If you’ve been following the blog this year, you know about our work on the SBC Pastors’ Conference and the vision that Dave cast for a different focus this year. If you missed it, the entire session is available online at http://live.sbc.net/ondemand.html. I was privileged to serve with the Pastors’ Conference this year and was […]
The Alt-Right resolution – Did we get it right?
A late-night session, calls and tweets to get back in the hall, through creative procedural maneuvers we are able to schedule a vote against the “anti-gospel, alt-right, white supremacy” movement – the hall was packed to overflowing and the vote was made – unanimous! Not a NO-vote to be seen anywhere in the hall. We […]
Why I nominated Shane Hall for the Pastor’s Conference
God brought Shane and I together. Back in 1999, when I was a young church planter, I attended my first SBC annual meeting. While there, I went to the mic and asked some question about insurance for planters, identifying myself, my church, and the town in which I was planting. A few months after the […]
Unity – The Joyful Choice of Being Southern Baptist
Being a Southern Baptist is a joy in my ministry. I am thankful to be a part of this diverse group of Christians that have chosen to partner with one another to do together what we could not do alone. I understand that sometimes we will have differences in the ways we see theological issues, differing […]
A Preview of the Pastors Conference Nomination Form
As you may have heard, the nomination process officially begins on Monday. You can read more about it here and here. For this post, I wanted to give you a sneak preview of the nomination form questions and a brief explanation and rationale for the things we are asking. We are looking forward to your […]
Pastor’s Conference 2017 – an idea for a different kind of conference
I am nominating Dave Miller for pc president this afternoon on the basis of a new idea for 2017. The vote for Pastor’s Conference President will take place shortly after 2:00pm today, at the conclusion of Jack Graham’s message. Here is my nomination speech: My name is Todd Benkert, messenger from East Lake Baptist […]
Why a “small church” Pastor’s Conference? (or Why I am nominating Dave Miller for Pastor’s Conference President)
I wanted to write and give some clarity to why I am nominating a small church pastor to lead the Pastor’s Conference in 2017 and why I support the idea of a conference of small church preachers focused on biblical preaching. This article is meant to provide some clarity on my own thinking about why […]
Reflections on our Unity in the Gospel — Will We Be Together?
God’s people gathered across denominations bound by a common theology, multiple sermons over a few days that are relevant and theologically robust, glorious music saturated with expressions of the sovereignty of God, great times of fellowship with other pastors over good food, being together in a room filled with a sense of the very presence […]
Thoughts on Baptist Cooperation — A Guest Post by Dr. Rick Hillard
Dr. Hillard has led the churches he served to give generously and sacrificially to the Cooperative Program. He has a passion for partnership missions and for reaching unreached peoples with the gospel of Jesus Christ. As he has shared his thoughts with me, I invited him to present them in a post here at SBCVoices. […]
In Pursuit of Unity – Small Steps for Everyday Baptists
As a followup to our proposal for a Baptist future, I wanted to offer a few thoughts about unity – especially unity in SBC life. Unity doesn’t just happen. In fact, our natural tendency given our various opinions, personalities, temperaments, priorities, callings, contexts, theological bents, and our common sin nature all make DISunity the more natural outcome. […]
Reluctance to Lead – 10 Reasons NOT to be a pastor
When I was first considering becoming a pastor, I remember many wise men counseling me to “make sure you are called” and “if you can do anything else and be satisfied, do it.” After 20 years of ministry, now I know why. Wherever these thoughts come from, they are real, and from time to time make […]
The Bible and Homosexuality — A Panel Discussion
I was recently invited to participate in a panel discussion on “The Bible and Homosexuality” at our local high school. The panel is being hosted by the Gay/Straight Alliance student group. Given the time constraints, I probably will not get to say everything you see here, but this is what I have prepared. Please be […]