After a one-year hiatus as a messenger at the SBC, I am back and planning to vote. I will also be writing and covering SBC events as much as I can. I hope you will keep an eye on SBC Voices. I will try to keep those of you who are not here apprised. I might also share an opinion or two - you know me. I've lost my joy at writing on SBC issues. The vitriol and theology of personal destruction adopted by certain segments of keyboard warriors has just sapped all my desire to write. I've looked back at some of our early discussions. They were raucous and rowdy, but they weren't the blood sport … [Read more...] about Back in Indy, Looking to Write
Servant Leadership in an African Village
During my first trip to Africa, a teaching trip to Tanzania in 1988, before most of you whippersnappers were born, the IMB missionary we worked with told of a problem in the churches. Chiefs in the villages had great privilege and the people served the chiefs. He told us that pastors tended to act like church chiefs, lording it over the congregation and expecting to be honored for their exalted position. Fortunately that never happens in American churches! I am currently on my 15th trip to the Casamance in Southern Senegal and I ran into a problem with one chief in one of our 7 … [Read more...] about Servant Leadership in an African Village
The Eclipse: Has the End Come?
I hear the world is coming to an end this afternoon. Something about an eclipse? During my life, there have been a series of prognostications of impending apocalyptic events, none of which have, to this point, panned out. The most disappointing to me was the failure of Ed Whisenant's book "88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988." He set the date for my birthday (September 13) that year. It came and went and no trumpets sounded. Harold Camping set dates and any number of false prophets have arisen. There have been Red Heifers in Israel, blood moons, and myriad "signs of the times" that … [Read more...] about The Eclipse: Has the End Come?
Enough with “The Game Was Rigged”
I am a pretty passionate sports fan and will admit, I've got a long way to go before my athletic passions can be considered sanctified, so this may fall squarely in the category of hypocrisy, but I am growing increasingly weary of the tendency of sports fans to blame the refs for every loss. I am certainly not above complaining about bad calls. The best player in baseball (comments about Shohei Otani will be summarily deleted) is Aaron Judge, and for some reason, umpires call strikes on him repeatedly that are balls. This is not an opinion. The pitch tracking computers have demonstrated … [Read more...] about Enough with “The Game Was Rigged”
Which Way Will We Go? The SBC’s Problem with Women
We, in the SBC, have a problem with women. We are a complementarian convention and that will always anger many. I believe the Bible teaches that men and women are different and that men have certain leadership roles granted to them by the Creator. This offends egalitarians but I do not apologize for what I believe God's word teaches. I also believe that some are seeking to take us beyond what the Bible teaches. Some, though, are seeking to use scare tactics, using the loud voices of men like Rick Warren and a minuscule few female pastors among us, to get us to overreact and accept their … [Read more...] about Which Way Will We Go? The SBC’s Problem with Women
Senegal Bound – and Asking for Prayer
When this posts, if all goes well, and God blesses, I will be on the Omaha to Atlanta leg of my trip fourteenth trip to Senegal, West Africa. In January of 2015, I traveled there for the first time with Bart Barber and felt conflicting emotions. I wanted to leave and go home almost every moment I was there. I was filled with fear, stress, and anxiety in so many ways. I also sensed that God was drawing me to be involved in that ministry on a long-term basis. I've been there twice almost every year (there was that little COVID thing), ministering to an unengaged, unreached people group, working … [Read more...] about Senegal Bound – and Asking for Prayer
I Am Thankful for the Southern Baptist Convention
I have been attending a Southern Baptist Church since 9 months before I was born, and I've been a member of one since I was baptized in February of 1964, holding membership at churches in Iowa, Georgia, Taiwan, Florida, Texas, and now Nebraska. When my ministry in Sioux City ended I immediately began preaching at a Nebraska church that was loosely affiliated with the American Baptist Churches (we were guests at the convention last year, not messengers - it felt weird!), but was exploring affiliation with the SBC. The same day they voted to seek affiliation with the SBC, Jenni and I … [Read more...] about I Am Thankful for the Southern Baptist Convention
Tooting Our Own Horns – Using Social Media for Self-Glory?
We chastise those who ignore biblical commands about unity, love, and gentleness on social media to speak evil in the name of Christ. This is a real concern but recently I have become concerned about the opposite problem - our tendency to post every act of ministry and every good deed on social media. When we live our lives on social media, when we post our quiet time shots (open Bible and steaming coffee), trumpet how many got saved or baptized at church, rejoice publicly at all the great things happening at our churches and in our lives, there is a danger that we could be violating a command … [Read more...] about Tooting Our Own Horns – Using Social Media for Self-Glory?
The Struggle They Don’t Tell You About
I had a conversation with the son of one of the members of my church last night, and it put me in mind of one of the darkest times in my life, a period no one warned me about. The fact that it coincided with the COVID shutdown didn't help much. I can't remember the exact timeframe, but sometime in early 2019 (I think - might have been 2018), my mom was diagnosed with her second round of breast cancer. At one point, the doctors told us that she would likely have three months to live, and mom went on hospice. Soon after that, my dad went on hospice as well, due to his leukemia and other health … [Read more...] about The Struggle They Don’t Tell You About
We CANNOT Back Off or Back Down in Facing Sexual Abuse
Listening to Chellee Taylor last night at the SBC Voices breakout session on Adult Sexual Abuse in Churches, put together by Todd Benkert, I was reminded of how important this subject is. I sat as she told her horrifying story of abuse in an SBC megachurch, as one of her pastors groomed and then abused her in ways that are horrendous. I read the full story online while she talked. Then, her husband (I think his name was Peter) got up to speak and he said something that I've heard other survivors say. He said that the abuse, as awful as it was, wasn't the worst part of their trauma. It … [Read more...] about We CANNOT Back Off or Back Down in Facing Sexual Abuse