Dave Miller

Just read, as you probably have, that Fred Phelps is very near death. His family is at odds, and there is word that even Fred himself was excommunicated from his own "church" a few months ago. He is hovering on the brink of eternity and the church he founded will likely pass into the hands of one of his progeny, perhaps his daughter. Fred will be gone soon. I don't know how I should feel about this. How am I supposed to feel when Saddam is hanged or bin Laden takes a bullet? When great evil passes from this world there is a natural sigh of relief, a sense that the world is a better … [Read more...] about How Am I Supposed to Feel about Fred Phelps’ Death?

I have been a night owl since I can remember. My wife (a morning person to beat all morning people) has asked me a million times - why don't you just go to bed? I don't have a credible answer to that, except that I don't. Every night around 11 I tell myself I need to get to bed, but something deep inside me fights that decision. Of course, as a confirmed night owl, I have a serious allergy to mornings. They are of the devil! I think if I had the freedom to set my own schedule I'd be on a 2 or 3 AM bedtime with a wake-up call at 9 or 10 AM - followed by a strong pot of coffee to get me … [Read more...] about SBC Voices Forum: Night Owl? Morning Person? Does It Matter in Ministry?

A young man walks into your office, and you share the gospel with him - that he is a guilty sinner headed to an eternal hell for whom Jesus died, paying the price for those sins. You explain that Jesus rose from the dead to offer new life to anyone who would believe in him. He responds to the message of love and grace, turning from his sins and trusting Christ. What do you do now? If we were back in the days of the book of Acts, I am convinced that the next thing we would do is seek out a body of water in which to baptize him. We would not even wait until the next Sunday service. … [Read more...] about An SBC Voices Forum: What Precedes Baptism in Your Church?

"It is more blessed to give than to receive." Jesus said that, according to Paul in Acts 20:35. I have heard that verse used in giving appeals all my life. "If you will only give, and give generously, you will receive a greater blessing." That is true and perhaps that is what Jesus meant in the original (and unknown) context of this statement.  But that not what Paul was saying when he quoted Christ. He had a specific reason and purpose which we must understand as leaders of Christ's church. Paul was speaking to the elders of the Ephesian church, sharing his parting words. He told them … [Read more...] about A Good Shepherd Feeds the Sheep; He Does Not EAT Them!

The fine folks at LifeWay are giving away an ebook well worth having, W.A. Criswell's "The Scarlet Thread through the Bible." Here is the giveaway page where you can download the book. You can read more about the book from Trevin Wax's article at his site, which includes his foreword.     … [Read more...] about Free E-Book: The Scarlet Thread Through the Bible, by W.A. Criswell

It is clear that there are quite a few opinions concerning Article III of the SBC constitution. It spells out messenger qualifications and the Executive Committee has set forth some proposals for altering it. These have raised quite a few discussions here at SBC Voices and elsewhere. Links to our related articles are at the bottom of this post. In an article in Baptist Press Tuesday, we have evidence that the the Executive Committee wants to hear what average Baptists have to say about these changes. Actually, they are always willing to hear our input, if we bother to give it. But on this … [Read more...] about Opinions on Article III? The Executive Committee is Listening!

We are in a real situation here folks. We've had three articles in recent days discussing the issue of the messenger eligibility proposals being floated at the Executive Committee. All of a sudden it feels like we are back in 2006 debating Baptist Identity and IMB policies and such. I don't know about any of the rest of you who were around in 2006, but I have no desire to go back to those days and that style of Baptist blog debate. But this is no small issue that we have here. Let me state the facts, as I see them. There is a significant problem with the Baptist Faith & Message (BF&M) … [Read more...] about The BF&M Communion Issue: There Is Only 1 Solution

It has certainly been a lively day at SBC Voices, hasn't it? We will probably end the day with numbers that we usually see only in the run up to the convention or when there is some kind of scandal at one of our entities. I have said often, "I am so tired of the Calvinism discussions." But the fact is that there are evidently quite a few people who are not tired of it. Many have an almost insatiable appetite to either promote or denigrate Calvinism. I am about to, as I said this morning, close comments on the topic. I thought it might be fair if I floated my own beliefs on the topic as the day … [Read more...] about What I Believe about the Calvinism Issue

It is no secret that I am sick of Calvinism discussions. But there are quite a few commenters and some of our contributors who feel that discussions of Calvinism - both pro and con - are important. Just because I do not share their enthusiasm for these discussions does not mean that SBC Voices will not post them. My motto for this site is "All the Angles on the SBC." The purpose of this site is not just to promote my views, but to be a place where ideas can be shared and even opposing viewpoints can be discussed. So, today is all about Calvinism. We are posting a series of posts on the … [Read more...] about Calvinism Thursday

In my 32 years of ministry, I've served 4 churches - one in Florida, one in Virginia, and two in Iowa. In my first three ministries, I eschewed the idea that a pastor needed to be careful about having his closest friends within the church membership. My closest friends were "in-house" guys and I was confident it would work well. Of course, as a younger man who showed evidence of "youthful arrogance and immaturity" right up into my late 40s, who was hyper-competitive in sports until I got too fat to participate anymore, who had a lot of rough edges on my personality, it caused problems. It … [Read more...] about SBC Voices Forum: Can a Pastor’s Closest Friends Be Church Members?