Dave Miller

I have always envied some of my friends who seem to have a knack for maintaining their cool when they deal with comments on blogs. I watch men like Bart Barber and David Rogers continue to gracefully engage even the most belligerent responses. I do not have that knack. Comments get under my skin. I try to be careful about what I write - most of the time. If you think my articles are harsh, you ought to see the first, second, and third drafts - the ones I didn't publish, the ones I toned down and smoothed over before I arrived at the ones I published. I make a sincere effort to honor Christ … [Read more...] about A Complaint, A Confession, A Commitment

Thom Rainer surprised the SBC by announcing his pending retirement from LifeWay. He will retire when he his replacement is found or in one year, whichever comes first. In an article entitled, "Why I Am Retiring from LifeWay" Dr. Rainer explains his reasons for the move. He is leaving on his own terms, in his own time. Dr. Rainer has been a man of honor, integrity, and decency. There has never been a hint of any kind of scandal of any sort at LifeWay under his watch - though there was a constant drumbeat of criticism about editorial choices. I am guessing that comes with the job. Dr. … [Read more...] about Thom Rainer Has Announced His Retirement at LifeWay

My wife and I watched the Amazon Prime hagiography on George Washington, "The First American," guided by the hand of Newt Gingrich, whose political views were imprinted on the show from start to finish. But it was well put-together and demonstrated both the strength of character of George Washington and the unique genius of the American system of government birthed by our founding fathers. Several things struck me from the show. George Washington put his entire heart and soul into the American Revolution, risking his life, his fortune - everything - for the vision of what would later be … [Read more...] about George Washington, Political Parties, and Why I Am Now Independent

At age 60, with something pretty close to a clean bill of health from my doctor, I have no intentions of dropping out of ministry any time soon. I don’t know if I have five years, or fifteen, or twenty-five left in active ministry. I am planning to keep preaching and serving until I am no longer able. But the fact is that having served churches for nearly 4 decades the majority of my ministry is behind me not in front of me. Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 4 have always been both a goal and a taunt to me. “I have fought the good fight, I’ve finished the race, I’ve kept the faith.” He had … [Read more...] about If I Could Travel in Time…

I will never forget the Tuesday back in late March or early April when my friend, Dr. Janice Galli, called me just after suppertime. I had been sick since I returned from Senegal at the end of February and she finally said it was time to check things out. We ran about 4 million tests (that may be ministerial hyperbole) to figure out the problem. After an ultrasound, an MRI, and something called a HIPA, they realized that I had both a bad gallbladder and a diseased spleen, both of which were removed on May 3. But in the process of poking around the gallbladder in the various tests, they had … [Read more...] about An “SBC Voices Miracle”

SBC President J.D. Greear has announced that he will form a Sexual Abuse Presidential Study Group in partnership with the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. He has not yet announced those who will comprise the group and indicated that that membership may be fluid. Baptist Press has an article on the study group. It is informational and has quotes from several entity leaders. The press release which announced the formation of the study group carried this explanatory paragraph. The group's purpose will be to consider how Southern Baptists at every level can take discernable action … [Read more...] about Greear to Form Presidential Study Group

During the 80s, I lived in a small country town for four years that reminded me of Mayberry, at least when we first arrived. I discerned one major difference during my time there. Recently, during my slow recuperation from surgery, as I rewatched the first three seasons of the Andy Griffith Show on Netflix, I noticed a second major difference. First, our little Mayberry had no Sheriff Taylor to help people see the light and change their behavior. Andy’s Mayberry was filled with nice folks who were gossips, petty, easily offended, xenophobic, and just plain ornery. But Andy would … [Read more...] about The Invisible People of Mayberry