Guest Blogger

William Thornton is the inimitable SBC Plodder. "No one goes to the convention anymore," laments some of the brethren who have been around long enough to remember the sardine days where 20,000, 30,000, and 40,000 messengers could pack into a meeting venue. Not quite true. It's just that the crowds are heavily diminished. Here are the past five years: 2010    Orlando          11,070 2011    Phoenix            4,814 2012    New Orleans    7,814 2013    Houston           5,103 2014    Baltimore         5,294 Toss out Orlando, the attendance bump for which we can thank Mickey Mouse. … [Read more...] about Can’t get a crowd at any national SBC event these days? (William Thornton)

Joel Rainey leads the Engagement Team for Evangelism and Missions at the Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network. He is on the adjunct faculty of two seminaries, and the author of three books. He blogs at Themelios, where this was originally posted. The role of pastors is clear in Scripture: “Equip the saints for the work of the ministry.” (Ephesians 4:12) But unfortunately, some pastors confuse equipping for enablement. Primarily, this is caused by fear on the part of the pastor. Proverbs 29:25 warns us that “the fear of man is a snare." But often, that fear doesn’t look like fear. Sometimes it … [Read more...] about Four Ways Pastors Enable Disfunction in Their Churches (by Joel Rainey)

This post originally appeared at "Borrowed Light," Mike Leake's blog.  On Sunday the 15th, the frigid wind blew outside my home as windchills dropped to 35 below. Arctic air had pushed out of the North bringing snow squalls and treacherous travel the night before and church services had been canceled. Though winter’s fury raged outside, my house was warm and my family happy. We had spent the day relaxing and enjoying each other’s company while nature blew ragged icy gusts outside. I had just returned from an unexpected trip to California where they had temperatures in the 80?s. Jet lagged and … [Read more...] about Reflections on Martyrdom (by Nick Horton)

This post was originally published on "The Christian Post" on September 7, 2013. Mike Keas, Ph.D, is Senior Fellow of Discovery Institute (http://www.discovery.org/csc), Professor of History & Philosophy of Science (College at Southwestern http://college.swbts.edu), & teaches at Biola (http://www.biola.edu/scienceandreligion) In a comment on my last blog Hraefn refers to this statement from me: "God, if he exists, is the ultimate uncaused cause (self-existent being).” Hraefn responds (emphasis mine): Why must the creator of the universe, if such exists, be uncaused? By … [Read more...] about The God Question: Definitions and Sharing the Burden of Proof (by Mike Keas)

(We generally don't publish anonymous articles, but this one seemed a reasonable exception) There are two things I dread every Sunday. First, I dread reading the tweets and Facebook posts of my pastor friends who are “stoked” and “pumped” as they anticipate gathering with the greatest people God ever saved to worship in the greatest churches God every established to hug and celebrate and rejoice and experience a little heaven on earth. Second, I dread going to my church. That’s bad. I’m the pastor. As the week wears on and Sunday rolls around again, I get this nagging sense of dread in … [Read more...] about Confessions of a Discouraged Pastor (Anonymous)

This post was originally published at Dwight's blog, "A New Blog for a Pneuma Time." Comments here are closed.  The Bible says, “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses” (1 Timothy 5:19). Three witnesses recently came forth to deliver charges of racially offensive comments from the lips of Dr. Ergun Caner, who recently resigned as President of Brewton-Parker College in Mt. Vernon, Georgia. Dr. Caner did not resign when faced with the allegations of racist remarks. His trustee board—including Michael Pigg, a Black trustee—all stood by him. They did … [Read more...] about Is a Georgia Baptist College Covering Up Racism? (by Wm. Dwight McKissic, Sr.)

Joel Rainey leads the Engagement Team for Evangelism and Missions at the Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network. He is on the adjunct faculty of two seminaries, and the author of three books. He blogs at Themelios, where this was originally posted. "It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we would grow too fond of it."  -Robert E. Lee In its first 10 days in theaters, "American Sniper" grossed nearly $200 million.  While many critics have scoffed at this film, it is obvious that the American populace is enamored with the story of the late Chris Kyle.  This past week, I was one of that large … [Read more...] about “American Sniper” and the Christian Worldview (by Joel Rainey)

There's something insincere about any repentant admission that says, "Yes, I'm guilty---and so are you." I do not admit to being a racist, and neither do I think most Americans---white or otherwise---are. Many are racists, but most---or even, all? Contrary to the popular Evangelical party line these days, that cannot be established. It is not enough to point out that racism is sin, and as such, it comes from the fall of man, which affects us all. All are sinners, but not all are racists. Some good Christian black leader, whose article I've since lost track of, has explained that black … [Read more...] about Racial Reconciliation: Why Most Whites Just Don’t Get it (Ken Hamrick)

Tony Jones is pastor at the First Baptist Church of Rich Hill, MO. He blogs at http://thespiritualwoodshed.com/. I attended a conference a few months ago and one of the speakers said, “We need to quit being so weird.”  The remark, to be fair, sounded like a throw away line, but there was a glint of truth behind it.  The speaker never did define what he considered weird (he did give one situational example) and I was left pondering the meaning of the word weird and what it had to do with Christianity. We have been told to look different than the culture.  It’s even biblical in Romans 12, … [Read more...] about Stop being so weird (Tony Jones)