Mark Terry

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?

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

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?

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

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?

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

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

About twenty years ago, Dr. Ed Stetzer and I worked on a church plant on the east side of Louisville, Kentucky. As the planning progressed, Ed asked me what we should name the church. I suggested Eastside Baptist Tabernacle. He rejected that immediately, and I believe he settled on River Oaks Community Church. The church plant failed because the church planter left after six months. When we evaluated the project, I told Ed it failed because he rejected the name I suggested. From time to time the discussion arises about whether a Southern Baptist church should include Baptist in its name. In … [Read more...] about What’s in a Name?

Last month my dear wife and I went on a cruise to Alaska with Dr. David Jeremiah. He preached great sermons, and the music was wonderful. The natural beauty of Alaska prompted us to praise the Creator and admire His handiwork. During one of his sermons, David Jeremiah said something that gave me pause: “At Shadow Mountain Community Church we demand excellence in all things.” Since then I’ve been pondering that phrase—"excellence in all things.” I’ve heard other mega-church pastors make the same statement, and it always evokes mixed emotions in me. Positive Reaction Positively, I agree … [Read more...] about Excellence in All Things