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 […]
‘Tis the Season for Lottie Moon:
In many churches of which I have been a part, I have felt that our goal for the Christmas missions offering was quite low given the number and financial make-up of the congregations. Yet, at the same time, Christmas is a time where people are being bombarded with requests for money from a variety of […]
Do you have an outward focus?
A few weeks ago, I suggested to my wife that we might consider selling our house and moving to a different, more convenient community. She was not opposed to the idea, but suggested that now was not the right time. The reason? She has ongoing relationships with several of our neighbors whom she is trying to […]
Do we need State Conventions? Yes!
One of the questions on the table in this new era of SBC life and the rethinking of our institutions is whether the State Convention is still useful going forward or if they should be dismantled in favor of Associations and the National Convention. I would argue that there is indeed an important ongoing role […]
Getting the job done in the wake of the IMB crisis: “I’m in – and so are you!”
The following is a message sent out to pastors from our Indiana Executive Director, Dr. Cecil Seagle. He has given me permission to repost it here. Dr. Seagle’s words are timely and needed — thankful for his clearing of the dust and his affirmation of the heart of our leaders during this heart-wrenching and difficult situation. […]
Three Ways to Become an Evangelistic Church (without starting another program)
Many pastors and church leaders are seeking earnestly for something that will turn their churches from plateau and decline to healthy church growth. Often they turn to outreach programs, emphases and events to get outreach going and turn things around. There’s nothing wrong with programs and events, per se, but they take a lot of […]
The end of the race issue — don’t stop now!
Will we ever be finished with the race issue? Will we ever make enough progress that we can rest, proclaim the job is done, or know that we have somehow moved past the need for racial reconciliation and the pursuit of unity across racial/ethnic lines? In our own spiritual journey toward the heart of God […]