Right before our non-convention comes the release of the SBC Annual Statistical Report. For some years it has been lamentable; thus, my personal descriptor of it as the “annual SBC statistical weepfest.” General reaction from denominational leaders usually ranges from despair to depression and calls for SBCers to do better are noised about widely, the […]
Thinking about November
I was a never-Trumper in 2016, although my main motivation was more “heck no, Hil” than anything else. I thought about voting for Hil but, uh, no. I ended up voting for neither. I have been inclined up to now to vote for Trump in November. I’m hedging on that at the moment, although being […]
IMB is asking for mid-year donations
[To be clear, they’re not asking churches for offerings.] All of our entities have suffered. Jobs have been cut and budgets reduced. Financial outlooks have been tempered by the virus crisis. I thought that our International Mission Board was looking at a record Lottie Moon offering prior to the crisis. Surely, a significant reduction is […]
Who is an approved, certified, qualified, recommended, ordained SBC minister?
The short answers are (a) anyone, (b) no one. There is, as all of my informed clergy colleagues know, no such thing as “an SBC” minister. There is no “SBC” ordination. That degree from one of the six SBC seminaries? That expensive sheepskin doesn’t formally recategorize the newly erudite brother as anything other than having […]
Revival may indeed break out…pastors are preaching shorter sermons.
LifeWay Research is meddling again with a survey on sermon length. Great work guys. Now it’s confirmed that most pew-sitters prefer a sermon of 20-40 minutes. Personally, I have sat in churches and listened to sermons both short and long that robbed me of 20-40 good minutes. That string of jokes, stories, and guffaw-bait probably […]
COVID, my county, and implications for the next novel virus
I was informed, breathlessly, that my county had seen a huge jump in virus cases just last week. Are we experiencing an exponential expansion of the illness here that requires even more stringent measures by the population? No. Seems the National Guard had been asked to test everyone in a large nursing home. About sixty […]
Counting attendance in the age of COVID-19
You figure it was coming – some guidance, explanation, advice about how to count attendance during this time of cancelled physical services. My church’s last in-the-building service was March 15th. Since then we have had some variety of online services each Sunday and two drive-in services. Our plan is to have drive-in services each Sunday […]
So, who’s getting Uncle Sam to pay your clergy salaries?
I wouldn’t expect all to admit to it, frankly. This is the strangest of strange occurrences: government guaranteed loans paying the salaries of pastors and other church and church related workers. If you’re applying or have received the loan and want to explain your church’s thinking, feel free. I doubt that there will be a […]
Let’s have a conversation about Ridgecrest being sold
Our flagship conference center, Ridgecrest, is for sale trustees have decided. Just 21 months ago I wrote on this site What’s the reason for the Ridgecrest renaissance? I’ve always been relatively close to Ridgecrest while living and serving in South Carolina and Georgia. I would estimate I’ve stayed there a couple of dozen times. My kids […]
Our little SBC world – upside down now.
One might think that our six seminaries are the safest and most secure of all SBC entities. The combined revenue streams of tuition, Cooperative Program, private gifts and other income sources would insulate the schools from disaster. After all, no hurricane would reach Louisville. Now, the pandemic has shut off tuition revenue. Southern seminary announced […]
Some COVID-19 vignettes from the hinterlands
In my part of Georgia we’ve been locked down for weeks. The last in-person church service I attended was March 15th. Here are a few things I’ve noticed. You can add yours in a comment. If you think about it, it’s absolutely amazing that the populace has responded quickly and cooperatively to the crisis. Almost […]
There’s a new, independent database for Baptist clergy abusers and alleged abusers
The longtime goal of some abuse victims and their advocates is for the SBC to fund and manage a database of convicted, confessed, and credibly accused clergy abusers. The Executive Committee of the SBC has long declined to take this step. The concrete proposals I have seen call for the Executive Committee to create and […]