(Our friend the SBC Plodder gave me permission to republish this reflection on the recent workings at NAMB. Thanks, William.) Our North American Mission Board has been the closest thing to a completely dysfunctional agency that Southern Baptists have ever had. Well, let's go ahead and say that NAMB has absolutely been dysfunctional for most of the 21st century. Informed SBCers, even those who love to argue anything and everything, will likely not argue that point. Along came the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force and report and, more than any other SBC entity, NAMB was singled out for … [Read more...] about Feel Better about NAMB? (by William Thornton)
The Established Church is Worth Fighting For! (by Josh King)
(Josh King is lead pastor of Sachse's First Baptist Church in Sachse, TX, and a contributor to Looks Like Reign: A Commentary on Theology, Culture and the Gospel. We are grateful to have this excellent guest post today!) “NationsBeGlad Desiring God Int'l It's easier to birth a baby than to raise the dead - plant new churches, don't focus on dying churches. @edstetzer #dgnc” I am a big fan of Dr. Ed Stetzer and would love to be at the Desiring God National Conference. Because I am not there I cannot fully know the context behind this specific tweet. This obviously hampers my ability to … [Read more...] about The Established Church is Worth Fighting For! (by Josh King)
Frank Page’s One Percent Solution (by William Thornton)
(Our favorite Plodder has another insight into the workings of the SBC that he has generously shared with us.) Lost in the highly increased internet SBC talk on a possibility of a potential unnamed name change for the Southern Baptist Convention is another action taken by our Executive Committee. Baptist Press reports on XComm President Frank Page's challenge to churches to give another 1% to the Cooperative Program. The recommendation from the EC's Cooperative Program subcommittee asked executive directors of the 42 Southern Baptist state conventions to "encourage their churches to give … [Read more...] about Frank Page’s One Percent Solution (by William Thornton)
The Name Change Won’t Matter Unless We Have a Heart Change (by Alan Cross)
(Alan Cross blogs at Downshore Drift) Juliet: O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet. Romeo: [Aside] Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this? Juliet: 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, … [Read more...] about The Name Change Won’t Matter Unless We Have a Heart Change (by Alan Cross)
SBC Megachurches…(by William Thornton)
...love them, hate them, or be ambivalent about them. According to Thom Ranier, head of LifeWay there are 177 of them in the SBC. That is, 177 churches that report on the Annual Church Profile an average primary worship attendance of at least 2,000 weekly and who give something to the Cooperative Program. Not all churches reported, so there's probably a few missing from this list. Some that are on the list are probably only nominally SBC. Some observations on the 177 megachurches: About 0.4% of SBC churches are megachurches but on an average Lord’s Day of the 6.2 million people that … [Read more...] about SBC Megachurches…(by William Thornton)
NAMB and Restoring Lost Trust (by William Thornton)
(I saw this over at SBC Plodder and thought our readers might like it - so I stole it. Don't tell William.) Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong have always been one-two in special offerings for the churches I have pastored over the last three decades. We didn't have to pray about it, think about it, decide about it; come December and March it was Lottie and Annie and that was that. Then NAMB's head took a private jet to a movie in London, at our expense, and Spending God's Money came along, more revelations about wasting money, a hasty resignation followed by SBC heavyweights putting out … [Read more...] about NAMB and Restoring Lost Trust (by William Thornton)
The P-Word: Part 1 (by Jim Gifford)
Hi all, Today I want to discuss a theological word that has become more familiar to the Evangelical and Baptist world over the last couple of decades. That word is perichoresis. I’ve spent a fair amount of time around this word and I want to share some of my findings with you. Perichoresis is a word that describes, primarily, the relationship enjoyed by the persons of the Trinity. Though the word is not found in the Bible, and not found in theological literature until the fourth century, the concept is very biblical. Several times in the writings of John, and most notably in chapters … [Read more...] about The P-Word: Part 1 (by Jim Gifford)
Youth Minister Interview Questions (by Rick Patrick)
You Can’t Make This Stuff Up (by William Thornton)
(from the SBC Plodder) Here is an abstract of one of those Calvinist church situations that caused me to write an earlier piece on being wary of my five-pointer brethren - another place, I know some of the players, passed along to me by one close to the matter. Before anyone accuses me of making this stuff...you CAN'T make this stuff up. And, you can't survive in the SBC without a sense of humor. Good church calls Calvinistic pastor who proceeds to implement his vision of what the church should be. Things don’t go well. Church declines. Pastor encouraged to leave. He leaves...but not … [Read more...] about You Can’t Make This Stuff Up (by William Thornton)
My Brick Wall: Three Simple Questions (Guest Blogger)
(A friend who has been following my Brick Walls and Picket Fences series sent this to me and asked if I would be interested in publishing it. I appreciated that he interacted with what I wrote. For reasons that seem reasonable to me, my friend desires to remain anonymous. For those who are interested, he DOES attend a Southern Baptist church!) Dave Miller has been writing this past year about Brick Walls and Picket Fences that has caused me to think quite a bit about how I would define who I believe are outside a Brick Wall. I mean, the Picket Fences is to me simpler to explain than a … [Read more...] about My Brick Wall: Three Simple Questions (Guest Blogger)