Editor: Here's your holiday break from the heavy stuff we've been discussing! No, this isn’t a piece about the evils of illegal immigration, or an anti-Trump hit piece (sorely as I am tempted by that one). No, this is about aliens: Little green men, bug eyed monsters, time traveling doctors and force wielding Jedi. I’m a huge fan of science fiction, have been my whole life. I love Doctor Who, Star Trek, Star Wars, Farscape, Stargate, yada, et al, etc. The science fiction genre can sometimes be a conflict for a Christian. There’s no question a lot of scifi supposes a worldview that … [Read more...] about The Aliens are Coming! (Bill MacKinnon)
IMB Questions (Thomas L Law)
As we continue to work through the issue of the IMB drawdown of its personnel there are a couple of issues which I think need further attention. Administration Based on the material that is being presented it would seem that 80% of the IMB budget is spent on personnel while 20% is spent in support of those missionaries and the organization. The IMB budget figure that has been used in the blogs is 300 million. This would mean that 240 million is spent on personnel and 60 million on administration (Although some may be spent on “ministry”, my guess is that the “missionaries” are the … [Read more...] about IMB Questions (Thomas L Law)
Admonitions to a Disappointed Young-Earther (by Ken Hamrick)
Recently, I came across a paper in the Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry, written by Dr. Kenneth Keathley in 2013, entitled, "Confessions of a Disappointed Young-Earther."[1] The piece is well done and gives an informative summary of the various arguments and supposed problems of the Young-Earth Creationism movement. After reading it, I must say that I'm just as disappointed as Dr. Keathley, but for different reasons. I'm disappointed that the enemy, who is delegitimizing the truth-claims of Christianity by undermining the authority of Scripture, is often met with so little … [Read more...] about Admonitions to a Disappointed Young-Earther (by Ken Hamrick)
The IMB’s New Paradigm: Summary and Reflection from the Field
This post comes from an IMB worker whose is based in an area that requires security and prevents him from using his real name in public, especially on a blog such as this. A quick review seems necessary for late arrivers to the party. - The IMB has been running on an annual deficit for the past few years. We're allocating funds from reserves and worldwide property sales in order to keep people on the field, but we just cannot keep it up. - The finance department identified two problematic areas: cash flow and cash reserves. Flow is simply money in/money out. For now, we have more going … [Read more...] about The IMB’s New Paradigm: Summary and Reflection from the Field
The Organized Church (by John Wylie)
John Wylie, a frequent commenter here, is from Springer, OK. There is a dual definition to the term church. One is the corporate body of Christ and the other is the local assembly. Those local assemblies were organized. There is a move away from what some call the "organized church" in our day, they say that the local church in the scriptures was only a loose fellowship of believers meeting in houses with no leadership and no organization. Is that what N.T. churches looked like in the Bible? 1)They had officers that had to meet specific qualifications. (Eph. 4:11;Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. … [Read more...] about The Organized Church (by John Wylie)
Zero (Thomas Law)
This was a presentation I made to the Capital (Oklahoma City, OK) Baptist Association pastors conference on July 13, 2015. I was asked to work it up as a blog for the Church Planting website of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. It was posted on their website in two sections on August 10th and 18th, 2015. Zero About 20 years ago I was introduced to the concepts taught by futurist Joel Barker. One story he told was about the watch industry and the shift from "mainsprings and gears" to "quartz". "In 1968, Switzerland had 65% of the world market share and according to expert … [Read more...] about Zero (Thomas Law)
Southern Baptist Fanboys (Melissa Edgington)
It's always good to hear from the distaff side (if that hasn't become a hopelessly sexist term how - if it has a) I'm sorry and b) I'm old!). I received this a few days ago from Melissa Edgington, a pastor's wife and blogger. Thought you might enjoy it. Melissa blogs at "Your Mom Has a Blog." Obviously, this post is a few days old, originally posted at her site on Friday. I just got back from the Send North America Conference in Nashville. Hosted by the Mission Boards of the Southern Baptist Convention, it was sold out at somewhere around 13,500 tickets. Just two years ago, the same … [Read more...] about Southern Baptist Fanboys (Melissa Edgington)
Church Authority and Church Discipline (Anonymous)
This author is a friend, who has good reasons that he needs this post to remain anonymous. I have watched with interest as Southern Baptist Churches are finding a renewed interest in the topics of Church Authority and Church Discipline. Our own church is looking at these topics currently. I agree that in SBC life it appears in the post war years and for several decades thereafter there was a lack of emphasis on authority and discipline in the Church. The emphasis on evangelism in those years saw an effort to bring everyone into the tent, and perhaps not much effort to preserve the … [Read more...] about Church Authority and Church Discipline (Anonymous)
Haiti, Jesus, and the Church
**This is the report Andy Williams shared with his church after his first mission trip to Haiti. This small SBC church (about 215 average attendance) has sent teams to Haiti since 2009. There is much to discuss here, especially the question of mercy ministry versus evangelization in the context of short-term mission trips. HAITI: A few weeks ago, I was able to go on my first missions trip to Haiti, and in fact my first trip to any really impoverished country. And it was very eye-opening, and there are many things I could describe, but almost as soon as I had a chance to take in what life … [Read more...] about Haiti, Jesus, and the Church
The Church Planter’s Library by Thomas L. Law, III
Tom served as missionary church planter for 21+ years with the Foreign/International Mission Board before becoming the Executive Director of Tarrant Baptist Association – Fort Worth, Texas. After retiring, he served as the Interim Executive Director of the Baptist Convention of Iowa. Each of the churches he helped start in Paraguay was an attempt to reach out to a new segment of Paraguayan society. This article originally appeared on Answer the Call, a church-planting blog for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Every church planter deals with a multitude of issues besides the … [Read more...] about The Church Planter’s Library by Thomas L. Law, III