Doug Hibbard

Contra our beloved editor and illustrious 2nd Vice-President of the Southern Convention of Great Commission Baptists, this post will reference Calvinism. Please, feel free to ignore the substance of the post and keep bickering over whether the lost people in your neighborhood are saved by grace because they believed because the Spirit moved when you told them or whether they are saved by grace because the Spirit moved when you told them and they believed. My dog in that fight is this: are you telling them? Because I think we cannot escape that we are commanded to do so. I am going to tell you … [Read more...] about Please, Spit in My Eyes

If you follow the chatter around here, you might have noticed that a few of us were slated to go on a trip to Israel next month. As of now, that trip has shifted from "going in 4 weeks" to "indefinitely postponed." This post is to do a couple of things. First, whine about not going. WAH! I wanted to go. Now it won't happen when I thought it would. I am disappointed and will get over it. Probably when I eat a big bacon cheeseburger when I would have been in Israel, where such dining is just not kosher. Second, though, and more importantly, I think the situation serves as a decent neutral … [Read more...] about How You Receive It

During the Eighteenth Century, in the opening years of the French Revolution, an action was taken that has since faded in history compared to the rest of the chaos that followed after it. Looking to eliminate the abuses in the system of religion at the time, the new governing forces confiscated the lands of the state church of France. Why? To give them to the people and to stop the government-empowerment of a religion that many of the new leaders felt was out-dated, backwards, and destructive for society. If you do not know how the French Revolution turned out, you might want to take … [Read more...] about A Post of Personal Paranoia

This past Sunday Night, I preached from Genesis 3:1-7 and addressed the idea of our having an active enemy. (For those of you with insomnia, audio is here.) However, in prepping for that sermon, I happened to read the rest of the chapter. You know, in the interest of context. Getting to the end of the chapter, something became clearer to me than it has been before. Let me walk you to that point: Often, especially here on this blog, we lament the current state of affairs. We have fussed and fumed across the miles about: 1. The inability of Southern Baptists to get along with each … [Read more...] about Expecting Easy in the Land of the Curse

Well, it's late Fall here on the Grand Prairie. The rice, corn, and soybeans are cut, the combines are clean, and the ducks are coming in. And, of course it's deer season, so it's time for another deer hunting story. (Last year's is here.) Once again, our story opens on the edge of a field. It was corn this year, with rice just to the east, soybeans a little north, and a thin spread of woods to the south. The sun is setting gently, and my cellphone is on "vibrate" with an alarm set for 5:26pm. Why that time? Because the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission prefers that one not hunt deer at … [Read more...] about Same Efforts, Different Results

I got up this morning, went to Wal-Mart to buy groceries, came back to the farm to shoot a barrel (it received a fair trial), and then came on into the church office. I picked up my watch off the bookshelf, put it on and went on with my day. Now, it's Wednesday, so time matters because of the traditional church schedule. I found myself a little confused though, throughout the day as something was not right with keeping up with what time it was. I would check my phone, see the time, think accordingly, and go on. Later, I would look at my watch, be puzzled, and then go forward because of what … [Read more...] about A Confused Day

The election is here. Unless, of course, Dave doesn't post this for a couple of weeks. After trying to sort through all the nonsensical political rants this year trying to claim spiritual superiority for a specific candidate or view: JESUS IS NOT... Supportive of forced redistribution of wealth. Have you seen the picture of Jesus at the feeding of the 5000 being used as support for a welfare state? The caption goes something about how Jesus never said "Don't feed them, that will create a culture of dependency." Right. He did not. Neither, though, did He send the Apostles into the … [Read more...] about Jesus is Not…

At various times, when they are not busy pushing one side of a political agenda or another, one of our local TV stations will feature a segment on the news about "Does It Work?" They'll pick an item that is currently popular (read that as "Being featured in infomercials on the competing network") or being talked about on social media and buy one. Then they'll try it out, on camera, and tell you if it works or not. This is not quite the same as the "Will it Blend?" guy, though he's more fun. For us as Southern Baptists, we are going through a portion of our "Does it work?" cycle. Most local … [Read more...] about Does It Work?

The Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Board of Trustees meets Monday, October 15. From all of the information available ahead of time, they will be discussing electing Jason Allen as President of the Seminary. We have been discussing his election potential around SBC blogs since his name came to light as the candidate from their search committee. (Or was that a team? I can never keep up.) Admittedly, I'm writing this before the meeting and so have no idea how it will actually turn out. I would say that the smart money is on the Trustees voting to proceed with Dr. Allen in the … [Read more...] about How will you respond (to the MWBTS Trustees)?

We may have had this discussion around here, but I think it's time to crack it open again. One thing about the Southern Convention of Great Commission Baptists is that, from a denominational perspective, we have no education requirements for our ministers. We have no central standard for ordination, and even our statement of faith is optional for those serving in churches. (I know to be NAMB/IMB/Lifeway you have to agree. Not sure about Guidestone.) This is the reality, and it's connected to our belief in local church autonomy. After all, the seminaries and boards exist to serve the … [Read more...] about Self-Education Help