“The Lord has established His throne in Heaven and His kingdom rules over all.” Psalm 103:19 The good news is, on November 7, 2012, God will still be God and His kingdom will still rule over all. The bad news is…come November 7, this country will have either reelected a man and in effect endorsed a platform that affirms same-sex marriage or will have elected a President who for the first time in American history ascribes to a “Bible” that teaches that “blackness of skin” is a curse. Consequently, I find both candidates totally unacceptable. Whoever wins on November 6, I will accept as the … [Read more...] about A RIGHT TO VOTE IS NOT A REQUIREMENT TO VOTE (by Wm. Dwight McKissic, Sr).
Our Issues Are Not Largely Doctrinal (by Bill Gernenz)
Bill Gernenz is a pastor in East Texas and blogs at "Broken and Undone." The American church in general, and Southern Baptists in particular, have issues. And while all issues at their core are theological, the substance of these issues fall into many different categories. There are the “culture war” issues that most evangelicals come together around. Issues such as the sanctity of human life, and the definition of marriage motivate us to action – and rightly so. It is easy to preach to these issues because many of the people in our pews are ready to agree. Then there are doctrinal … [Read more...] about Our Issues Are Not Largely Doctrinal (by Bill Gernenz)
Please Sir, I Want Some More: Is Symbolism in the Ordinances Enough? (by David Manner)
Dr. David W. Manner is the Director of Worship and Administration at the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists. He blogs at http://kncsb.org/blogs/dmanner. You can follow him on Twitter: @dwmanner. Charles Dickens told the story of an orphaned nine-year-old boy Oliver Twist. Oliver and scores of other orphans toiled in the miserable existence of a workhouse. The boys worked long hours subsisting on three paltry meals of gruel, a watery food substance of unknown character offering little nutritional value. On one occasion, the boys drew lots to determine who would represent them … [Read more...] about Please Sir, I Want Some More: Is Symbolism in the Ordinances Enough? (by David Manner)
The Great Risk (by Rob Freshour)
Editor: Rob Freshour is the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of South Lyon, Michigan. I am going to risk some stuff today with this article. I am going to risk my reputation. I am going to risk your opinion of pastors and of me as a pastor. In fact, I am going to risk the safe ground for a higher ground, a more adventurous and more fulfilling ground, to be sure, but also a less-charted and more dangerous ground. Who are your heroes, and why? My dad liked John Wayne. I favor the same archetype in James Bond or Clint Eastwood. My sons look up to Jack Bauer or Chuck Norris. We … [Read more...] about The Great Risk (by Rob Freshour)
II Peter 3:15a The Four Imperatives of a Forward Looking Faith Part II (by Joe Blackmon)
Joe Blackmon attends an SBC church in Tennessee. He blogs at Hear God Speak. You can follow him on Twitter @joe_blackmon_72 “It’s for your own good.” Did your mother ever tell you that? Mine did on a few occasions—usually when I had some medicine I didn’t want to take or perhaps when I had started an activity (tee ball) that I didn’t want to finish. Now that I look back, I’m thankful that she, well for lack of a better word, forced me to do what it was she was telling me to do. While it may have been unpleasant at the time, it was for my good as I can clearly recognize now. As Christians, … [Read more...] about II Peter 3:15a The Four Imperatives of a Forward Looking Faith Part II (by Joe Blackmon)
THE GREATEST EVER? (by CB Scott)
Another entry from our newly named Sports Editor. Hey Sports Fans! The Fall Classic is just around the corner of the MLB Baseball Season, yeah boy! I know you all love it because it is a Sports tradition, maybe even the biggest one in all the Sporting World. And that is saying a lot for someone who has seen the ultimate greatness of the FOOTBALL UNIVERSE as I have, being a Sabanite and a member of the SABANATION. With the World Series coming up in mind, my good friend and big time SBC analyst, Scott Gordon, made a statement about the great Mickey Mantle that caused me to ponder something … [Read more...] about THE GREATEST EVER? (by CB Scott)
The Invisible Fence (by Rob Freshour)
Editor: Rob Freshour is the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of South Lyon, Michigan. Several years ago, as a church planting missionary, I took on secular employment to supplement our family income. In addition to my work as a planter-pastor, I worked with the United States Postal Service, first as a clerk, then as a mail carrier. I learned a great deal about people and life as a postman. As you are probably aware, every postal worker who walks a route tries to be on the alert for dogs in the neighborhood. Seems every puppy is born with an innate dislike for uniforms and the … [Read more...] about The Invisible Fence (by Rob Freshour)
Senior Pastor: What Your Worship Leader Needs from You (by Dr. David Manner)
Dr. David W. Manner is the Director of Worship and Administration at the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists. He blogs at http://kncsb.org/blogs/dmanner. You can follow him on Twitter: @dwmanner. Thank you for sharing this with us, Dr. Manner. Most worship pastors crave the leadership investment from and healthy ministry communication with their senior pastor but don’t often realize the freedom or job security to initiate that relationship. Consequently, a trial and error process of determining ministry direction often discourages the worship pastor and causes frustration for … [Read more...] about Senior Pastor: What Your Worship Leader Needs from You (by Dr. David Manner)
Another Case for the Continuation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (by Alan Cross)
Alan Cross blogs at Downshore Drift and is a fantastic nomination speech-giver! I believe that God continues to work through His Spirit in the church via miraculous gifts and through His power. This belief is called "continuationism." Cessationism is the belief that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit ceased with the completion of the canon of Scripture in the New Testament, or at the end of the first century when the last of the original apostles died. This is a big argument and I will not be able to cover it all here. A discussion arose last week on SBCVoices.com that made a case … [Read more...] about Another Case for the Continuation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (by Alan Cross)
How do you explain your government tax break, the clergy Housing Allowance? (by William Thornton)
William Thornton, the SBC Plodder is kind enough to share his posts with us from time to time. This is a companion piece - a point/counterpoint - to the next piece that will be post a few minutes later, from Rick Patrick. Comments on this entry will be closed. Read both articles and then comment on the next post from Rick Patrick. Here is a link to Rick's article which will post a few minutes after this one. I have seven articles on the clergy housing allowance, our Sacred Tax Loophole. Seven is a good number, the number of completion, unfortunately there will be more to follow, since … [Read more...] about How do you explain your government tax break, the clergy Housing Allowance? (by William Thornton)