When I took my first pastorate almost forty years ago, one noticeable aspect of it was that when there was ministry to be done for those who were near death, it almost always occurred in an insitution, primarily hospitals. I made countless visits to intensive care units to pray for church members who were near […]
Top SBC News of 2019, Part One
Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express story on sex abuse. The SAE must have lost a coin flip over who gets top billing. A compilation of stories of sex abuse in SBC churches over the past two decades, the series has dominated news in the SBC for the year. Credit to Rob Downen and John […]
Cooperative Program off to best start since Mark Sanford fake-hiked the Appalachian Trail
I can easily top the headlines that Baptist Press uses. Use any headline you like but it’s good news that the venerable Cooperative Program is off to its best start in a decade. CP giving off to best start in a decade sayeth Baptist Press. The numbers are up over a million dollars over the […]
Answer: Dee Parsons, because she has much greater power than the SBC Credentials Committee
Question: Who should I contact if I were or knew of a victim of abuse in an SBC church or at the hands of a minister serving in an SBC church and wanted something done? It’s not that I don’t support the idea that offending churches should be more often and rapidly excluded from “membership” […]
The enhanced Credentials Committee: observations and questions
Baptist Press reported yesterday about the SBC Credentials Committee’s establishment of an “online submission portal for reports of a church’s alleged departure from Southern Baptist polity, doctrine or practice.” I want to be optimistic and supportive of the effort. It’s a difficult task. Good people are involved with the best motives and highest concern for […]
Can the gang that can’t shoot straight save the SBC?
The gang would be the Founders group but there’s always an unhappy segment of our beloved Southern Baptist Convention and the dolorous brethren always justify their feelings. When you have a moderately large tent, some folks will always be dissatisfied with the flow of convention politics. I’m a fairly happy guy in the SBC, imperfect […]
Ask Mohler anything…but don’t expect him to give a short or simple answer
We hear, about seven and a half months before the event, that Albert Mohler is willing to be nominated for SBC president. It’s a little early for this but here we are. May I guess that it’s not Calvinism that will define his candidacy nor the discussion before, during, and if he’s elected, after the […]
Is Caring Well doing well in our autonomous churches?
It is doing well in my view. Caring Well is the abuse resource and effort that resulted from the joint work of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and the ad hoc Sex Abuse Advisory Group appointed by SBC president J. D. Greear. The Caring Well initiative was presented at the SBC Convention this past […]
The beloved pastor goes turkey hunting and how Buddy made my deacon hall of fame
My first church was, literally, in the middle of the national forest. Privately owned land was all along the highways and the church was a strong country church. Naturally, the congregation included a game warden, Buddy, who was also a deacon. The area was populated, infested some drivers might say, by deer and wild turkey. […]
You know that only about 80% of SBC churches are anglo, don’t you?
Dominant ethnic composition, in percentages, below for churches: Anglo 81.9 African American 7.0 Hispanic 4.7 Korean 1.6 Native American 0.8 Haitian 0.8 Chinese 0.4 Filipino […]
What would less autonomy look like?
I confess to giving this some thought but without much in the way of an answer. The call is often heard that “the SBC” should relinquish some of its cherished autonomy in order to keep kids safe at church. Here’s how the most recent case was explained. “The SBC views itself as a network of […]
This is the future of SBC missions
Atlanta area megachurch Johnson Ferry Baptist announced the results of their annual Great Commission Offering. It was suitably mega with over $5 million given. The offering was divided: $2.7m Lottie Moon, $1.7m Johnson Ferry missions budget, and $680k Annie Armstrong. That’s a single SBC church giving about 1.5% of the total Lottie Moon offering.