An Allegory The BBBCC brain trust was deep in conversation and frustrations were running high. For decades, they had been the premiere denominational construction company, building a Baptist convention that was the envy of other denominations. Its headquarters were an architectural wonder, its schools the envy of the world. It had great convention edifices in […]
Calling Out the Call-Out Culture
I was furious last night after reading a statement by a friend on Facebook. He repeated the lies being promoted within the SBC, accusations against the doctrinal fidelity and spiritual integrity of our officers, professors, and some key leaders. He is a good man with no ill intent. He is lodging these accusations because he […]
Ministry in a Pandemic is Wearing This Old Codger Down
I woke up a couple of hours ago and I already wish I hadn’t! That’s perhaps a bit extreme, but it has been a gloomy 120 minutes. I got a call from our oldest member that his wife had died and since I’m about to leave on vacation to see my newest grandson, my schedule […]
Is Being “Woke” So Bad?
“Woke” is a common insult thrown around by those who oppose the pursuit of justice as a Christian mandate. When they are upset at the stands that other conservative Christians take on racial issues, on sexual abuse issues, on political matters, when some refuse to acquiesce to GOP/conservative orthodoxy, they resort to dismissive name-calling. Derogations […]
Have You Met DARVO?
This may come as a shock to most of you, but I am often not up to date on your whippersnapper, hipster lingo. I am thankful for the Google because I can go on the interwebs and look up stuff you guys talk about, appearing as if I was in the know all the time. […]
How Do You Preach?
No, this one isn’t about topical sermons vs expositional or that sort of thing. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but during the shutdown, I’ve fallen into a new pattern for preaching that I hope to continue now that the slow march toward normalcy has begun. I used to preach from […]
Loneliness, Isolation, and Ministry in a Pandemic
Our church has recently started up live services and I am glad. Sunday, we celebrated the Lord’s Supper together for the first time since late February, a great moment. Things are not horrible, but something doesn’t feel right either. I had a conversation with several friends last week about ministry during a pandemic and it […]
Just When I Thought I Was In, They Pulled Me Back Out
Last week I recommitted myself to regular writing here. I wrote two articles. Pulled one for personal reasons, but I wrote two days in a row. I was back. Now, I am sitting in SUX – yeah, that’s our airport here in Sioux City, preparing to fly to Palm Beach International Airport. Dad was an […]
Racism, Riots, and the Future
A couple of evenings ago, I decided to zip over to Sam’s club about a half-hour before it was scheduled to close to pick up a couple of things we needed. They were closed and the parking lot was abandoned. I wasn’t sure what had happened until a couple of hours later when my wife […]
That Time Dave Had a Really Stupid Thought
No, it wasn’t the suit – that is still classy after all these years. I remember when we first started facing the idea of a shutdown from the coronavirus, and my first thought was, “I won’t have anything to do.” It was going to be like a lengthy vacation. Sometimes, a man just isn’t thinking […]
The Final Nails in My Coff…er..Theses
This is the final in my series of three posts about politics. I am not endorsing a candidate or telling anyone else for whom they should or shouldn’t vote. My purpose is to attempt to define biblical principles for political engagement. Part 1 Part 2 Here’s part 3, in which I put the final nails […]
A Pandemic of SBC Controversy
The last couple of weeks have been momentous in the life of our beloved convention. Southwestern Seminary is still dealing with financial issues, exacerbated by the COVID-19 shutdown. Departments were reorganized and we understand there were some personnel reductions. Of course, the biggest news was their dealings with the fraudulent Dead Sea Scrolls scraps purchased […]