The news on this is that the state convention for which Randy Adams is CEO, Northwest Baptist Convention (Oregon, Washington, northern Idaho – around 500 churches) had a “virtual participation Annual Meeting” last week. As he describes it in his blog (Virtual participation at the 2020 Northwest Baptist Annual Meeting) Messengers voted remotely on six […]
State conventions are making opportunity cost decisions about the Cooperative Program…
…and I’ll raise a toast to that. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it. ALASKA chose the worst possible way by trashing the entire concept of the Cooperative Program. How Alaska Baptists would destroy the Cooperative Program and blame it on NAMB, was my article of a month ago. The […]
The official Voices guide to the Georgia senatorial runoff races and the fate of all humanity
Since the other Voices team members live in solidly Democratic states like Virginia and others are in foreign countries like Iowa and Indiana, it falls to me to write the official and definitive SBC Voices guide to the Georgia senatorial runoff races, the two contests that will determine the fate of the nation, yea, of […]
Last week was a quiet week…
…if you were on Mars…deep underground…in a wire mesh sealed cave…with noise cancelling headphones. The latest “most important election in the history of our country” is over, except for the shouting, recriminations, complaints, demonstrations and the like. In my church yesterday one would have thought last week was a quiet week. There was scant […]
Your guy lost, so get over it.
No one wants to hear your whining for the next four years…not your wife, your kids, your friends, your neighbors, your coworkers, your dog, or your cat. People voted, that’s that. Your daily life likely isn’t going to change one bit. You could gripe full time but how much good would that do the country, […]
Just how easy, or difficult, is it to become an SBC church?
One of the long running narratives about our Grand Old Convention is that it doesn’t take much to become a Southern Baptist Church. That’s a false narrative. Here’s what it takes: Local SBC associations have extensive and detailed requirements and processes for churches to join. Here is the web page for my local association […]
Anonymous site calls for SBC transparency
No, not the Babylon Bee but an actual petition site that calls for a “forensic audit of NAMB & Lifeway.” Let’s ruminate a bit here, first, on the idea of an anonymous site calling for transparency. Who set up the site? Who funded it? Who is behind it? Who wrote the petition? Seems absurd for […]
An election like no other…or, so we’re told.
Here in the Peach State which is not even one of the swing or battleground states this election is like no other in some ways. We’ve got the candidate from Q-Anon, or that’s what her opponents say. We’ve got the Hezbollah candidate, or at least that’s what a friend from the middle east said when […]
How Alaska Baptists would destroy the Cooperative Program and blame it on NAMB
It’s called The COOPERATIVE Program, not the Cooperative Program CAFETERIA. Necessary background reading (not that anyone actually reads relevant articles): Alaska Baptists vote to withhold CP funds, this is a thorough article by George Schroeder, associate VP at the SBC Executive Committee. If you think Schroeder’s piece is biased then show me how. Quotes from both […]
Lottie, Annie, and the CP: Good news, bad news
The three most important offerings for Southern Baptists are the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions and the Cooperative Program. How are these faring in the age of COVID? The numbers are in. Here’s how we’re doing. Lottie Moon Christmas Offering total exceeds goal at […]
Alaska state convention action: Can the CP survive cafeteria style? [Revised, updated, nuanced]
There is other news of note than the sad saga of LifeWay and President and Mrs. Trump being sick. For a bright, positive example consider our IMB appointing 80 new missionaries, ones that are “fully funded” and supported by our existing revenue stream. More on that later. But about the Alaska state convention and our […]
You want SBC villains?
Then lock and load because all SBC leaders have giant, bright red bullseyes on their back. Sadly, it’s part of our system. I diverge from almost all SBC leaders – the number of which includes entity heads, celeb megapastors, influencers, and others – on a few things but not enough to leave or participate in […]