Guest Blogger

  When I was a doctoral student at Southwestern Seminary, I took Dr. Leon McBeth’s seminar on the History of American Christianity. During the seminar one of my classmates, Gary Snowden, presented a research paper on the history of church discipline in the SBC. He explained that while church discipline was quite common in the 1800s, in the twentieth century it had declined considerably. Of course, we asked him about the reason for the decline. He said that he could document the decline, but his research did not reveal the reason for it. The students speculated that overuse, improper … [Read more...] about Resurgence in Church Discipline (Mark Terry)

Older readers can remember the worship wars that raged thirty years ago. The growing popularity of contemporary Christian music led many churches to change (or try to change) their worship style. They abandoned choirs, organs, and hymnals for praise bands, drum sets, and projected lyrics. Generally, younger people embraced the changes enthusiastically, while old folks complained and resisted. In some churches, the wars over worship led to church splits and/or member defections. I’m old enough to remember the night (more than 50 years ago) when our youth group led the evening service. We used a … [Read more...] about Worship Wars Still Rage (Mark Terry)

Dr. Kevin Blackwell is Director of the Ministry Training Institute at Samford University. Bottom line is this: The overwhelming majority of declining churches in North America are ineffective simply because they have lost their sense of desperation for Kingdom impact.  Oh sure, every evangelical church (I would hope) will say that they want to see people saved, baptized and discipled.  You will not find a minister or lay leader in a church that would say, "we really don't care that the majority of people in our community are lost and will die in that condition."  I truly believe that the … [Read more...] about Has Your Church Lost its Desperation? (by Dr. Kevin Blackwell)

Editor's Note: There was some special formatting on Jim's poem that just doesn't translate to Wordpress. I apologize. When things confuse me, I write poetry.  When I read Adam Blosser’s recent blog on Andy Savage and the many comments, I needed to say something, but did not know what.  I watched the video of Highpoint Church’s worship service where it was revealed that Andy had a “sexual encounter” with a teenage girl, Jules Woodson, who was under his leadership as Youth Minister.  I paid close attention to what was said by Chris Conlee, Andy, and the Worship Leader, as well as the … [Read more...] about A Long Comment on Adam Blosser’s “Andy Savage, Sexual Assault, and the Church” (Jim Lockhart)

Due to yesterday being the MLK holiday, I have been reading some of his quotes. One quote that grabbed my interest was: 1). "We don't have a shortage of preachers who can preach with the best of them; we have a shortage of preachers who are in tune with the least of them."  For me to "preach with the best of them" is of little importance to broken and hurting people who need the gospel to come alive in their souls. If my desire is to "preach with the best of them," that is a desire saturated in vanity and pride. I must not let this sin occur in my life. I must preach the gospel and … [Read more...] about Reflections on Dr. King’s Quotes (Dr. C.B. Scott)

A BRIEF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL REFLECTION REGARDING THE ADVENT OF THE FULL GOSPEL BAPTIST CHURCH FELLOWSHIP By Wm. Dwight Mckissic, Sr.   Dr. Doug Weaver, Professor of Religion and Director of Undergraduate Studies at Baylor University, recently asked me to share some insights/reflections that I hold regarding The Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship. Dr. Weaver is writing a book on The Holy Spirit in Baptist Church Life, and my reflections would simply be a part of his back-story research/information gathering. I found his request delightful, after having enjoyed a meal with him and some … [Read more...] about Reflections on the Advent of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship (Wm. Dwight McKissic, Sr.)

Yesterday I saw a post on Facebook from a retired police officer, security expert, and security consultant: “The best thing a church CAN do is to LOCK THEIR DOORS right before the services begin.” I know this gentleman. He was not coming from a theological perspective. He was coming from a cultural perspective. His views were reinforced by his year of police and security training. Still, there is something inherently wrong with a Christian taking this stance, and believe me, many people hailed his post with resounding cries of “Amen!” The image of a church with their doors locked is one of … [Read more...] about Moving Forward after Sutherland Springs (Joseph Giles)

The good Dr. Scott posted this on Facebook yesterday and gave me permission to post it here. It is great wisdom for us to hear.  A WORD OF CAUTION TO SOUTHERN BAPTIST PASTORS In the aftermath of the murder of many of the members of a sister church in Sutherland, Texas is not a time for statements of bold bravado as to what you would or would not do if such an evil came upon the church of which you serve as pastor. However, it is a time for us to pray and reflect seriously upon the perilous times in which we live and minister. The truth of the matter is that when an act of violence … [Read more...] about Wise Words from CB Scott: A Word of Caution to Southern Baptist Pastors

Jim is an attorney (don't hold that against him) and a frequent reader of Voices.  I was born in 1947 and attended integrated Army schools.  I learned about white supremacy while visiting family in Alabama.  My cousins would trick me into drinking from “colored only” fountains or going into “colored only” men’s rooms.  It was easy to do. I hated what I saw, so I rebelled.  I held the door open for an older black woman and I saw fear in her eyes.  Older, I realized I crossed a line.  Seeing wrong and trying to make it right, I put this woman at risk. White supremacy rules by … [Read more...] about Southern Baptist Reconciliation Council (Jim Lockhart)