Some of the SBC alphabet is under constant internal attack. The ERLC always has critics that are loud, dedicated, tireless, and often senseless. Witness the recent Executive Committee ERLC Task Force report, generally characterized as a throwaway item, as in ‘no action needed,’ ‘no action taken.’ NAMB is a big, red bullseye target. Church planters […]
What about the 40% of SBC churches that gave NOTHING through the Cooperative Program?
Ronnie Floyd threw a bunch of tables and graphics at us in his relaunch of the Vision 2025 message to the Executive Committee. You can view the message here. I’m picking a single item, the last one, number five from his list of five strategic actions: Increase annual giving through the Cooperative Program to surpass […]
NAMB and the State Conventions.
The NAMB controversy concerns mainly smaller, non-south state conventions but the great consumer of Cooperative Program dollars are the large state conventions. If we are to engage in finger pointing over declining statistics, a popular game in the SBC if not a productive one, the fingers should point to the places where we’re spending the […]
The conflict between NAMB and the State Conventions; take some time for weekend reading
A major issue in the SBC 2021 presidential election is the relationship between NAMB and state conventions, especially state conventions outside the south. One candidate, Randy Adams, has made NAMB his main platform as he campaigns for the highest elected SBC office. Charges of mismanagement, secrecy, top-down authority, rejection of historic patterns, partnerships, and principles, […]
The venerable Billy Graham Rule gets some new looks
I asked a close acquaintance, ministry colleague, if they liked Ravi Zacharias. “Not any more,” was the quick and laconic reply Dave Miller’s article of last week lumped the whole sordid matter under “The Ravi Zacharias Problem” and I’ll presume that readers are familiar with that squalid and deplorable mess. One aspect of it that […]
The single staff, single income, paycheck-to-paycheck SBC pastor
If there is a bias in SBC life it is in favor of larger churches. Not that denominational leaders and employees deliberately discriminate against average churches (median attendance, 70; average attendance around 120), or their pastors; it’s just that most of the revenue, most of the trustees, all of the leadership, all of the elected […]
NAMB and spending God’s money given through Southern Baptist churches and individuals
There are two main targets in SBC life these days, Russell Moore and the ERLC and Kevin Ezell and the North American Mission Board. In regard to the latter, NAMB is incessantly criticized for their spending policies. A few observations: NAMB designed and manages successful national SBC programs in the area of church planting and […]
Randy Adams favors an SBC sex abuser database?
One man’s crusade to clean up the SBC is reporter Julie Roy’s podcast with SBC presidential candidate Randy Adams. The interview is a roundup of the usual SBC suspects. Adams is a heavy NAMB critic. Fine, we can disagree about church planting philosophy and spending policies. While NAMB has several recent incidents that have not […]
Randy Adams and reforming the SBC: Entities should disclose salaries and most everything else
Randy Adams is one of four announced candidates for SBC president. Baptist Press covers his announcement with links to the other three (Al Mohler, Ed Litton, and Mike Stone) in this article. Adams was to be nominated this past year but the virus gave the SBC JD Greear for another year. I doubt I would […]
I’m getting the COVID vaccine today. Ouch!
More accurately, both my wife and I are getting the first of the two shots today and it has been a strange journey to get to this spot. The way it has worked here in Georgia, the health departments had the vaccines. You had to go sign up, which, seems to me was a waste […]
Inauguration this week; prayers for the new administration
The hallmark of our country’s governance has always been the peaceful transfer of power. The capitol insurrection was an utter disgrace and the most serious challenge to the transfer of power in our history. (Well, we did have that other insurrection 160 years ago.) Utter disgrace. The more that is know about it the uglier […]
What would happen if the SBC elected a single staff pastor as president?
The chances aren’t at absolute zero for this but are pretty close. But, let’s dream and speculate anyhow. ____________ Those who want to take over the SBC will privately gripe and grumble over the delay in their well-laid plans. Those who see themselves as The Lord’s SBC Kingmakers will privately fume, since they believe they […]