Guest Blogger

William Thornton is the SBC Plodder – this is the third in a series of posts that will go up fairly rapid-fire. That’s because I got busy today and didn’t set them to post when I should have.  Bah humbug! Bad news all around...but...here's my list of the top good news stories for SBCers in 2014: 1. Lottie Moon hits record total, $154.1 million. Southern Baptists may be giving less to the Cooperative Program and less of their disposable income to churches and mission causes, SBC entities may be mired in retrenchment mode because of flat or declining giving, but the Lottie Moon Christmas … [Read more...] about Top SBC “Good News” Stories for 2014 (by William Thornton)

William Thornton is the SBC Plodder – this is the second in a series of posts that will go up fairly rapid-fire. That’s because I got busy today and didn’t set them to post when I should have.  Part 1 is here. While you were reading the latest on Hobby Lobby, the Affordable Care Act, and the new Pope, these are some things of interest to Southern Baptists. You likely will not see these in any summary of the year's top Baptist stories in regular outlets. Florida Baptist Convention Settles $12.5 Million Sex Abuse Case   Background and summary of this game changing sex abuse case may … [Read more...] about Top 2014 SBC News Stories – Part 2 (by William Thornton)

William Thornton is the SBC Plodder - this is the first in a series of posts that will go up fairly rapid-fire. That's because I got busy today and didn't set them to post when I should have.  Here is my list of top news stories of interest to Southern Baptists for this year, with insightful and witty commentary. I am presuming that all SBCers will be focused on football the next few days and will not be making any significant news between now and the end of 2014. My ranking is completely subjective. 1. David Platt elected president of the International Mission Board At the tender … [Read more...] about Top 2014 SBC News Stories – Part 1 (by William Thornton)

The theology of Andrew Fuller, as set out in his greatest work, The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation, is centrally located between those Calvinists who see sinners as walking corpses---no more able to believe than a dead body is able to raise itself from the dead---and those of the other side who see sinners as fully enabled by God's grace to choose (their will being the determining factor). To Fuller, men are able to believe, but will nonetheless remain unwilling until God does a supernatural work of grace to reverse their unwillingness. Regeneration only causes a man to do what he otherwise … [Read more...] about Unwillingness & Inability: A Summary of Andrew Fuller’s Solution (Ken Hamrick)

THE SBC AND RACIAL UNITY: DO FLOYD, MOORE AND LAND REPRESENT A SEA CHANGE? BY WILLIAM DWIGHT MCKISSIC, SR. Jesus taught His disciples to pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The apostle John described a picture in heaven of every racial, ethnic, and language group praising God together in unity. If heaven is a picture of racial unity and tranquility, shouldn’t—at least among God’s kingdom citizens on earth—there should be a demonstration of racial unity and peace? The Psalmist said, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Psalm … [Read more...] about SBC and Racial Unity: Do Floyd, Moore and Land Represent a Sea Change? (Wm Dwight McKissic, Sr)

Dale Pugh graciously took a break from celebrating last night's Heisman Award to write a review of the recently released "Exodus: Gods and Kings." Thank you, Dale."  Let me get this out of the way right up front:  Ridley Scott messes with Moses’ story in Exodus: Gods and Kings (EGK).  It seems almost inevitable that Hollywood just won’t stick to the facts.  I suppose that it does the moviegoer well to remember that producers and directors are not necessarily concerned with commitment to a text.  Their goal is to put a story on the screen in order to make money. Ridley Scott has done his … [Read more...] about Exodus: Gods and Kings – A Review, by Dale Pugh

The SBC Plodder is back! What do Kanye West, Lady Gaga,  Hollywood superstars, and mega-paid athletes have in common with clergy? They are all targets of retiring Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn's report on special tax breaks. There is a group of several hundred such breaks set to be extended by congress. While the housing allowance we clergy receive does not need any legislation to be extended, it's locked in brethren, it is of the type Coburn assails as being a special giveaway that clutter our mammoth tax code and that should be eliminated or adjusted. Ah, the company we clergy are … [Read more...] about US Senator: Wealthy musicians, athletes, clergy exploit tax loopholes to drive up rates for rest of us (William Thornton)

Pastor Dwight McKissic blogs at "Wm. Dwight McKissic, Sr: A New Blog for a Pneuma Time."  Our nation is ill-at-ease. The number one item purchased on Black Friday was guns. Ebola, ISIS and terrorism are threatening us from afar. Questionable and controversial Grand Jury decisions have erupted into civil unrest within. Race-relations; family life; definition of a family; church attendance; economic wellbeing; and optimism about our collective future are all undergoing serious revisions, doubts and uncertainty daily. It seems as if foundations are crumbling. Land marks are being removed. … [Read more...] about Russell Moore, The Gospel of the Kingdom and Eric Garner (by William Dwight McKissic, Sr)

William Thornton is the SBC Plodder.  I'm a numbers guy and find these numbers about pastors to be interesting: 1 in 4 One in four pastors acknowledge that they have struggled with a mental illness such as depression. Since this is a self-reported statistic (LifeWay Research asked pastors, 1000 of them by a telephone survey earlier this year), it is not at all surprising that, anonymously, one in four pastors would report such a struggle. I'm guessing that some of the other three in four lied by not admitting some level of struggle with a mental illness such as depression. Any pastors … [Read more...] about SBC Pastors and mental illness…by the numbers (by William Thornton)

Here are some links I promised to provide. In a strange way, I am believing God to bring healing and unity out of what appears to be division and doubt at the moment. I sense God is up to something. And I am on the tip-toe of anticipation about what God is going to do in the days to come. BLACK-ON-BLACK VIOLENCE: PASTOR VODDIE BAUCHAM’S ASSAULT ON BLACK PEOPLE http://drewgihart.com/2014 /12/01/black-on-black-violence-pastor-voddie-bauchams-assault-on-black-people-by-austin-channing-brown-christena-cleveland-drew-hart-and-efrem-smith/ A BLACK MAN IS KILLED IN THE U.S. EVERY 28 HOURS … [Read more...] about Important Links Concerning Ferguson (from Wm Dwight McKissic, Sr)