Doug Hibbard

Something about this being a semi-let's not talk about it topic has me wanting to actually talk about it. Sorry Dave. I pastor a small church that uses books from 3 of Lifeway's curriculum lines, and I have one class swapping "MasterWork" for The Gospel Project. I also have a long-standing rule that I will never be the junior member of a conspiracy, and as such, front man Dave and behind-the-scenes godfathers Don Trevin and Don Stetzer have not approached me to blindly back the TGP materials. My opinions and predictions here are my own, and are meant to illustrate the problem in the SBC as … [Read more...] about Observations and Predictions on The Gospel Project

I know that, typically, I tend to post things here with either allegorical or metaphorical significance, trying to address one issue by using a parallel topic. Or even an off-the-wall topic, perhaps, to make a point. That is not my intention with this post. If you see a connection to Calvinism/Traditionalism/Pro-Gospel Project/Anti-Gospel Project, or the CR, or the GCR, or the Great Name Change Committee, or anything else, my first response to you is that you really might need to take a blog break. My goal here is to put this conundrum to us all for consideration. Over the past few … [Read more...] about Loving our enemies and posting a guard

If you leave my house and head north on the only highway that runs north out of town (the other way out of town? West) you would take Arkansas Highway 130. Almost any place you intend to go from here, that is the road you want to be on. The first direction you will get is "Go north on 130." However, after a certain length of time, if you continue to follow that first direction, you will drive through a caution sign and plant yourself into the middle of a bean field. If your vehicle is fortunate enough to survive leaving the pavement and making the two-and-a-half foot drop into the field, … [Read more...] about Your logical result is a bean field

I posted my first blog post in 2008. Since then, I have blogged at my blog, blogged at other people's blog, and I blog here as well. I have blogged on issues, I have blogged to get free stuff, and I have blogged to vent anger. I have also blogged to celebrate events and to promote places I think are good. Some of what I blog about are things I would like to see changed. That's good, but there is a relevant addition to this reality. Blogs, on their own, do not change much. That is not to say that a blog is not useful, but when you want to see organizational or institutional change, a blog is … [Read more...] about Blogging is only a start

In the interest of getting CB Scott to come back and comment, I'm going with a hunting motif. I miss him around these here parts. Some time last year, I was labeled a "Bambi-killer" on this blog for my actions to feed my family. Why the label? Because I went out into the fields and killed three deer, had them processed, and we used those for meat. That's how we roll here on the Grand Prairie: lock, load, shoot, and cook. When I hunt, I use a rifle with a scope on it. For those of you who are unaware of firearms, a rifle is a firearm with a longer barrel on it (legally, at least 16 inches) and … [Read more...] about I cannot shoot what I do not see

Here we go again: a Southern Baptist Church finds itself having made an unpopular decision. The internet, and presumably other venues that run slower, are exploding with rebuke or defense for the decision. And then up pops a rebuke to those who issue the rebuke: "You're violating the principle of Local Church Autonomy!" in an effort to shut down any correction or argument. The rebuke runs against even words, be they spoken, written, or typed, and states that no one ought to try and correct a local church unless they are a part of that body. Let's take this apart and see how it … [Read more...] about Local Church Autonomy

By now, most of us are familiar with the overall situation that has occurred at Penn State University. To sum up, a sexual predator was found out, covered up, and enabled across quite a few years. This was done in an effort to protect the overall reputation of the institution and of specific individuals related to the school. Money, power, and entertainment were also a factor. Now that has all unraveled and legacies have been tarnished, one criminal is headed to prison, additional trials await, and the school and community are a wreck. Added to all of this has come the next blow: the NCAA, … [Read more...] about Outdone by the World

This was originally posted on my personal blog back in September of last year. In the absence of Dave, those of us on the "infrequent contributor" list are trying to step forward and help fill the blog up. Additions to the original will be in italics. This is going to sound a bit like a rant and may really need to be edited, but you're going to get the full-force of what I have to say. Even if that includes a few errors in spelling and grammar. The big word you see as the post title is a term from contract law. It also appears in general legislation. From a legal perspective, as far as … [Read more...] about Severability

I spent part of Friday morning at the Stuttgart, Arkansas, Public Library. My kids were at "Art Camp" in Stuttgart and we were getting so much of the desperately needed rain that the one road out of Almyra to the north was about to flood under. So, I needed a place to read in town and not buy excessive numbers of donuts. The library fit the bill. While I was there, I noticed a pair of items in the restroom that I had not put together before. On previous trips, I have explained to my son what the "towel roller" on the wall is. Now, those of you who are my age or older likely remember these … [Read more...] about GFCI Outlets and Cloth Towels

Or"Why the Maintenance Committee Won't Let Me Fix the Parsonage Anymore." On a recent weekend, my beloved wife and I spent the day rearranging furniture for the kids. The rearranging comes from having moved so often in previous years, and now we are trying to stay sane while living in the same place. So, we move stuff inside the same house. It's easier. We got done with the bedroom project and were ready to settle in for the evening. After all, a good Sunday starts with a decent Saturday night. Except I noticed a problem in the kids' bathroom. Their bathtub faucet was leaking. Not a … [Read more...] about Lessons from the Bathtub