Guest Blogger

It is no secret that the last few years have been extremely difficult for churches and even more so for pastors. Of course, pastoral ministry is commonly fraught with its own set of unique stresses, but those stresses have grown exponentially over the past few years due to the chaos and turmoil that has so regularly characterized our society. This has led to unprecedented numbers of pastors leaving the ministry, a trend some are now calling the "Great Resignation". The Barna Group has recently reported that some 42% of pastors have given real, serious consideration to quitting being in … [Read more...] about On Unrealistic Expectations in Ministry (Phillip Powers)

My wife, Vera, recently walked into my home office with two pictures in her hand, and asked me, concerning one of them, “Who is this?” To which I responded, “I don’t know.” I then asked her, “where did you get the picture?” Holding an envelope in her hand she responded, “From this envelope, cleaning out a box on the back porch.” She then handed me the envelope; and the first thing I noticed was my father’s handwriting on the outside of the envelope, where he had written, “Dwight” and “Rev. West.” I then took another look at the picture and told my wife, “That’s Ralph West.” The reason neither … [Read more...] about PICTURES CAPTURE MEMORIES by William Dwight McKissic, Sr.

I am not sure of the final outcome of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) exploration to disfellowship Rick Warren for affirming women in ministry within biblical and BFM2K parameters without compromising male leadership. However, I am believing that history will remember Warren as a reformer having elevated the status of women in SBC life to be aligned with Scripture. The SBC may choose to make him a martyr, and that will be to the detriment of the health of the Convention. A discussion evolving around the role of women in ministry the parameters of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 … [Read more...] about Rick Warren, BFM2K Article 6, Women in Ministry, and the Future of the Southern Baptist Convention (Wm Dwight McKissic, Sr)

My heart was heavy as I packed up my bags and prepared to fly out to Anaheim for the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention last week. Many Southern Baptists have been pushing, in spite of great resistance, towards fixing some of the problems in our Executive Committee and in our convention of churches, especially related to sexual abuse. We have done some good work over the past few years. But the work is not finished. Heading into the annual meeting, I knew we needed to take some decisive action this year if progress is to be made. By God’s grace, we did. A LITTLE CONTEXT For at … [Read more...] about My Reflections from #SBC22 (by Aaron Swain)

The Southern Baptist Convention is in, as my pastor described it, a season of sifting. After the Houston Chronicle broke the news of hundreds of sex abuse cases involving clergy and ministry workers of various kinds, the messengers of the SBC sent a clear message: we want truth. Soon sex abuse cover-up (and abuse in general) was a key battleground in the social conflict engulfing evangelicalism and the SBC. After several skirmishes and the SBC skipping a year due to the pandemic, the messengers once again sent a clear message in 2021 with the establishment of the Sex Abuse Task Force. We want … [Read more...] about A More Trauma-Informed Ministry [Guest Author: David Hughes]

“What are you doing listening to that?” I was 15 in the fall of 1984, in my second year at a missionary kid (MK) dormitory and blissfully naïve of my offense. My mistake was playing a cassette of American folk and children’s songs sung by “Uncle Mac.” My interrogator was one of my MK “cousins”, though in truth we were more like siblings since we’d all known each other in a tightly compressed community of missionary “aunts”, “uncles” and cousins since we were babies. Mac’s smooth North Carolina accented voice sang Appalachian mountain music accompanied by his skillful autoharp playing in the … [Read more...] about Richmond, we have a problem (Christopher Cole)

The battle lines were set. The warriors were clad in outfits straight out of Middle Earth. With weapons and shields in hands, their adrenaline was pumping. The moment came, and they charged at one another and fought hard that day. Many brave men and women fell into the dust and dirt – casualties of war. When the dust settled and the victory had been won, all the fallen stood up, dusted themselves off, and headed to Applebee's. This is what it is like to Cosplay for Live Action Role-Playing. Those who participate know they are not in a real war, and they know they are not characters in Lord … [Read more...] about Cosplaying the Conservative Resurgence has Casualties (K.V. Paxton)

A storyteller gathered a crowd. They were a mix of his regular fans and outsiders. He said: “A certain man owned a hotel franchise. Local owners paid him a small percentage of profits to use his respected name and resources. The sprawling empire grew to include thousands of locations at home and abroad. Reviews were great for decades. Even as the market changed, people still recommended his locations to their friends. Most continued doing well. Then someone quietly filled out a comment card at one location. They claimed they were bitten by a rat in the night. The franchise owner was … [Read more...] about The Parable of the Rats (Mark Fugitt)