Mark Terry

Recently, I received this message from IMB missionary friends in Thailand. Dr. Paul Chitwood, the President of the International Mission Board gave me permission to publish this information and make this appeal. Here is the message: We hope you all are doing well. We have a prayer request and opportunity for you to help. As […]

Some years ago, I heard Johnny Bisagno preach in the Southern Baptist Seminary chapel. He had announced his retirement from FBC Houston, and he was making a “farewell tour” of the SBC seminaries. He titled his message “Finishing Well.” In the sermon, he recounted how he studied at Oklahoma Baptist University with 24 other “preacher […]

This past year has proved trying for everyone, especially those in the ministry. We’ve dealt with sickness and dying on a scale beyond our experience. Circumstances have forced us to serve in ways that are unfamiliar. (I still don’t like preaching to a camera instead of people!). We’ve had to learn new things and temporarily […]

Last year, Thom Rainer predicted that the pandemic would cause the deaths of many churches. I did not disbelieve him, but I hoped his prediction would not come true. Sadly, at least in our association, several churches have died or soon will.  I serve on the Mission Team of the Kauf-Van Baptist Association, which includes […]

Recently, our pastor stated, “Antioch was a great church. I wish our church could be like the church in Antioch.” Of course, he meant the church in Antioch of Syria. (The other one was in Antioch of Pisidia.) His statement caused me to ask myself: What made Antioch such a good church? Clearly, Luke considered […]

Last month I read an article in The Christian Post (Dec 3, 2020), entitled “Biblical Illiteracy Utmost Problem Facing Global Evangelicalism.” Leah Klett’s article summarized an interview with Thomas Schirrmacher, the new secretary-general of the World Evangelical Alliance. Schirrmacher stated, “Our biggest problem is that Bible knowledge is fading away. This is the utmost problem […]

Our church keeps a lost and found box in the church office. Folks leave behind Bibles, umbrellas, sunglasses, coffee mugs, and all sorts of things. Probably, you have a lost and found box, too. I’ve been thinking that in 2020 our churches lost some things and found some things. Lost Things Twelve weeks of in-person […]

I’m glad to report that the International Mission Board takes good care of its 3,600 missionaries. In this post I’ll explain the many ways in which the IMB does this. Again, if you did not read my profile, my wife and I served with the IMB in Southeast Asia for 24 years. We retired from […]

My wife and I served as FMB/IMB missionaries for twenty-four years, and I’ve taught missions at three SBC seminaries. You can mark me down as a fan of the Southern Baptist Convention’s method of funding missions. The International Mission Board (formerly Foreign Mission Board) receives 55% of its funds from the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering […]

As I mentioned in the previous post (on Baptist Confessions of Faith) the administration at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary asked me to write an essay on Baptist confessions and distinctives. For Voices, I divided the essay into two parts: one on Baptist confessions of faith and one on Baptist distinctives. You can find the previous […]

The administration of Mid-America Baptist Seminary asked me to write an essay on Baptist confessions of faith and Baptist distinctives. You can find the entire essay here: The discussion of Baptist distinctives must wait for an explanation of Baptist confessions. This is because Baptist distinctives are derived from Baptist confessions, which are based on the […]

I’ve been reading John S. Dickson’s book, The Great Evangelical Recession. It is an accurate, but not uplifting, analysis of the state of evangelicalism in the USA. In one chapter he discusses the expectations church members have of their pastors. He writes about how those expectations have changed over the years. Fifty Years Ago Pastors […]