Guest Blogger

Russ Robinson is the lead pastor at First Baptist Church, Provo, UT. This article first appeared at Paul Thompson's "The Bridge." It’s a cool fall morning on the campus of Brigham Young University, and I’m in a hot, high-ceilinged auditorium filled to capacity with clean-cut Mormon students and faculty. As far as I know, the only evangelicals in a room of more than 800 people are myself, the six friends that came with me, and the speaker that everyone has come to listen to: Dr. Albert Mohler. As a Southern Baptist pastor with a church that meets a mile from Brigham Young’s campus in Provo, … [Read more...] about Is Interreligious Dialogue Possible? (By Russ Robinson)

The Wise Men are part of most nativity scenes, and many people assume that they arrived while Jesus was still in the manger, soon after his birth. Many others, seeking a more accurate chronology, note that Herod killed baby boys who were two years old and under (according to the time that the wise men had told him), and conclude that they arrived two years after the birth of Jesus. I suggest a different approach. If we let the two gospel accounts, in Matthew and Luke, speak for themselves without any assumed contradictions, we can arrive at a precise, Biblical timeline of events. This will … [Read more...] about When Did the Wise Men Appear? A Christmas Chronology (by Ken Hamrick)

AFRICANS IN THE BABY JESUS’ BLOODLINE A Biblical Response to Megyn Kelly’s Claim That Santa Claus and Jesus are White By William Dwight Mckissic, Sr.   In response to Aisha Harris’ article “Santa Claus Should Not Be a White Man Anymore,” Fox News Commentator, Megyn Kelly gave the following response: "By the way, for all you kids watching at home, Santa is white but this person is just arguing that maybe we should also have a black Santa. Santa is what he is and just so you know, we are debating this because someone wrote about it, kids. Just because it makes you feel uncomfortable … [Read more...] about Africans in the Baby Jesus’ Bloodline (by Wm Dwight McKissic, Sr.)

Paul Thompson blogs at "The Bridge."  I’m a day late on the big A&E vs. Phil Robertson (Duck Dynasty) buzz. I have to admit that I actually don’t watch Duck Dynasty, not because it doesn’t have its merits, I just don’t pay money for TV. When I opened my Twitter and Facebook accounts this morning this was the topic of the day, yesterday and today. So, I’ve been busy catching up on the issue. After reading a few articles, I’ve decided that there is some misunderstanding about freedom of speech. I’ll agree with many that the decision to suspend Phil Robertson from the show seems to be a bad … [Read more...] about Freedom of Speech (by Paul Thompson)

THE NAACP AND THE MEDIA OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED FOR ATTEMPTING TO EXPLOIT AND MISREPRESENT PHIL ROBERTSON’S REMARKS REGARDING HOMOSEXUALITY AND RACE WHY BELIEVERS SHOULD SUPPORT DUCK DYNASTY STAR, PHIL ROBERTSON By William Dwight Mckissic, Sr. UNBELIEVABLE!!! Duck Dynasty star, Phil Robertson, has been suspended indefinitely from the most popular show in the history of cable television for simply expressing a biblical worldview regarding homosexuality. The A&E Television Network has determined that silencing and punishing Phil Robertson was/is more important than respecting his right of … [Read more...] about Dwight McKissic on Phil Robertson’s Comments on Homosexuality and Race (by William Dwight Mckissic, Sr)

Joel Rainey is the Director of Missions at Mid-Maryland Baptist Association, an adjunct professor at Capital Bible Seminary and blogs at Themelios (Twitter - @joelrainey). This post was originally published at his site. I'm not sure if I've ever used this site to address an issue having to do with the United States Tax Code, so this will, I believe, be a first.  But before you browse on, or think you can use the following to put yourself to sleep, indulge me for just a bit, especially if you are a pastor or a church leader trying to make sense of a recent Federal ruling that could potentially … [Read more...] about What To Think About the Minister’s Housing Allowance (by Joel Rainey)

William Thornton is the SBC Plodder, and this post originally appeared there.  It has been ruled so by a federal district judge in Wisconsin. I don't know how widely the decision is to be applied. My CPA blogging friend, Peter Reilly has greater understanding of this than I, so here is what he says: The Freedom From Religion Foundation has won a stunning victory in the United States District  Court For The Western District Of Wisconsin where Judge Barbara Crabb has ruled that a substantial tax benefit enjoyed by many thousands of clergy – ministers, priests, rabbis, imams and others – is … [Read more...] about Brethren, Our Housing Allowance Is Now Unconstitutional (by William Thornton)

Jeremy Vanatta is the pastor and an elder of Southside Baptist Church in Lebanon, TN.  He holds a PhD in New Testament from Mid-America BTS.  He blogs at The Threshing Floor, where this article originally appeared.   Exposing Man-Centered Methods in Parenting As discussed in the previous article Beyond Behavior: Dealing with the Heart, parenting is no easy task because we are not just dealing with our children that sin.  We are also dealing with our own sinful hearts.  In order to discipline our children biblically, we must be aware of the ways in which our sinful pride manifests … [Read more...] about Gospel Parenting, Part 3 (by Jeremy Vanatta)

Jeremy Vanatta is the pastor and an elder of Southside Baptist Church in Lebanon, TN.  He holds a PhD in New Testament from Mid-America BTS.  He blogs at The Threshing Floor, where this article originally appeared.   Beyond Behavior:  Dealing with the Heart If the previous article, Foundations for Gospel Parenting, were not clear enough, this article intends to convince us further that parenting is impossible without the grace of God.  In parenting, we are not dealing with a dog or some other animal that can be trained through behavior modification or some other psychoanalytic … [Read more...] about Gospel Parenting, Part 2 (by Jeremy Vanatta)