With some fear and trepidation, I present our church's policies as a template for others to use. Please understand, these are over 2 years old now, and recent Supreme Court decisions already have us in a process of rewriting them (especially Obergefell). Also, each state's laws are a little different, so what works in Iowa might not be precisely right in your state. We culled these from various documents - some denominational, some available on the internet, some from our insurance company. On some policies (not included here) precise wording is crucial, often for reasons that escape … [Read more...] about Sample Employee Misconduct Policies
Grace, Sexual Predation, and Dealing with the Past
I will never forget an email I received one Sunday morning. I sat down at my desk after our first service and read a note from one of our members. It was one of those! The sin she'd uncovered and was reporting was bad - really bad (did not take place at church). It took my breath away, but I knew how to proceed. We had written a set of policies that told me exactly what I was supposed to do and I worked the plan. Those policies had been written with expert input from insurance companies and other sources that have done extensive work to advise us on how to react. If I'd gotten that email in … [Read more...] about Grace, Sexual Predation, and Dealing with the Past
Pranks and the Christian: How Far Is Too Far?
I have to admit, it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Millicent Phillips got pranked by her brothers recently after having her wisdom teeth pulled. While still on anesthesia, they convince her that a zombie apocalypse had taken place and they drove her around asking her questions. It is comic gold. Honestly, her reactions are priceless. Here's my response: 1) If she murders her brothers and I'm on the jury she gets off paying a small fine. 2) These guys probably better sleep with one eye open. 3) My impression of Millicent Phillips is that she is a really nice … [Read more...] about Pranks and the Christian: How Far Is Too Far?
SBC This Week – Interview with JD Greear (Gaines and Crosby Coming)
SBC This Week's podcast from Friday had an interview with JD Greear, the first of the presidential candidates for the SBC to announce. It is worth your time to listen. Keep an eye on that site. Future podcasts will include interviews with Steve Gaines and David Crosby as well. (from their "about" section) SBC This Week is a weekly news roundup from around the Southern Baptist Convention as well as guest interviews from today’s top church leaders. The podcast is hosted by Amy Whitfield and Jonathan Howe. … [Read more...] about SBC This Week – Interview with JD Greear (Gaines and Crosby Coming)
Whatever Happened to the Great Commission Resurgence?
The GCR was a failure. The GCR was a waste of time. The GCR was a backroom deal proven by the sealing of their documents. It has become almost a truism in certain circles of Southern Baptist life that the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force, the Report they produced, and that which has resulted from that, was a tremendous failure. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and so is effectiveness. Some, disdainful of the direction and priorities of current convention leaders, have little choice but to see the initiatives of those leaders as failures. Others, more balanced in their perspective … [Read more...] about Whatever Happened to the Great Commission Resurgence?
So You’re Telling Me, There’s a Chance!
I've been voting since Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford in 1976 (yeah, I'm old). This is my eleventh presidential cycle and it was to be my tie-breaker. I've voted for the winner 5 times and for the loser 5 times. Though I'm told that I'm the most liberal Southern Baptist since Jimmy Carter, I've been voting GOP every time and was hoping this election, reacting to the unpopularity of Obama, might vault me back above .500 for my lifetime. Then, politics got crazy - just plain weird. Most of the weirdness can be attributed to the entrance into the Republican race of the … [Read more...] about So You’re Telling Me, There’s a Chance!
We Have a Winner (Sort of) in the Voices Bracket Challenge
Though the North Carolina/Syracuse game is still ongoing and all people of goodwill can continue to hope that the Syracuse Orange mount a comeback and get rid of the unspeakable evil known as the Tarheels, the Bracket Challenge is effectively over. No one chose either Villanova or Syracuse and the current leader chose North Carolina. What that means is that there is no way he can lose. Some of the guys that also chose Carolina can move up (you get lots of points for Final Four and Championship game wins) but no one is passing our leader. So, he's got it wrapped up. He actually chose North … [Read more...] about We Have a Winner (Sort of) in the Voices Bracket Challenge
April Fools!
If you haven't seen the clip of the Warriors pranking their backup center or Angels players embarrassing one if their pitchers, then maybe we should have gone ahead with some of the plans we discussed to publish some April Fools Day articles. We batted around some titles but ended up rejecting them all. Here are some of the rejected titles, which we considered too absurd to be believed: 1. Socialist leading Dem race; Bernie gaining ground. 2. Serial adulterer, misogynist, racially provocative Donald Trump leads race for GOP nomination. 3. Wiley Drake running for president..of the USA 3. … [Read more...] about April Fools!
God Told Me to Write This Post* – How God Spoke in Acts
*Okay, I’m joking. I’ve been lead of the Lord to do things in the past, but this came not from some leading, but when I was reading the book of Acts and noticed once again how often God spoke directly to his people to give them directions on their lives – where to go, what to do, what to say. A similar headline got me in trouble a few years ago when the anti-charismatics out west labeled me a “charismatic Baptist” because of the post. It seems to me, though, that those same folks would skewer such people as Paul and Peter if they wrote today what they wrote then. Imagine this scenario. … [Read more...] about God Told Me to Write This Post* – How God Spoke in Acts
The Bracket of the Second Chance
So, you thought your bracket was irreparably busted? Mine blew up in the first round when my selected champion - the Fightin' Izzos, went down in flames to the Middle Tennessee Whoevers. But there's good news. If you thought your bracket was bad, remember that the so-called experts of Sports Illustrated picked 6 of 16 correctly. Most of you did better than the experts! There's a SECOND CHANCE bracket at ESPN. Doug set it up for us and you still have time to get in for a Sweet Sixteen on busted bracket challenge. Here is the link. SBC Voices Second Chance Bracket. The password is the same … [Read more...] about The Bracket of the Second Chance