Guest Blogger

(Editor's Note:  Back at Christmas my Frank Page hitting wife bought me a Kindle Fire, and my spoken Word poetry genius daughter got the book "The Hunger Games" for me.  Since I tend to do what my daughter tells me to do, I read the book.  Immediately, I got Kindle copies of the rest of the trilogy, then devoured the movie last week. So, I'm a fan. Alan Cross, who blogs at Downshore Drift, wrote this great article and I asked him to publish it here.  He said yes.  Here it is.) I found a lot of Biblical truth in The Hunger Games trilogy. I finished reading it yesterday and think that some … [Read more...] about How “The Hunger Games” Reflects Biblical Truth (by Alan Cross)

Tennessee pastor David Worley (known as Volfan007 to many) offered this good word about the essentials of church. What should a church be most interested in? Numbers and finances? Budgets and Backsides in the pews(or chairs)? I don’t think so. Oh, I’m not saying that these things are not important. They are. And, nobody would be more excited about my church having double the attendance that we have now, than me. Nobody would love to see the finances being much better and overflowing, than me. But, there are some people, who would make these things THE most important factors in determining if … [Read more...] about What Really Matters in the Church? (by David Worley)

(Stephen M Young is a missionary living in Brazil.  He blogs at "Beyond Outreach" and has a personal blog as well.  I appreciate him sharing this post with us.) I am interested in the opinions here on SBC Voices. Can someone be a member of two local churches simultaneously? (Let’s keep the hypothetical to SBC churches.) I am putting the question out as a general question, but have added some examples to think it through. Case 1: A missionary who, being sent as a member of his home church, joins with a local church in the country in which he is working. Can he be a member of USA Baptist … [Read more...] about Can one be a member of more than one local church? (by Stephen Young)

(Alan Cross blogs at Downshore Drift.  If he's not in your feed, he should be.)   The Great Commission Resurgence. This was the rallying cry of the new SBC 2-3 years ago. Southern Baptists had a task force that met for a year and made recommendations to the convention that dealt with funding mechanisms, an emphasis on church planting, and a suggestion to get more money from state conventions to the International and North American Mission Boards. These are good suggestions, but they weren't exactly the things that would lead to a true, grassroots resurgence of the Great Commission on the … [Read more...] about Whatever Happened to the GCR? (And how we can still have one). (by Alan Cross)

What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet -  Juliet, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet It would seem that Juliet was mistaken, at least in part. While a name itself does not change who we are, names can tell something about who or what we are supposed to be. There is a reason why we call ourselves Christians, believers, and saints; these names all identify some aspect not just of who we are but what we are to be in Christ - Christ followers, those who believe the word of God, those who have been made saints through the blood of Christ. There is a … [Read more...] about Perspectives on the Name Change Proposal (by Chris Roberts)

Peter Lumpkins posted a provocative piece concerning the SBC/GCB name change proposal that prompted me to opine and pontificate with regard to my posture on this proposition. I'm in favor of a name change because of regional, racial and public relational baggage/issues associated with the current name. However, I agree with you: if the original stated reasons for the name change proposal were valid-and I believe they were-then money is an invalid reason not to change the name. To not change the name for monetary reasons is a borderline insult. Given the convictions, courage, strength of … [Read more...] about THE SBC IDENTITY CRISIS: A RESPONSE TO PETER LUMPKINS By Wm. Dwight McKissic, Sr.

(Stephen M Young is a missionary living in Brazil.  He blogs at "Beyond Outreach" and has a personal blog as well.  I appreciate him sharing this post with us.) And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 I baptize you my brother… A few weeks into my freshman year at ETBU (1994), a … [Read more...] about Who is Authorized to Baptize? (by Stephen M Young)

The SBC Plodder comes out of retirement to bless us again with his insights! Sixtysomething retired micropastor Plodder and thirtysomething megapastor J. D. Greear see the Cooperative Program in remarkably, or frighteningly, similar terms. Greear, something of a rock star among younger SBCers has a blog article up on Southeastern seminary’s blog site Between The Times: Our Church, The SBC, and the Cooperative Program Greear states plainly that he appreciates the Cooperative Program but identifies the main problem with it as being the reality that “so much of what is given to the CP … [Read more...] about Eye-to-eye with J. D. Greear on the Cooperative Program (by William Thornton)

Chris, a frequent commenter here at SBC Voice, blogs at "Seek the Holy."  We appreciate this post. No matter who you are or what you do, people have certain expectations for how you should fulfill your office. Whether you are a corporate executive, a mail room clerk, a state senator, a librarian, or a general lackey, someone somewhere is ready to tell you what you should be doing in that position. This is especially true for those holding the position of pastor in a church. It doesn’t take long to identify many of the expectations people have of their pastors. Those expectations generally … [Read more...] about The Pastor’s Duty (by Chris Roberts)