American Christianity in many ways mimics the culture at large by always going after the latest thing, following the latest celebrity, reading the latest book, and, yes, latching on to the cause of the moment. In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in adoption and global orphan care. I’ll leave it to the […]
Are you pursuing God?
I have a question. Are you pursuing God? I mean really striving after him? That is a question for you whatever your season in life. God’s desire is that we pursue Him and that as a result of that pursuit, we find our joy in Him and Him alone. I’ve been thinking about the different […]
“Calvinism” — Breakdowns in Communication
In our ongoing discussions of important issues, one perennial problem is breakdown in communication. An issue where this problem seems to occur often is in our discussions about Calvinism. Just what do we mean when we use the term “Calvinist”? Because the term is used in a variety of ways we often fail to communicate […]
Lord, Move Us!
It was our second day in Asia. The night before, I had experienced my first “English Corner” – an opportunity to meet students, speak to them in English, and share with them my culture, my experiences, and most of all, my faith in Christ. In our initial English corner, I was the first one Ellen […]
An SBC Blog Experiment
How about a little change of pace and mutual encouragement? Answer one of the following questions in the comment stream: What do you love about the SBC? Or What is something God is doing in your church, association, state convention, or other ministry? Here are the guidelines (for this post only and I know […]
A Great Commission People
It is surprising to me how many believers go through their Christian life with little or no concern for reaching people with the gospel. In a former church I remember one member, a leader in the church, commented that he really did not have a burden for the lost. He admitted that he had never […]
A critique of “A Color-Blind Denomination”
My friend Raymond Dix is an African-American, Baptist pastor in a neighboring community. I asked him to read and respond to my post on “color-blindness“, knowing that he would disagree with me on some key points. I offer his careful critique with his permission to further this needed discussion. Blessings, Todd ___________ A Critical Analysis […]
A “Color-Blind” Denomination?
When it comes to the issue of race, many today advocate that we take a “color-blind” approach. That is, in our interactions with people we should refuse to allow race to be a factor at all, whether we are interacting with a neighbor, talking about social issues, or choosing a Convention president. At this point […]
How to pray for your pastor
As a pastor, one of the greatest encouragements is to hear the words “I’m praying for you.” Truly, one of the great blessings of being a pastor is knowing that prayers are being lifted up on your behalf. Often, people ask how they can be praying for me. While there are particular needs that I […]
A Black President for the SBC
Recently, Dr. Fred Luter made the much anticipated announcement that he would allow himself to be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention. With this announcement, Luter is poised to become the first African American to head our denomination. The day Southern Baptists elect our first black SBC president will be an important moment […]
Why so much emphasis on being SBC?
On Sunday, during the prayer time at my church (Harvest Baptist in NW Indiana), I shared a report of my participation in the SBC annual meeting and offered prayer for our cooperative missions efforts. Later, I was graciously asked by one of my church members why I talked so much about the SBC and was […]
Reflections on SBC 2011 – One more SBC Voice
I began attending the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1999 in Atlanta. That first year, I was a newly appointed church planter with virtually no money. My wife graciously said I could attend…if I could do it for $100. So, between the free luncheons, gracious older pastors who chose to feed me, […]