Mark Terry

Recently, someone asked me about the crowns mentioned in the New Testament. That is, my friend wanted to learn about the crowns a believer might receive. His question prompted me to do some research, and I thought I would share my findings with you. “Crown” in the New Testament (stephanos in Greek) can refer to a king’s golden crown or to the woven leaf crown an athlete received for winning a competition. Of course, we all recall that the Roman soldiers crowned Jesus Christ with a crown of thorns. The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary states that the crowns mentioned in the New Testament … [Read more...] about Crowns Christians Can Receive

Let me begin with a personal thank you and a personal note. I owe Dave Miller a big thank you for posting my essays. Most of the Voices writers post their own, but I’m technologically impaired. So, Dave does it for me. Thanks, Dave. I mentioned that my dear wife was recovering from a broken shoulder, suffered in a fall at our home. I’m glad to report that her bones have healed, and she’s doing well. She’s still receiving physical therapy to regain strength and range of motion. In my recent post on Baptist Distinctives, I listed local church autonomy. I thought it would be helpful to expand … [Read more...] about What Is Local Church Autonomy?

This fall I’ll teach a class on Bible doctrines at our church in Fort Worth. So, I’ve been studying doctrine and preparing PowerPoint slides. I’m 76 years old, and I’ve only heard one sermon on the doctrine of adoption, and I preached that. Now, don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying no one else has preached on adoption, I’m just saying in my experience I’ve not heard a sermon on adoption. That’s a shame, I believe. Adoption is a precious doctrine that bears preaching and teaching and learning. The doctrine means a lot to me because our two children are adopted. So, here’s my sermon on adoption. … [Read more...] about The Doctrine of Adoption

Back in the olden days, when I was young, one often saw articles and books on Baptist distinctives. By Baptist distinctives, I mean doctrines and convictions that characterize Southern Baptists. I don’t see such writing much anymore. I’m not sure why, but I suspect that the cultural trend of decreasing “brand loyalty” has affected us. When I was a boy in Arkansas, families were Ford families or Chevrolet families. Some clans were Baptist, and some were Methodist. Folks were loyal to brands, denominations, and political parties. Those days are long gone. Still, I’m loyal to the Southern Baptist … [Read more...] about Let’s Review and Recommit to Baptist Distinctives

Let me begin with a personal note. You probably noticed that while I was posting frequently for a time, in recent weeks I have not. The reason is that my dear wife fell and broke her shoulder. So, the time I previously devoted to writing, I have been giving to driving her to medical appointments and providing unskilled nursing care (poor woman!). I’m happy to report that Miss Barbara (as she is known in all the Starbucks nearby) is on the mend. I know this because she has begun asking me to take her to Starbucks. Southern Baptists talk a better game of evangelism than we play. The last … [Read more...] about Let’s Rededicate Ourselves to Church Evangelism

Most Baptist historians mark the beginning of the Conservative Resurgence in 1979. In that year, the messengers at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting elected conservative pastor Adrian Rogers as president of the SBC. His election came about through careful planning by Paul Pressler and Paige Patterson. In the years leading up to 1979, they developed a strategy to take control of the SBC. The key element in their strategy was to elect conservatives to the presidency of the SBC for many consecutive years. They accomplished this by mobilizing conservative churches to send messengers … [Read more...] about The Conservative Resurgence and Southern Baptist Seminary – A Personal Memoir (Dr. Mark Terry)

Fifty-four years ago, I sat in Dr. David Garland’s Old Testament Introduction class at Southwestern Seminary. When we came to Genesis 1:28—“be fruitful and multiply,” Dr. Garland declared this was the only biblical commandment that people had consistently obeyed. Well, he spoke the truth fifty years ago, but today birth rates are plunging in all the developed countries. In recent days several articles have appeared on the internet explaining how the low fertility rate in the USA will affect our future as a nation. It seems appropriate to consider the effects on the Southern Baptist Convention … [Read more...] about Population Decline and the Future of the SBC

On Easter Sunday, I thought back to my years as a pastor. I can guarantee that every pastor has thought/wished this: “Maybe they’ll all come back next Sunday.” Of course, the attendance the next Sunday reverts to the usual level. Still, a pastor can dream. I was sad to learn Steve Gaines passed away on March 20th. He was formerly president of the Southern Baptist Convention and pastor of the famous Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis. I first met Steve at Southwestern Baptist Seminary when we were students in the same PhD seminar. At that time, he was pastoring in Lake Dallas, and he invited … [Read more...] about Varied and Vacuous Opinions & Observations by Dr. Mark Terry, Part 7

I suppose my Voices readers think of me as a writer or a semi-retired seminary professor. I think of myself as a retired (emeritus) missionary. After all, Barbara and I served with the FMB/IMB for twenty-five years in Southeast Asia. The Foreign Mission Board (now International Mission Board) appointed us in April 1975, and we went to Missionary Orientation in the fall. We arrived in Davao City, Philippines, in April 1976. Today, Davao is a large, bustling city, the largest city on the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, but in those days, it was a sleepy, provincial town. A … [Read more...] about Easter Memories from the Philippines

Recently, I posted on Voices about the number of SBC churches that die/close their doors. That research piqued my curiosity, and I decided to research why churches leave the SBC. It is important to understand that the Southern Baptist Convention consists of churches that have voluntarily joined themselves together. The SBC is often described as a voluntary association of churches. A church can decide to apply for membership in the SBC, and a member church can vote to leave (disaffiliate in the terminology of researchers). How many churches do leave? I learned that many more churches close … [Read more...] about Why Do Churches Leave the SBC?