Dave Miller

Last night David Platt brought a powerful, God-glorifying message calling us to worship and serve God. This AM we heard from Johnny Hunt, a message about our need to seek souls and reach the lost.  The guy following Johnny Hunt (Clayton King?) Is wearing jeans and a t-shirt and preaching powerfully. Eric Mason followed him with a distinct African-American style. Great message. I sit here while we sing "How Great Thou Art" after we just sang some loud, driving, contemporary music. Across the aisle from me is a man in a suit,  a traditional Baptist from the good old days. Behind him, a … [Read more...] about The Amazing Variety of the SBC

From time to time calls arise for us to go to regional conventions or online voting. I have a number of reasons for opposing those - theological, ecclesiological, pneumatological, and such. One reason is very personal and selfish. I love to come to the SBC and hang out with friends, people I communicate with online on an only daily basis but generally only see the second week of June. That is fellowship time I couldn't get glued to a screen in my office. So, what is going to happen in Baltiimore 2014? Some things are predictable while often the most controversial items seem to just arise. So, … [Read more...] about Things to Watch for at the SBC Annual Meeting 2014

After talking to a few folks, the best time to get together for a "Bluster of Bloggers" seems to be between the afternoon and evening sessions of the Pastors' Conference. We will meet at the Cheesecake Factory for supper (or just cheesecake if you want it). The Cheesecake Factory is about a 5 or 10 minute walk from the convention center, which is on Pratt. Take a right coming out of the convention center and walk down Pratt till you see the big ship (USS Constellation) and walk toward the harbor. Keep on going down past the ship, past the dragon boats (you will see them) until you reach the … [Read more...] about A Bluster of Bloggers (Well, Perhaps Two?)

I know, I know, we don't have a pope for several reasons - biblical, practical and traditional. But I still sometimes wish I had papal authority among Southern Baptists for a day or two. I could really make some significant, sensible and sure-fire changes that would forever change the direction of the SBC. Good changes? Bad? Not sure. But the SBC would change, that's indisputable! I realize some of these measures may sound harsh and extreme, but we live in extreme times. Here are some of the first actions I would take if I were the Baptist pope. 1) Excessive alliteration of sermons would … [Read more...] about If I Were the Baptist Pope

I have been in Boston and New York this week. Hung out with my granddaughter. Caught a Yankee game (2-1 victory over Oakland) and saw the Lion King on Broadway. Saturday morning we are leaving NYC and heading to Baltimore. I never know what kind of internet access I will have. So, if you have a post, put it up. If someone else just put one up, wait at least 4 hours. I would suggest that you not put up more general interest posts at this point. We might hold off on those until the convention ends. Once the convention starts I will be tweets and posting regularly and any other SBC Voices … [Read more...] about SBC Voices Contributors: Fire at Will!

I know a group of cows is called a herd. If it's lions, it's a pride. Birds form a flock, but geese a gaggle. Fish never learn to read but together they are a school. So, what do you call a group of Baptist Bloggers who get together? I can think of no better name than a "Bluster of Bloggers." So, I'm trying to organize a Bluster of Bloggers in Baltimore next week. I've talked to my local contact and he tells me that there is a Cheesecake Factory near the convention center. Alas, there is no Beignet-bearing Cafe Du Monde anywhere, but cheesecake might be a good consolation prize. Now, … [Read more...] about A Bluster of Bloggers in Baltimore: A Real-Life Gathering

One of my favorite movies is the classic musical “Fiddler on the Roof.” Earlier this year, my wife and I took a few days off in Minneapolis and went up to Chanhassen Dinner Theatre to see the Broadway version. Fiddler, if there are any who do not know the story, is a struggle of the traditionalist Tevye in a rapidly changing world, and focuses on his three daughters’ marriages. The first daughter, Tzeitel, is matched to an old, widowed butcher, but is in love with the poor tailor Motel. At first, Tevye is outraged, but he gives the matter some thought. “On the one hand.” “On the other … [Read more...] about There Is No Other Hand

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 tells us that all things have their proper time and place. For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2  a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3  a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4  a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5  a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6  a time to seek, and a time to … [Read more...] about A Time to Marginalize: Some People Need to Be Ignored

You've probably seen this before, but after a few of our more recent discussions, I thought it might be time to bring back the encouraging words of Martin Luther himself, as a model of Christian civility. The gentle words of Luther will bless us all. … [Read more...] about A Powerful Resource for Baptist Bloggers

We were all pleased two years ago when the Southern Baptist Convention took the next step in racial reconciliation, in plucking the roots of racial discrimination and oppression that have dug so deep into the soil of the SBC, by electing Fred Luter as the president of the SBC. But can I be honest? His election was more of a coronation. Somehow, word got out a year or so in advance that Pastor Luter would be nominated and the collective SBC whispered a quiet, "amen." There was no opposition. None. It would have been denominational suicide to run against him. But the question has been whether … [Read more...] about On Ethnic Candidates: Can’t We Just Ignore Race?