Headed over to hear David Platt at the PC, then several of us are going to the EC meeting, hoping not to get blocked by executive sessions. Lunch and more PC time will lead to our dinner at "The Southern" which begins at 4:30 and ends when we stop talking. I sat through all 3 sermons last night of the Pastors' Conference and I think it is going to be a good one this year. They are working through the Beatitudes and each message last night was a good treatment. Would love to meet you. One thing about bloggers - we are all nicer in person than online. Except for Blosser. He's the … [Read more...] about Carpe Diem…The Plan for Today
Ed Litton’s Powerful Pastors’ Conference Message
My first Pastors' Conference was in 1979, the year the Conservative Resurgence started. Electricity filled the air as man after man stood up, preached the word, upheld the perfection of that word, and planted the seed from which the CR grew. Tonight, I heard a sermon that could walk tall among the best PC messages I have heard. Ed Litton preached on "Blessed are those who mourn." The whole sermon is great, but it is the part that begins at minute 25 that was particularly powerful - directly addressing issues in the SBC. Ed Litton did not seem to have the support of everyone in … [Read more...] about Ed Litton’s Powerful Pastors’ Conference Message
SBC Voices Dinner Monday – 4:30 PM at “The Southern”
It was foreordained. Last night, Jenni and I walked the convention area with Scott Gordon and his often poorly behaved wife Rhonda checking for a place we could invite you to gather with us. We like to have an SBC Voices get together each year. In the end, the decision was made for us. We explored the local BBQ establishment known as Saws...you need to go but my living room is bigger. If 15 of us showed up we'd have to shut the doors. There's a make your own pizza place called "Your Pie" and we could have called it "Shut Your Pie Hole." Appropriate for a bloggers gathering, … [Read more...] about SBC Voices Dinner Monday – 4:30 PM at “The Southern”
Blessed by a Song by a Group I Disdain
Visiting a church in a church in Birmingham (well, Fultondale) thinking through some issues I am going through in my church. After 14 years there I haven't seen the progress I'd like to see. I get discouraged, angry down, frustrated. Sometimes it feels every day is a Monday. I sat...well, stood...in church and the praise team did a song I'd never heard. It was a moment. It was as if the words of the song were written to address precisely the situation I was going through. I am not going to be specific because I don't want this to be a discussion of the particular person or … [Read more...] about Blessed by a Song by a Group I Disdain
SBC Voices Contributors – Annual Meeting Rules Now Apply
It's convention time. Rule 1. Posts that aren't about the convention....save till Thursday. Rule 2. When you got em, post em.. We normally try to give 4 to 6 hours before we post. From now through Wednesday, post at will. Rule 3. Post your own. Just hit publish. If you need me to publish it for you, let me know. Keep it simple. I won't have time to format. Rule 4. If there's something going on I need to know about, dmille3098@gmail.com or @davemiller7 - contact me. Maybe Brent, Adam, William or others will add contact info. … [Read more...] about SBC Voices Contributors – Annual Meeting Rules Now Apply
Random Things I Believe about Gender Issues in the SBC
I have spent a lot of time and energy on this in recent weeks. I thought I would state a few things I think and believe, and then it is my intent to move on. These are random thoughts. 1. Gender issues will be key in the future of the SBC, but likely won't be a huge issue in Birmingham. If the Mother's Day Homilicaust had kicked off earlier, we might have gotten a spate of resolutions, but I doubt this will dominate the meeting. Abuse will be the issue this year, not gender issues. 2. Complementarianism is becoming a meaningless term. It is actually a noble word – men and women … [Read more...] about Random Things I Believe about Gender Issues in the SBC
A Soft Question for “Hard Complementarians”
I wrote a post a few days ago in which I argued that the path forward in the SBC on the "complementarianism brouhaha" was fairly simple. We adhere to our common confession, the BF&M 2000 which details that the pastoral role be reserved for men and that there is a differentiation of roles in marriage. We adhere to our long-held principle of local church autonomy for the rest. As long as a church is faithful to the BF&M 2000, we allow the local church to decide precisely what role women can have in their local church. One church can fence the pulpit from women … [Read more...] about A Soft Question for “Hard Complementarians”
Am I Missing Something? 2019 Resolutions
This post may be short enough to keep certain contributors from Georgia happy. Last year there were in the neighborhood of 4.7 million resolutions submitted before our annual meeting, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. I realize I have been out of the country in recent weeks but I have not heard of a single one that has been submitted. You know of any? … [Read more...] about Am I Missing Something? 2019 Resolutions
Our Current Complementarian Brouhaha – Finding a Way Forward
There are fights worth fighting, times when taking a stand is necessary. When the gospel is at stake or when the reliability and perfection of God’s word are challenged, we must stand and be counted. The world hates us because we hold to the biblical ideal that marriage is between one man and one woman. If the SBC abandons that I will abandon the SBC. If the SBC walks away from the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the substitutionary atonement of Christ, or a number of other essential doctrines, I will walk away from the SBC. But we must stop tearing the SBC apart unnecessarily by demanding that … [Read more...] about Our Current Complementarian Brouhaha – Finding a Way Forward
I Didn’t Get My Way. What Do I Do Now ? Living in the SBC
I wrote an article suggesting that the IMB should hire a president with field experience. I wrote an article (maybe more than one) detailing the qualities we needed in an Executive Board president - none of which was heeded. I wrote that the presence of five entity openings was a perfect time for the SBC to break our all-white history. We have long believed that NOBTS was the best chance and most appropriate place for that to happen. Clearly, my writings carried great weight! Literally, NOTHING I wanted, argued or appealed for happened. What should a person like me do? I have … [Read more...] about I Didn’t Get My Way. What Do I Do Now ? Living in the SBC