Last week William Thornton and J D Greear published articles about the low baptism statistics in the SBC. Between them they mentioned most of the pertinent factors. J D Greear led by lamenting the low level of spiritual fervency in our churches. For sure, he is not the only one to mention that. In the comments on William’s post, Bob Cleveland wrote this: “When I read the account, in Acts, of the day of Pentecost, which resulted in 3,000 people being saved and baptized, I must ask what they had that we don’t have today. Because, whatever it is, it’s missing now.” Bob’s comment inspired me to … [Read more...] about Can We Experience the Book of Acts Today?
What about Sunday Night Services?
At our church, our staff has discussed what to do about the Sunday evening service. Since I’ve been a member here, we’ve not succeeded in attracting many attenders to the evening service. Our church is a traditional, small-town church in Texas. The church has always held a Sunday night service. Last summer our church staff decided to give the evening service one more try. So, we’ve had Sunday evening services from 5:00-6:00 p.m. I serve as the teaching pastor, and I’ve preached a series of sermons on What Baptists Believe. What more could people want? Nevertheless, we only draw 50-60 people. … [Read more...] about What about Sunday Night Services?
Why Is It Harder to Evangelize?
In recent years our SBC evangelism statistics have declined significantly. Dr. Jeff Iorg, the President of Gateway Seminary (formerly Golden Gate Baptist Seminary) spoke about this in his convocation message in the fall semester of 2019: “Southern Baptists have a declining effectiveness in sharing the Gospel with non-Christians and leading them to profess faith in Jesus," he said. "Since baptism is the first act of public obedience for a new believer, baptismal rates are one important measure of evangelistic effectiveness. By that key indicator, our effectiveness in leading people to faith … [Read more...] about Why Is It Harder to Evangelize?
The Pastor’s High Calling
For most of my fifty years in ministry, I’ve served as a foreign missionary or seminary professor. However, in my senior years, I’ve been called to serve as the Teaching Pastor of our church. This new responsibility has prompted me to think about the calling of pastors. For sure, it is a high calling, and it is a challenging one, too. The Pastor’s Challenge To describe the indescribable—" Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Cor 9:15, NKJV) I thought about this the other day. We are expected to stand before our churches and describe the indescribable gift of Jesus Christ to … [Read more...] about The Pastor’s High Calling
So You Want Your Church to Be a New Testament Church?
We often declare that all Southern Baptist churches strive to be true New Testament churches. I don’t disagree with that aspiration, but I wonder if we give sufficient thought to what that means. It seems to me that we often idealize the New Testament church. That is, when we speak of the “New Testament Church,” we have a perfect, first-century congregation in mind. A careful reading of the New Testament reveals churches that struggled mightily, much like the imperfect churches we serve today. Note the problems in these churches mentioned in the New Testament. Jerusalem. The members … [Read more...] about So You Want Your Church to Be a New Testament Church?
Ten New Testament Principles on Polity
Last week I posted an essay on Baptist church autonomy. As I did the research for that essay, I found some interesting material in Howard Forshee’s Broadman Church Manual. This manual is quite helpful, and I’ve given copies to several new pastors. In his book Forshee quotes from Lee McCoy’s book, Understanding Baptist Polity, sharing the principles of New Testament polity. The word “polity” pertains to governance. My comments are in parenthesis. God is the sovereign ruler of all mankind. Christ is the head and divine teacher of the church. (Eph 5:23) The Holy Spirit is our guide and … [Read more...] about Ten New Testament Principles on Polity
What Does Autonomy Mean for the SBC?
In the past months, writers and commenters here at Voices have used the word autonomy often. The word basically means “self-ruled.” For example, some nations have regions that are semi-autonomous, meaning the region has a measure of independence. What does this word mean in the context of the Southern Baptist Convention and its churches? To answer this question, I consulted the Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists. I assumed it would include an article on church autonomy, but to my surprise, it did not. I did find an article entitled “Authority of the Southern Baptist Convention.” Here is an … [Read more...] about What Does Autonomy Mean for the SBC?
Revoking Ordination
In recent weeks we’ve commented extensively on the need to revoke the ordination of pastors who have been convicted of child/sexual abuse. I’m confident our Voices writers and readers agree on that. We have not discussed how that can be done. That thought prompted me to do some research on revoking ordination. I checked the Broadman Minister’s Manual by Franklin Segler, a longtime professor of practical theology at SWBTS. His chapter on ordination is detailed and helpful, but he does not mention revocation. I also consulted W. A. Criswell’s Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors. His chapter … [Read more...] about Revoking Ordination
How to Pray for Missionaries
I appreciate that Tony Jones has shared lots of missionary prayer requests with us. As an emeritus IMB missionary (Latin for “has been”), let me share some suggestions about how to pray for missionaries. Missionary prayer requests are not new; in fact, they go back to the Apostle Paul. Here is his: Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. (Col 4:2-4, … [Read more...] about How to Pray for Missionaries
Late Summer Musings
Here are some things I’ve mused about this summer. Chris Babbler is an announcer on KRLD radio in Dallas. Every time I hear him I think he should have become a preacher. Mid-America Baptist Seminary in Memphis (alma mater of William Thornton) has named Dr. Lee Brand, an African-American, to serve as academic dean. Certainly, I applaud this action. I know many were disappointed that none of the recent institutional presidencies went to a minority person. It seems to me that naming minority persons to positions such as vice president and dean will lead to their promotions to CEO … [Read more...] about Late Summer Musings