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
The Great Divorce: The Church and the GOP (Todd Littleton/Phillip Larsen)
This may be a first for SBC Voices - a guest post of a guest post. Todd Littleton blogs at "Edge of the Inside: toddlittleton.net" and has a podcast that features some of the best-looking authors in the SBC! You will not always agree with Todd, but your thinking will be challenged by what he writes. This post is a guest post at his site by Phillip Larsen (bio at bottom of page). After a long, frustrating courtship with the GOP, Richard Land, then President of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention declared, ”The go-along, get-along strategy is dead. ‘No … [Read more...] about The Great Divorce: The Church and the GOP (Todd Littleton/Phillip Larsen)
Can We Talk? Mississippi Baptists and Racial Reconciliation (Bob Browning)
Bob Browning is a Research Structural Engineer for the US Army Corps of Engineers. He holds a BS from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a MS from Auburn University, both in civil engineering. He is currently pursuing his MDiv online through Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his family live in Clinton, MS and are members of Morrison Heights Baptist Church. Unless you’re the proverbial ostrich with your head buried in some extremely soundproof sand then you’ll have noticed that our culture is talking about a lot of things. From sex to religious liberty and from state … [Read more...] about Can We Talk? Mississippi Baptists and Racial Reconciliation (Bob Browning)
God, Caesar, and Pastoral Rights: When did we become governmental agents? (Marc Bewley)
Marc blogs at Marc Bewley. From 2008 to 2014 Bro. Marc has served in the metro Detroit area through the BSCM and NAMB as a Church Planter Catalyst. He currently serves in Chattanooga, TN as a Missions Pastor at Dallas Bay Baptist Church. In 1986, I was a twenty-five year old church planter in northern Michigan. A couple from down the street, who had been attending our new church, approached me and asked me to perform their wedding. Fortunately a generous friend had given me a copy of Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors as an ordination gift. I quickly turned to the wedding chapter and learned … [Read more...] about God, Caesar, and Pastoral Rights: When did we become governmental agents? (Marc Bewley)
The Problem Is Greater than Same-Sex Marriage (Paul Thompson)
Paul Thompson blogs at "The Bridge." There is not shortage of places or people weighing in on the legalization of same-sex marriages. Crimes against nature are no small matter, and now it is legal and celebrated. But this is not the only matter weighing the nation in the balance of danger. I get that unbelievers don’t want laws like believers do. They want laws, just laws that ease their conscience. But, that’s not really the problem either. The Lord’s church has grown cold, complicit even with many other fleshly vices that are rarely addressed from the pulpit any more, and even … [Read more...] about The Problem Is Greater than Same-Sex Marriage (Paul Thompson)
Pondering Our Times (Jerry Corbaley)
We still have the promises of God intact. We can, perhaps, be as thankful for 1 Timothy 2:1-3 as we should have been all of our lives. Why do Christians expect more than that in this world? We still have tolerance for religious freedom. How has it ever been more than tolerance for idolatry? We still have the truth about sexual expression in a holy way. Why do Christians obsess over one form of sexual sin and virtually ignore fornication and adultery? We still have the right to marry as Christians and to pursue Christian marriage. Why do Christians expect the godless to desire that for … [Read more...] about Pondering Our Times (Jerry Corbaley)
I’ve Heard LifeWay’s Critics and I’m Not Convinced. Here’s Why. (Brent Hobbs)
Brent Hobbs is Lead Elder/Pastor of New Song Fellowship in Virginia Beach. He blogs at Brenthobbs.com Over the past year, there's been a small but constant stream of criticism in SBC social media about certain books available in LifeWay stores. A few titles and authors are brought up frequently as evidence that LifeWay leadership must not care about sound doctrine or that they care about money more than biblical faithfulness. I reject those characterizations and you should too. Everyone agrees there should be a line drawn determining what books LifeWay should sell. The issue for us today … [Read more...] about I’ve Heard LifeWay’s Critics and I’m Not Convinced. Here’s Why. (Brent Hobbs)
The Jurassic Park Within All of Us (Andrew Green)
Andrew Green is pastor of First Baptist Church in Marble Hill, MO. In 1993 I still remember going to my cousin’s house and watching Jurassic Park. As a ten year old boy I remember sitting in awe as the mighty T-Rex attacked the two SUV’s filled with people and upon hearing the roar of the T-Rex I felt goosebumps. The movie was a hit at the box office and until the Titanic was released in 1997 it was the highest grossing movie in the American box office and as of 2013 the movie had grossed well over a billion dollars. The movie would spawn off two sequels and Jurassic World a fourth sequel is … [Read more...] about The Jurassic Park Within All of Us (Andrew Green)