Dave Miller

A note here: it is the messenger's duty to learn how the SBC works. If you don't avail yourself of the opportunity to figure out our polity, don't act aggrieved when your motion is ruled out of order. Example - it is not appropriate at this point to offer motions to bring your resolution to the floor. There is another time to do that. If the resolutions committee didn't bring your motion to the floor, then make a motion DURING the resolutions committee time. There's an appropriate time to do this. Learn how the system works. Here are the motions (well, summaries of them - I wrote the … [Read more...] about Motions Offered – Session 1

I sat with my dad, who was saved at age 25 in an SBC church, served for over half a century as an SBC pastor and missionary, and was deeply involved in SBC life, when the convention voted to change our constitution to disfellowship churches that either ordained homosexuals or blessed their unions. He was troubled. He said he supported the action because he realized that a church that did these things could not be in friendly cooperation with Southern Baptists. Still, he was troubled because he realized that writing such an action into the constitution, the act of instructing the denominational … [Read more...] about We Are Southern BAPTIST, Not Southern Presbyterian

Bart Barber is running for reelection as president of the SBC on Tuesday, and it is my hope that you will vote for him. I believe it is in the best interests of the SBC that you do so, and that we give him one more year. He's done a great job this year and will serve us well if we give him another year. Here are my brief thoughts on why I think you should. 1. Baptist polity, history, and tradition demand a vote for Bart. It has been our tradition to allow a president a second term unless there was some serious breach of integrity during the president’s first term. Sometimes, an outlier … [Read more...] about The SBC Needs Bart Barber for ONE MORE Year

I highly recommend Jay Adkins as First Vice President of the SBC. I was unaware that my friend Jay now has competition for the position. I do not know the other candidate and have no reason to think or say anything negative about him, but I do know Jay and i believe that the messengers would do well to  elect Jay Adkins as their 1VP. Jay labors at FirstWego, here in New Orleans, in the heart of a difficult culture, a true mission field, and he embraces his ministry with joy, passion, and conviction. Ask the local DOM about Jay. He will tell you the kind of man, the kind of pastor he … [Read more...] about Vote for Jay Adkins for First Vice President

I have been disconnected recently - finalizing my house sale, packing, moving, unpacking - it's been a blur. I now live in Tekamah, Nebraska, where I pastor a small and wonderful church. Anyway,  convention rules apply at Voices now. That means if you have something, post it. If 2 people post at the same time, no problem. I will still take submissions at dmille3098@gmail.com but may or may not see them. If they aren't about convention business,  we will wait till things die down. I don't know if we will have our Monday night fellowship meal. Brent is flying in a couple hours from now … [Read more...] about Convention Free-for-All Rules Apply

Scatter shooting while wondering what happened to all the old wooden pulpits. Where did they go to die? Speaking of old, do you remember the term “sugar-stick”? In the old days, every preacher had one or more “sugar-sticks.” This was your best sermon that never failed to prompt lots of amens. You could preach it when you preached in view of a call or when you preached a revival. I read that Tim Keller died after a struggle with cancer. I did not know him personally, but he was a great model for urban church planting and ministry. Rest in peace, faithful servant. Here’s a question for … [Read more...] about Scatter-Shooting, Part 5

My techie son recently bought me a subscription to ChatGPT-4, the latest version of the AI tool that is causing so much furor. For the last month or so, I have actually been using it to help me with my sermons! (Insert your joke here...) Actually, it isn't as awful as it sounds. I manuscript my messages - something I started doing during the COVID shut down when we were recording our Sunday services. I wish I'd done it all my life. I don't read the messages when I preach them, but I study, then write a draft, then edit it a couple of times. Then I know it's ready to go. Manuscripting … [Read more...] about Confession Time: I’m Using ChatGPT on My Sermons!

I upset some friends the other day when I voiced questions about the process at the EC that has nominated Jared Wellman as the next EC president. Now, let me see if I can make more people mad at me. Many people have concerns about the process, and I affirm that. We continue to wonder when the SBC is going to elect a minority candidate to lead one of our entities. That time is long since passed. Having said all of that, there is only one candidate on the ballot at the EC this week, Jared Wellman. This is not an election between two candidates. So, my position is this: I wholeheartedly, … [Read more...] about The EC Needs to Elect Jared Wellman!

Word has started circulating that Jared Wellman will be the search committee's recommendation on Monday as our new Executive Committee President. Wellman demonstrated great courage when former leaders at the EC tried to bully him into silence. He is a young man of godliness, character, conviction, denominational loyalty, and integrity. He is exactly the kind of younger SBC leader this convention needs for the future. I am a Jared Wellman fan. However, I have some reservations about the process. We have a large African American fellowship in the SBC and we have been telling them that if … [Read more...] about Are We Are ALWAYS Going to Be a White Convention?