Dave Miller

As a rule, I do not tell jokes that involve God and his ways.  Just doesn’t seem right.  But this old joke makes a point. A man was trapped in a flood on top of a barn.  He prayed, calling out to God and a voice came from heaven saying, “I will save you, my son.”  With that confidence, he relaxed on the roof and awaited his rescue.  Soon, a man in a canoe came by and told him there was room in the front.  The man said no because he was waiting for God to save him.  As the waters continued to rise, a motorboat came by and offered him a ride.  Again, he turned it down and awaited divine … [Read more...] about One Thing Changed: The Key to Church Health and Growth?

I always love reading William Thornton, the SBC Plodder.  But this time, he is just flat meddling!  Seriously, we pastors love our housing allowances, don't we?  Thanks for the knowledge, William. Lest we forget when we complain about the government – we are on the receiving end of a pretty significant tax loophole, the minister’s housing allowance. So far, President Obama hasn’t railed against it or labeled it ‘clergy welfare.’ I am unaware of any legitimate justification for this tax break, but then who said tax policy in this country had to be legitimate, sensible, or fair? Recent news … [Read more...] about Our Sacred Tax Break: The Minister’s Housing Allowance (by William Thornton)

I paid the slightest attention to the Casey Anthony murder trial in Florida.  Evidently, now, if you look up "dysfunctional family" on Wikipedia, the Anthony family photo pops up - what a mess.  I was aware the case had gone to the jury, but yesterday I checked my Facebook and saw anguished cries of pain at the injustice in Florida.  I checked Fox News and sure enough, Casey Anthony beat the rap.  She is legally not guilty of killing her child. Evidently, twelve jurors sat through hours and hours of testimony.  They were not allowed to watch the breathless 24/7 coverage of this trial and … [Read more...] about A Nation of Experts Renders a Verdict!

In keeping with my commitment to the BIFF movement, I would like to address the issue of patriotism and Christian worship - certainly a hot-button issue here at SBC Voices.  A few days ago, we published an article by David Brumbelow which defended the validity of including patriotic aspects to Christian worship.   Then, yesterday, Mark Lamprecht published a response to David's article at Here I Blog.  It is not my intent to grade either articles, to pick a winner or to even enter a pony in the race.  What I would like to do is try to state what I see as areas of agreement - points of unity in … [Read more...] about A BIFF Perspective on Patriotism and Worship: On What Can We Agree?

I am now in my sixth year of blogging - in blogger years that is ancient.  I have been involved in discussions of baptism and private prayer language, opined on the Wade Burleson/IMB saga, crossed swords with several in both the BI camps and moderates.  I was a commenter, then had my own blog (which no one read), a contributor at a great blog called sbcIMPACT, then became part of the team here at SBC Voices. In all that time, I have been as much interested and concerned with the process of blogging as with the subjects we discuss.  I believe God cares as much about the means as he does the … [Read more...] about Ten Rules* for Blogging (*Well, more like guidelines than actual rules)

Fox News and Baptist Press are both reporting that the Southern Baptist Convention was the victim of an internet hoax today in which self-identified members of the "Southern Baptist Conference" announced that the EC had changed its position and would now support gay marriage. Here is the BP Link. Here is the Fox News Link. The "news release" included false quotes from several SBC leaders.  It might be nice in the next few weeks to be very careful about any quotes we see out there made by Baptist leaders on the subject. No point in writing about it extensively here.  Follow the … [Read more...] about The “Southern Baptist Conference” Gay Marriage Hoax

I was a soccer player before soccer was cool (in high school and college in the 70s).  But I can't stand watching it on TV now.  This is why. And women's tennis (men's too) has become almost unwatchable because of all the grunting. I used to be a pretty proficient tennis player. I might have whined about bad calls, but I never thought it necessary to grunt - not once. I love a good dunk. I dunked a basketball once. Once. The rim might have been an inch low. I could get my wrist to the rim, but had trouble holding onto a basketball enough to "throw down." But I love a good … [Read more...] about An Old Fogey Rants about Sports

Wiley Drake made headlines over the last year, not just in national news when he announced that he was praying for the death of the president of the United States.  He claimed biblical authority for his prayers, based on David’s imprecatory psalms. “If he (Obama) does not turn to God and does not turn his life around, I am asking God to enforce imprecatory prayers that are throughout the Scripture that would cause him death, that's correct." “Imprecatory prayer is agreeing with God, and if people don't like that, they need to talk to God. God said it, I didn't. I was just agreeing with … [Read more...] about Wiley Drake, Imprecatory Prayers and President Obama

Two excellent articles which take varying sides of this debate have been written by card-carrying members of the SBC Voices family.  It is interesting that intelligent and cogent arguments can be made on both sides of this. I am greatly relieved to find out that Howell Scott was sick during the convention.  I thought he was just avoiding me as I tried to find him.  Glad he's better and writing good articles (even if he continues to be the counterpoint to some of my points).  Go to "From Law to Grace" to find his article "Southern Baptists & the Homosexual Culture." Earlier today, … [Read more...] about The Mohler/Homosexuality Debate Continues…

Since we left Phoenix last week, the buzz has been about the Peter Lumpkins question and Al Mohler's response.  We have dissected the exchange, analyzed them, autopsied them and elevated it to legendary status.  However, if Peter had not gone to the microphone during the SBTS report, we might have spent this time talking about the resolution on immigration, which was the most pointed discussion we had at the convention. Here is the Resolution in full for you to read, and I will have some comments below. ON IMMIGRATION AND THE GOSPEL June 2011 WHEREAS, The Kingdom of God is made … [Read more...] about “Immigration and the Gospel” – the SBC’s Real Controversy