Mark Terry

Some years ago, I served as the interim pastor of a county-seat First Baptist Church in Kentucky. One week I received a note from a woman who had visited our church. She told me that I was the only one who greeted her when she visited. Her note prompted two reactions in me. I was relieved that at least I had greeted her, but I felt dismayed that no one else had done so. In reaction, I shared this with the congregation both in a service and in the church newsletter. I encouraged them to greet all our church guests. Well, how well does your church do in welcoming guests? I discussed this with … [Read more...] about Is Your Church a Friendly Church?

Several days ago, Bart Barber, our current SBC president, declared that he would “defrock” (unordain) Johnny Hunt if he had the power to do so. His emphatic declaration seems to have prompted Baptist News Global to publish two articles on ordination, more specifically revoking ordination. The articles, written by Marv Knox, Curtis Freeman, and Mark Wingfield, are certainly thought-provoking. (They inspired me to write this post.) This post is not meant to be a poll on Johnny Hunt; rather, I want us to focus on revoking ordination. How is that done? What would justify revoking a pastor’s … [Read more...] about When and Why to Revoke Ordination

Recently, I retired for the third time. The first time I retired from the International Mission Board; the second time I retired from Mid-America Seminary, and the third time I retired from Central Baptist Church in Crandall, Texas, where I served as teaching pastor. The other day, I reflected on my years of ministry (53 years), and I asked myself if my ministry was successful. (At Least it was long!) Of course, that is for the Lord and others to say, but that reflection made me wonder—How do you define success in ministry? A missionary might focus on the number of folks baptized and churches … [Read more...] about How Do You Define Success in Ministry?

It doesn’t seem possible, but I enrolled at Southwestern Baptist Seminary fifty years ago. In August 1972 I drove to Fort Worth and began my seminary studies. I went to Southwestern because my pastor recommended it, and I’ve never regretted that decision. When I enrolled, I had two goals in mind—to qualify for missionary appointment by the Foreign Mission Board (now International Mission Board) and to learn to preach. My wife and I had written the FMB and informed them of our call to missionary service. The Personnel Department said, “Great, now go to seminary.” So, off we went to Fort … [Read more...] about Fort Worth Memoirs

A friend gave me a coffee table book about church signs. I thought I might share some that caught my attention. Inspirational For Hope—Worship with Us; We Have a Real One Be a Fountain, Not a Drain There’s a Mighty Go in Gospel The Mind Grows by Taking in, But the Heart Grows by Giving Out God Grades on the Cross, Not the Curve If God Had a Refrigerator, Your Picture Would Be on It Clever Come Inside for Free Faith Lift God Wants Full Custody, Not Just a Weekend Visit Psalms Read Here Visitors Welcome—Members Expected God: Let’s Meet at My House … [Read more...] about Considering Church Signs!

My wife and I enjoyed attending the annual meeting in Anaheim. I’ve attended the SBC annual meetings since 1975, off and on. The off years were the years when we served overseas with the FMB/IMB. The following are my observations and reflections. Good Things The highlight of the convention for me was the Missionary Appointment Service. The IMB appointed 52 new missionaries. Praise the Lord! That’s our main things, folks. The best quote of the convention was spoken by Dr. Paul Chitwood, President of the IMB (and my former student). He declared, “Missions brought Southern Baptists … [Read more...] about Musings on the SBC Annual Meeting

The Bible contains 1,189 chapters in total. The question I am asking our Voices readers is this: Which is the greatest chapter in the Bible? Some might say, “Well, they are all great.” For sure, that is true, but it is fair to say that Romans 8 influences our faith more than Leviticus 15. Another might say, “All the chapters are equally inspired.” Again, I would agree with that, but that response does not address my question. In your humble, but accurate, opinion which is the greatest chapter in the Bible? I’m asking you to offer your opinion and then explain why you chose that chapter. So, … [Read more...] about What Is the Greatest Chapter in the Bible?

I first noticed the term, “prioritism,” in David Hesselgrave’s book, “Paradigms in Conflict” (Kregel Publications, 2005). Dr. Hesselgrave taught missions at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School for more than 30 years, and he was one of the founders of the Evangelical Missions Society. Dr. Hesselgrave died two years ago, but he was the godfather of evangelical missions. In his book he defined “prioritism” in this way: “What I will call traditional prioritism recognizes the importance of all or most of those ministries that address the various medical, educational, economic, and social needs of … [Read more...] about Prioritism and the SBC

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 you may be aware there is a coup happening in Myanmar (Burma). Our national partners who live on the border of Thailand and Myanmar have informed us that the Myanmar military has been bombing Karen villages. The Karen people have fled to the border of Thailand. The … [Read more...] about Let’s Help the Karen Baptists in Burma

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 boys.” They all had enrolled in OBU to prepare for the ministry. He stated that as best he could determine, he was the only one still active in ministry. So, in his message, he exhorted the seminary students to continue in ministry and “finish well.” This past … [Read more...] about What Keeps You Going in Ministry?