Dave Miller

At the most peaceful and drama-free SBC in recent memory, there was one bit of news that had things stirred up - a fresh set of evidence that the SBC's statistical decline was not just a blip. It is a real problem. We are a shrinking denomination. One seminary professor has described it as a "free-fall." While that may be hyperbole, it is not wholly inaccurate. And, of course, as soon as the statistics were published, the blame-game began. It ought to surprise no one that bad news like this is used to point the bony finger of blame within the SBC. We see it all the time in Washington. The … [Read more...] about The SBC’s 60 Year Decline! Beyond the Blame Game

Heresy is truth taken to its extreme.  I don't know who coined that term, but it is accurate. Truth existed first and heresy is not the absence of truth, but its corruption - twisting it and unbalancing it. Hyper-Calvinism, though a frequent accusation raised by some, is actually a pretty rare thing. But there is a Hyper that is common, growing, and a real danger to the gospel, to the church and to believers. It is sometimes called "Hyper-grace" - the doctrine of grace on steroids, taken to the extreme, until it becomes heresy. I have observed this phenomenon in churches of which I am … [Read more...] about Hyper-Grace: the REAL Hyper-Danger

You may have noticed that our main page looks a little different. The blogroll of prominent posts has now been replaced by a rolling list of tweets that link to blog posts. Commenters have weighed in with their opinions that the new system is not what they want. It wasn't what we wanted either. Google decided to put Google Reader before the cyberspace firing squad. Since our blogroll used Google Reader, it was gunned down in the crossfire! Tony Kummer, our owner and techno-guru extraordinaire, explored all the options that were available and so far, this is the best system he has come up … [Read more...] about Changes at SBC Voices

Let me start this by setting out my assumptions. 1) Children, because of their natural sinful state, need to be evangelized. It is imperative that we proclaim the full truth of the biblical gospel to children. Their eternal souls depend on it! (No, that is not an invitation for a TULIP food fight!) 2) Evangelizing children is a minefield with some very real dangers of which we must be aware. Children are often eager to please and susceptible to inducements. The possibility of a false conversion which gives a false sense of confidence to someone unconverted increases by orders of … [Read more...] about Thoughts on Evangelizing Children: A Glorious Minefield

Yes, I know I risk another rebuke from the world-famous SBC Plodder for my use of a cliche in the title of this post, but I think it makes an important point. I wrote a post a couple of days ago on this topic and it completely disappeared into cyber-oblivion and I have not been able to relocate it. I spent yesterday going to Omaha to pick up Hurricane William (not the Plodder, my grandson - and his family) from the airport. My contributors have let me down by not giving me anything to post in the meantime, but in the spirit of grandson-induced joy, I will forgive them. I don't have much time … [Read more...] about We Live In Rome, Not Israel

The pace of change on the gay marriage issue has been breakneck, ever since President Obama changed his position and came out in favor of so-called "marriage equality." I don't have the time or the understanding of Supreme Court rulings to do a thorough analysis, but I thought that some might have the desire to address the issue (respectfully, please - even of an administration we disagree with). As I understand it, DOMA is basically gutted. It has been declared that marriage is a fundamental right and that it would be discriminatory (under the equal protection concept) to deny that … [Read more...] about The Supreme Court Rulings: “Houston, We Have a Problem” (Cliche Changed for William Thornton!)

I'm not a real quiet person, and I have often struggled around quiet people. I mistake their silence for anger and figure that if they are not talking to me they must either dislike me or be angry about something. It is pretty easy to misread silence and misinterpret its meaning. It is generally asserted that the argument from silence in theology is among the weaker arguments and I would generally agree. It would be as easy to misinterpret silence in Scripture as it is for me to misinterpret it in others. "Jesus never addressed homosexuality," we are told. His silence is assumed as tacit … [Read more...] about Cessationism and the Argument from Silence

Strange things are happening for bloggers in the SBC. It was not long ago we were institutional pariahs viewed with horror and antipathy by the leaders of the SBC; regularly and roundly blasted by them. It was not unusual to sit at the SBC and hear pot-shots taken at us by people who claimed not to read anything we wrote, recommended that we be ignored, but still took the time to train their guns on us. It wasn't that long ago. Things have changed now. Both VPs of the SBC are bloggers. Entity heads are building bridges with us instead of seeking to burn them down. One of the must-read … [Read more...] about So, You Want to Be a Blogger…

Our esteemed and honored 1st VP suggested something on Facebook, and in the space of about 3 minutes, we have the core of a plan. However, its an idea that would require some pre-planning and organization, so I thought I'd float it and see what the folks at Voices thought of the idea. The SBC is in Baltimore next year. Baltimore is near Washington DC. I'm guessing most of you are aware that Washington DC is where the President and Congress work? I went over that for the sake of our SEC fans. Anyway, we were thinking of gathering in Washington DC, perhaps on Saturday before the … [Read more...] about An Idea for Baltimore 2014

"You never met a fence you didn't straddle."  Those were the words of a "frenemy" - someone I enjoy interacting with in the real world, but usually cross swords with online. We were discussing the Gospel Project breakfast in Houston and the interesting discussion between Ed Stetzer, Eric Hankins, Trevin Wax and Jonathan Akin. Akin articulated a hardcore "Christ-centered" hermeneutic. Eric Hankins advocated a hermeneutic that was more grammatical-historical and emphasized authorial intent more strongly. Trevin seemed, to me at least, to fall in between the two in his approach. I told this … [Read more...] about When Harsh Words Are God’s Will