proclaim it clearly and forcefully. Everything we do must be gospel-centered and gospel-proclaiming. But I have a small problem with the "gospel" talk that goes on.  Of course, there are some who use "the gospel" as a theological wedge.  "My group … [Read more...] about I Have a “Gospel” Problem

I know, we don't have one and don't want one.  We believe in soul competency and the priesthood of the believers.  But the idea of having unfettered power to implement my ideas has its appeal.  Here are some things I would do if I had papal power for a while.  You can add your papal bull (sorry, I couldn't resist that bit of Iowa corn) in the comments below.  Or you can describe your pleasure that I, in fact, have no power. 1)  I would change the way we do seminary edumacation.  I've thought a lot about this one.  I've seen young whippersnappers come out of seminaries with heads full of … [Read more...] about If I Were the Pope of the SBC…

I am not trying to write a doctoral dissertation or even a comprehensive doctrinal analysis, but since we've been discussing this, I thought I would give a quick review of the biblical evidence about elders.  I'm going to present the findings of an in-depth, intense (I'm kidding) search of Logos and the use of the term in the NT. 1)  All 24 instances of the use of the term elders in the gospels (Matthew-Luke, there are none in John) as well as 8 of the 18 uses of the word in the book of Acts refer to the "chief priests and elders" of Israel.  In Israel, the rule by a body of elders was … [Read more...] about An Observation: What the NT says about “Elders”

Elders are a hot topic in Baptist conversations today.  Elder-rule.  Elder-leadership.  Pastors are the elders.  Elders make you Presbyterian.  I've read a lot of these discussions and I have not really entered into most of them.  There is a reason for that. I just don't care that much.  Please, put down the stones with which you intend to stone me for my heresy, and let me explain myself a little bit.  I am not an opponent of elder-leadership in churches.  All of the churches I have served in my three decades as a pastor have been pastor/deacon/committee-run churches - standard, traditional … [Read more...] about Why I Am Apathetic About Elders in Baptist Churches

Dr. Lemke has begun a series at SBC Today called "Distinctive Baptist Beliefs."  In this series he is attempting to stake out a middle ground between Arminianism and Calvinistic Presbyterian/Reformed theology.  He is writing to define how Baptist doctrine and Presbyterian/Reformed doctrine differs.  He is articulating the "middle way" in which he recognizes and honors the Presbyterian tradition but also defines his differences with it. This is the second recent series which has attempted to further the discussion of Baptist identity.  Nathan Finn's excellent series, "The Gospel and Baptist … [Read more...] about An Interesting New Series by Dr. Steve Lemke

Warning:  Pastors, some of you may not like me much after you read this. But if we are going to preach the hard truths to our people, maybe sometimes we need to listen to the hard truths ourselves. Divided churches and church splits are a huge problem today. And we like to blame those sinful, divisive, unruly people for all the problems. But I am going to call the "blame the people" response into question here.  I think church splits are usually started by rebellion or ungodly attitudes among people, but they are assisted by wrong attitudes and actions by church leaders.  I hope you will … [Read more...] about Church Splits: Causes, Cures and Calvinism

Alcohol&Ministry.mp3 Dr. Mohler, Dr. Moore and others discuss the Southern Seminary view 0f alcohol.  This is an hour long.  You are welcome to listen to it and respond to what was said. If you don't listen, don't discuss.  It's pretty simple. Its one of the most biblically sound and balanced treatments of the subject I've heard.  As always, bravo Dr. Mohler. I am not going to give my view of the presentation because I want the discussion to be about what was said, not what I said about what was said.   … [Read more...] about Mohler on Alcohol