“Weep with those who weep” – Romans 12:15 We evangelicals love social media and we loves causes. We use social media to raise awareness, stand in solidarity, comfort the grieving, and call others to prayer. In recent days, the evangelical blogosphere has taken up the cause of Iraqi children on the other side of the […]
Five Prayers for Leaders of a Declining Church
Many churches, like mine, find themselves in a state of plateau or decline. We want our churches to grow and believe that God desires that too, but we seem stuck and don’t know how to move forward. Our first instinct ought to be to pray, but pray for what? If you are leading a declining […]
How to (and how NOT to) Minister to Families Battling Cancer
Reflecting on our past and present experience with cancer, we have been blessed to have family, friends and a church family who have been wonderfully supportive. Quite often, people want to know how they can help and encourage someone going through the experience of cancer or other medical related trials. I hope that you will […]
Will you hear his story? A Baptist pastor reviews a gay author
A year ago, I had a brief email correspondence with author Scott Terry about evangelicals and homosexuality. The following is a review and response to his book, Cowboys Armageddon, and the Truth: How a Gay Child Was Saved from Religion Note: Parts of this post are rewritten, with permission, from my personal correspondence with the […]
An Acts 17 Moment: What Burger King has right about LGBT people
The new Proud Whopper is the latest instance of a corporation coming out in support of the LGBT community. While evangelicals reject these types of campaigns as contrary to the Bible’s teaching about sexuality, the Proud Whopper provides us with an Acts 17 moment. Burger King has unwittingly made a statement about LGBT people that evangelical […]
3 Reasons You Should Learn to Appreciate Soccer (even if you don’t like it)
Soccer is the sport many Americans love to hate. Whether you think it’s boring, inferior as a sport, you hate the “flop”, or just tired of the rabid fútbol evangelists (who are often more persistent than Sam-I-am and his green eggs and ham), soccer is a sport which many people just refuse to like. I am […]
The “right man” for the job: Can race/ethnicity be a factor?
Whenever we have discussions about selecting leaders, people will often argue that we approach the process in a color-blind way and base our decision on finding the best man for the job, without regard to race or ethnicity. I personally believe the idea of a “best” person for a leadership position is a myth. When […]
My “personal plan” for SBC14: A self-assessment
In my pre-Convention post, I laid out my personal plan for this year’s Convention. I wrote my post before because I wanted to move past a non-specific, general call for unity and offer some practical, event-specific application for the average messenger like me. Well, no one in Baltimore asked me how I was doing on […]
After Baltimore: Two Recommendations for our Trustees on Increasing Diversity in the SBC
One of the under-the-surface themes at the Convention this year was the increased desire among messengers to move past the issue of race and see a growing diversity in SBC involvement and leadership. Among the many positive indications of an increasing racial/ethnic diversity and unity in the Convention, I noted the following in Baltimore: Fred […]
My personal plan to strive for unity in Baltimore
How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! Psalm 133:1 When it comes to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, “unity” may not be the first word that comes to mind. Especially if you spend a lot of time on the SBC blogosphere, you might think that unity is an unachievable goal. […]
Missions and the fate of those who never hear
In my roles as pastor and professor, I am often asked about the fate of those who never have a chance to hear the gospel. The answer to that question has profound implications, not only for our Christian apologetic, but for our urgency in taking the gospel to the nations. While many will try to […]
Second Thoughts on the Cost of Ministry
A follow-up to my previous post, “Counting the Cost of Ministry.” ______ Here I am, calling people to do hard things when I find myself struggling under the weight of very same hard things that God has called me to do. This week has been particularly difficult – having one of those days where you […]