What's that you hear? Crickets. As in, no sound at all. As in "no comment." The sounds of silence -- emanating from the normally loquacious, but apparently public relations challenged leaders at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas -- are positively deafening. And, perhaps defining. Since the news of Southwestern's legal "threat" to take back property that the seminary had previously leased -- and then deeded -- to Tarrant Baptist Association, officials at Southwestern have been quiet. Mum's apparently the word. Perhaps on the advice of legal counsel, no one … [Read more...] about SWBTS vs. TBA: Silence Is Deafening & Defining
Southwestern Seminary’s Assault on Autonomy
Article IV. Authority: While independent and sovereign in its own sphere, the Convention does not claim and will never attempt to exercise any authority over any other Baptist body, whether church, auxiliary organizations, associations, or convention. (Constitution of the Southern Baptist Convention) I suppose it depends on what your definitions of "never," "attempt," "exercise," and "authority" are. It seems the latest assault on local autonomy comes courtesy of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a wholly owned entity of the Southern Baptist Convention. According to published … [Read more...] about Southwestern Seminary’s Assault on Autonomy
Creating a Culture of Transparency in the SBC By Disclosing Executive Pay
Component Two: Making Our Values Transparent: We must also work toward the creation of a new and healthy culture within the Southern Baptist Convention. If we are to grow together and work together in faithfulness to the command of Christ, we must establish a culture of trust, transparency, and truth among all Southern Baptists. . . . If we are to create this culture that the GCR Task Force envisions and that all Southern Baptists deserve, we must begin to take bold steps to make "trust, transparency, and truth" become a reality. The first step on the road to a more transparent and open … [Read more...] about Creating a Culture of Transparency in the SBC By Disclosing Executive Pay
Radically Redefining Transparency in the SBC: Part 2
Containing updates and revisions to interact with Dave Miller’s post, “Combating the Culture of Secrecy in the SBC: Trust the People!” this post was originally published at FromLaw2Grace on July 19, 2010. Transparency and openness, whether in government or in a religious organization like the Southern Baptist Convention, is a principle which almost everyone agrees with in theory, but which is much harder to define in practice. Such has been the case in the SBC. In June of this year, the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force (GCRTF), after a year of meetings and discussions, presented its … [Read more...] about Radically Redefining Transparency in the SBC: Part 2
Radically Redefining Transparency in the SBC: Part 1
Containing updates and revisions to interact with Dave Miller's recent post, "Combating the Culture of Secrecy in the SBC: Trust the People!" this post was originally published at FromLaw2Grace on July 16, 2010. "Component Two: Making Our Values Transparent: We must also work toward the creation of a new and healthy culture within the Southern Baptist Convention. If we are to grow together and work together in faithfulness to the command of Christ, we must establish a culture of trust, transparency, and truth among all Southern Baptists. . . ." (Quoted from Penetrating The Lostness: … [Read more...] about Radically Redefining Transparency in the SBC: Part 1
Who Can Worship at Your Church?
Containing minor revisions, this post was originally published at FromLaw2Grace Who can worship at your church? Sounds like a silly question, doesn't it? The church should be a place where anyone can come and feel at home. Churches should be open to all, for indeed we are all sinners in need of God's grace! But, we all know churches where certain individuals or groups would not be welcome. Can anyone say Westboro "Baptist Church?" What about your church? Is anyone and everyone truly welcome to attend your church's public worship services, be it on Saturday night, Sunday morning, … [Read more...] about Who Can Worship at Your Church?
The SBC & CP: What Language Do You Speak?
On Wednesday, Dave linked to a blog post by Micah Fries entitled, “The Tie that Binds?” Micah wrote his post in response to a Baptist Press article reporting on the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s recent passage of a resolution in support of the Cooperative Program and in support of Executive Director David Hankins’ open letter to the trustees of NAMB regarding the nomination of Kevin Ezell to lead that missions agency. Micah confessed that he was “startled” when he read the article. The following quote by Dr. David Crosby, Pastor of FBC New Orleans, particularly jumped out at him: The CP is … [Read more...] about The SBC & CP: What Language Do You Speak?
What Does It Mean to Enthusiastically Support the Cooperative Program?
After much intensive research, discussion, and prayer, an SBC committee, whose members included a who’s who of Southern Baptist leaders, issued its historic report and recommendations to the messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention assembled in their Annual Meeting. After a move on the Convention floor to amend the Committee’s report and recommendations, the messengers defeated the proposed amendments and overwhelmingly approved the final report and recommendations. On this day, the messengers from cooperating churches of the SBC spoke clearly about the future direction of the … [Read more...] about What Does It Mean to Enthusiastically Support the Cooperative Program?