Mark Terry

From Dave - in my advanced senility, I neglected to changed the author designation from my name to Dr. Terry's. My apologies. In this third part I’ll focus on three aspects of SBC life from sixty years ago. Again, these are my memories and experiences. My memory may fail me at times, and your experience might have been different. I should emphasize that I’m not contending that the past was great and the present is terrible. No, some contemporary things are better; but, then again, just because something is old does not mean it’s bad. Some things are just different. Local Church … [Read more...] about This Is Not Your Grandfather’s SBC, Part 3 (Mark Terry)

In Part 2 I’ll discuss changes in the SBC that I’ve observed in my lifetime (75 years). I’m not suggesting these are negative things, but they are significant things, at least in my opinion. One big change is the rise of Calvinism in the SBC. In the 1950s Calvinism was barely a blip on the SBC’s radar. I studied for my Master of Divinity degree at Southwestern Seminary from 1972-1975. The only time I remember Calvinism being mentioned in class was in my church history class. We spent lots more time in class discussing dispensationalism and the Charismatic Movement, which was roaring at that … [Read more...] about This Is NOT Your Grandfather’s SBC, Part 2

In this two-part series, I hope to point out how the Southern Baptist Convention has changed during my lifetime. I’m 75 years old, and I’m a lifelong Southern Baptist. My father was a Southern Baptist pastor, so I’ve been attending SBC churches since before I was born. Now, I’m not suggesting that all the changes I’ll mention are negative. No, many of the changes were needed, and some were inevitable. Still, they are observable changes from 1955 until 2025. This first installment will discuss diversity in the SBC, and Part 2 will list other changes that I’ve observed. My wife and I are … [Read more...] about This Is Not Your Grandfather’s SBC, part 1

I serve as the Wednesday evening Bible teacher at our church. We’ve studied Psalms this fall. This past Wednesday, I asked the folks to tell something they are thankful for. One woman said she is thankful to serve as an advocate/counselor for sexual abuse victims. A father told the group he’s thankful to see his children growing in their faith. Both of those impressed me. My little grandson, age four, attends the preschool at First Baptist Church of Keller, Texas. They did a Thanksgiving craft this week, and he said he was thankful for McDonalds. That made me smile, but I can testify that he … [Read more...] about The Great SBC Voices Thank-Off

Hymns played an important part in worship during my formative years. I’ve written here on Voices that my earliest memory of worship is standing beside my mother at the First Baptist Church of Fairfield, Texas, while the congregation sang, “Bringing in the Sheaves.” I thought they sang “bringing in the leaves,” and that seemed strange to me. Why would people bring in leaves? Still, hymns were the staple of congregational worship for several hundred years. Old timers like me grew up singing them, and we miss singing the familiar hymns of yesterday. I teach the old folks’ Sunday school class … [Read more...] about The Great SBC Voices Hymn Survey

Two weeks ago, we published a survey on preaching. One of our commenters, JND, suggested that we post a survey on Sunday School. So, here is your chance to express your opinions about Sunday School. In many denominations Sunday School is just a program for children; however, in the SBC we provide classes for all ages. Chuck Kelly in his book on evangelism in the SBC (How They Did It) posits that evangelism through the Sunday School was a key factor in the growth of the SBC. I certainly agree with that. Sadly, it seems fewer churches emphasize Sunday School these days, and fewer still use … [Read more...] about The SBC Voices Sunday School Survey

SBC Voices exists, in part, to provide a forum for folks to share their opinions. I thought it would be interesting to learn our readers’ opinions about preaching. I’m 75 years old, and I’ve been a Southern Baptist all my life. My father pastored SBC churches. So, I heard his sermons for many years. For about forty years I preached nearly every Sunday, but since I retired from missionary service, I’ve preached much less. In fact, last year I preached just once, and I’ll preach only once this year. That means I’ve transitioned from preaching to listening. For sure, I have opinions about … [Read more...] about The Great SBC Voices Preaching Survey

I teach the Legacy Builders Bible Fellowship Group (think old folks Sunday school class) at our church. Because we never sing a hymn in the worship service, we sing a hymn each week in class. Recently, we sang “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,” and that opened floodgates of church memories for me. My earliest memory of church is standing beside my mother at the First Baptist Church of Fairfield, Texas. My father was the pastor, and the year would have been 1954. That memory prompted me to remember other things of the SBC past. Old timers reading this will nod and smile (I hope), and younger … [Read more...] about “Days Gone By” – SBC Memories

At the SBC Annual Meeting, the messengers elected Clint Pressley as the new president. I’m embarrassed to say that I had never heard of him. In fact, six candidates vied for the office, and I only knew two—David Allen and Michael Keahbone. I don’t know if that says more about me (my ignorance) or about the candidates. Last week, I wrote Bart Barber to thank him for serving as our SBC president. He did a good job in a difficult period, and he demonstrated that the pastor of a mid-sized church can serve as president. The common wisdom before was that only a candidate with a big church or … [Read more...] about Varied and Vacuous Observations, Part 4

One purpose of SBC Voices is to provide a forum for our readers to share their opinions. That’s what I’m requesting in this post. For some years I’ve pondered the question: How should we honor our parents as adults? We veterans of Sunday School learned the Ten Commandments, and the fifth states, 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” (Ex 20:12, ESV) When we teach this, we emphasize that minor children should obey their parents. Put another way, children honor their parents by obeying them. That is the way the … [Read more...] about Honor Your Father and Mother (for Adults)