This the third in an accidental trilogy of articles. The first addressed the difficulties Deaf churches face when considering becoming SBC members. While Deaf and hearing churches share the same kingdom goals, values and priorities do not always match, and Deaf churches are relatively powerless to affect any sort of change in the relationship. The […]
So You Want Your Own Deaf Ministry, Eh?
I’ve had conversations with local pastors and associational leaders who expressed fascination with Deaf ministry and missions. “We,” the response comes, “need to do something like that.” Everyone has a wife, or a friend, or an aunt who knows sign language and many of them “used to interpret down at the church.” But one guy […]
Pointless Cooperation
A much-valued tenet of Southern Baptist life is the emphasis we place on cooperation among churches. We even have an entire funding program named for this; it’s apparently a Very Big Deal. Cooperation is how we fund seminaries, send missionaries, reach America, fight for religious liberty, and support Southern Baptist churches in general. Personally, my […]
Letting God Go
Comic Bill Burr riffed on religion during one of his many performances. Actually, he mentions religion somewhat often, though not in this detail. He spoke of leaving his religion behind, and the choices he faced as he headed for the door. He said: “I just had to make a decision. What am I gonna do […]
Preferential Hiring of a Minority Candidate for IMB President?
Dave Miller recently committed to cyberspace his view of minority hiring in light of the five entity leadership roles which are or shortly will be vacant: IMB, Lifeway, Executive Committee of the SBC, Southwestern Seminary, and New Orleans Seminary. To summarize, Dave believes it would be a shameful turn of events if the SBC failed […]
Sebastian Traeger Resigns as Executive VP of IMB
Just announced this afternoon, Sebastian Traeger will resign in November from his position as Executive Vice President of the IMB. See below his comments, set off by ****, and a little commentary from me at the bottom. **** Brothers and sisters, With a full and thankful heart, I am writing this email to let […]
Requesting and Utilizing an IMB Missionary at Your Church
This is the third in what has become a three-part series. Section one lightly sketches some reasons why IMB missionaries don’t frequent many churches, with the main thesis being churches no longer request missionaries as speakers. Part two is a more in-depth treatment of that initial thesis, pointing to trends and patterns which have led the […]
The Case of the Missing Missionaries and the Local Church
I’ve already written about how to get an IMB missionary to come to your church; basically it boils down to requesting someone to come. Today, I’d like to examine what might possibly have led churches to stop requesting missionaries and why missionaries, for their part, don’t seem to aggressively pursue venues in which to speak. […]
Why Don’t IMB Missionaries Ever Visit My Church?
I’ve come across an increasing number of comments in recent years regarding the absence of IMB missionaries from average churches across the SBC. Of course, this might be simply because I’m old and I’ve had more time to note these items; as well, this perspective might flow from chronological myopia. To review, IMB missionaries live […]
A Ramadan Dilemma
In about 9 days, Ramadan will kick off for Muslims around the world. Ramadan is the Muslim holy month, the same month during which the Quran was given to the Prophet. During the month, Muslims eat breakfast before their dawn prayers. They fast all day, give to the poor, and seek to live moral lives […]
Contrasting Views on a Future IMB President
The various perspectives on a new IMB president fascinate. I’d like to summarize and contrast three distinct perspectives that have been posted on SBC-oriented sites. If I am citing your work, authors, please note I could not possibly hit every nuance of your original writing; readers, please see the authors in their own words via […]
Pence, Women, and Ministry
Vice President Mike Pence made news in 2002, though no one noticed until last month. Pence invoked the Billy Graham rule about dining alone with women, and the internet had a bit of fun with the discovery. Others came to Pence’s defense, wondering just what the problem was. Christians are not alone in applying this […]