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Matt Svoboda

The Dangers of Entrepreneurship in Pastoral Ministry

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*This was originally posted at mattsvo.com* John Piper once wrote a book titled, “Brothers, We Are Not Professionals.” It is fantastic and I recommend it for every pastor. It warns pastors of falling into the error of “professionalism.” Piper knew that falling into a spirit of professionalism as pastors could essentially destroy the essence of our calling as pastors. A spirit of professionalism is still a danger to pastor ministry, but I think we are seeing a new wave: a spirit of entrepreneurship. While these two things are in many way inseparable, I think there is some important nuance … [Read more...] about The Dangers of Entrepreneurship in Pastoral Ministry

10 things more important for the SBC than the Calvinism debate

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That small sliver of the known universe who keeps tabs on things related to the Southern Baptist Convention cannot have missed the continual rancor over theology. More specifically, to what extent the theological system known as "Calvinism" and the wider system known as "Reformed theology" should have influence in the conventions entities and churches. An oft spoken mantra with SBC blogs is, "If you want to drive up the hit count write something about Calvinism." And, aside from the occasional Mark Driscoll drive-by, this holds true. With all things Internet related our sense of scope and … [Read more...] about 10 things more important for the SBC than the Calvinism debate

Should Christians Support Israel?

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This is a post, at full length, by Dr. Russell Moore: I highlighted a few important parts in the post and following the post I have a few questions... "Last week I stood over the Valley of Armageddon, with Israeli warjets flying overhead and the sound of the Muslim call to prayer humming all around from the loudspeakers attached to the mosques below. It was a sobering moment, more sobering even than the images of explosions in Gaza seen on television round the clock. Israel is, as always it seems, at war. So should Christians pray especially for Israel, for the Jewish … [Read more...] about Should Christians Support Israel?

Whosoever Will & He Who Believes

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The book Whosoever Will, the collection of essays from the infamous "Whosoever Will" conference, is officially on sale and the book is on back order. Let's be clear : It is absolutely fine with me that these men put on this conference and now are publishing their book.  I'm a Southern Baptist, they are free to do what they will. But, let's just call a spade a spade.  If Tom Ascol, James White, Al Mohler, Matt Chandler, and many other "leading SBC Calvinists" got together to do a conference to promote Calvinism within the SBC and to denounce non-calvinistic theology, they would be called … [Read more...] about Whosoever Will & He Who Believes

How much of a churches budget should go to missions?

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This post is somewhat a follow up from my last one, even though they are pretty different. In my last post I addressed how much pastors should(or shouldn't) get paid.  With me, it is an issue of stewardship.  In my opinion, churches have horrific stewardship when they pay pastors monstrous salaries. But, that has already been discussed. In this post, I want to hear your thoughts on how much of a church budget should go to missions? I have always had the philosophy that churches should aim for a budget that gave 50% of their income to missions, local and foreign.  I know this is a … [Read more...] about How much of a churches budget should go to missions?

Prep work for MARCH MADNESS

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Alright everyone, we are starting March Madness early next week!  The prize will be $200 gift card to WTS Bookstore!!! Here is where you come in- due to how we changed our aggregator from last year we are not able to look back at how many hits all the SBC got.  So- we need some feedback from you.  Are there any blogs that were not in the tournament last year that you all feel should be this year? We already know of a few changes we are going to make to the bracket, but we need to hear from you all to try and make this as fair and "updated" as possible! Give us your thoughts! … [Read more...] about Prep work for MARCH MADNESS

Fighting Biblical and Theological Ignorance

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I don't know if any of you listen to "The White Horse Inn" but it is a great radio program that you should check out. They have started to do a series examining Galatians. To start this new series they went to a conservative, evangelical Bible college and simply asked, "What is the book of Galatians about?" It was almost jaw dropping to hear some of these responses and how completely wrong they were. One would think they had never read Galatians or that it had been a very, very long time since they had last read it. They gave typical Sunday school answers and answers that people who … [Read more...] about Fighting Biblical and Theological Ignorance

Interpreting the Book of Revelation

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*this is a post I wrote on my own blog a few days ago- thought itd make some good conversation! The book of Revelation has 2 different genres in it: 1) Apocalyptic literature and 2) Historical Narrative. We always interpret narrative literally- Genesis, Exodus, the Gospels, etc... Apocalyptic literature is another story. Throughout the whole Bible the biblical authors often times interpret apocalyptic literature symbolically. All throughout the Bible apocalyptic literature events are described symbolically. In the book of Revelation there is a tension- we have to try and differentiate … [Read more...] about Interpreting the Book of Revelation

GCRTF Progress Report

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You can read the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force's Progress Report- here. You can watch it- here. There will be posts written soon about certain aspects of the progress report in order to discuss some of the Task Force's "findings" and suggestions. For now, if there is anything specific you want to discuss now, the comment thread is open! … [Read more...] about GCRTF Progress Report