William Thornton

Imagine that. In a meeting of followers of Christ membership and balloting relies heavily on individuals acting like, well, followers of Christ, exhibiting things like telling the truth, not being deceitful, following agreed upon rules, and the like. #SBC21 was the most important annual meeting in a generation. The attendance was higher than it had been in over 25 years. The most important vote, the presidential election, had over 13,000 votes cast and the difference between winner Ed Litton and loser Mike Stone was only 556 votes. How confident may we be about the outcome? What … [Read more...] about Annual meeting registration and voting is basically on the honor system

I got into an elevator at the convention hall. All was well until a bunch of people squeezed in after me. ”Anybody in here have germs? I asked, to the slight embarrassment of my wonderful wife. A lady opposite jerked her thumb at her husband, “He does,” she said. I wasn’t trying to start anything but it’s like a sardine factory here. Not a mask in sight but I did see a couple on the floor. I don’t know how long the Moon Pies will hold out in the exhibit hall but if everyone took four like I did, maybe not long. Two chocolate and two vanilla. Wanted to share if necessary. I … [Read more...] about Whatever happened to social distancing #SBC21?

Almost nine years ago, I wrote an article about how two-thirds of the young college graduates who serve overseas through our International Mission Board's Journeyman program were females. This is one of the SBC's best opportunities to serve the Lord in places far more needy than affluent U.S. of A. IMB Journeymen are young adults, age 21-30, who are sent by their churches as missionaries for a 2-year term through the IMB. A Journeyman’s primary responsibility is to engage in the missionary task by sharing the gospel, making disciples and helping plant churches.  In 2012 we were in, as we … [Read more...] about The increasing paucity of SBC males who will serve overseas

The SBC Annual Meeting will be off with a gavel slam in 15 days. I'll be there along with around 15,000 other messengers, guests, media, and protesters. Count me in the first group, a messenger from an SBC church. This is the unofficial SBC Voices guide to the Annual Meeting. Unofficial because I couldn't get the other guys to sign on to it. Sometimes they don't see the things I do. Here are some notes on the meeting. The annual meeting of Great Commission Baptists is at the same time, same place and has the same program. I welcome our colleagues who wish to be identified by a … [Read more...] about The unofficial Voices irreverent guide to #SBC21

This is a change that diminishes the ability of members of cooperating churches from knowing about the entities that they pay for. Better take a look at this.   Current Business and Financial Plan, (In the SBC Annual this sentence is in Article XIV. On SBCNet, which I have linked, the sentence is not in a numbered article but is on page 9 of the BFP.) Members of cooperating Southern Baptist churches shall have access to information from the records of Southern Baptist Convention entities regarding income, expenditures, debts, reserves, operating balances, and salary … [Read more...] about Why does the updated Business and Financial Plan make it harder for SBC members to get entity financial information?

This isn't a sleeper item, it's been publicized by Baptist Press: Rewritten Business & Financial Plan awaits adoption by SBC messengers. It is a snoozer, though. Not one messenger in 100 will read it. Not one Southern Baptist in a thousand will care one whit about it, but it is an important item. The various entities are required to report certain things to the SBC Executive Committee so that the ultimate, though indirect, decision makers, individual Southern Baptist messengers attending an annual meeting, may be informed. The process is a mess, seems to me. Entities report a lot … [Read more...] about Perhaps the most important item in Nashville: updated Business & Financial Plan

In one of the great naval battles of history, the HMS Hood, pride of the British Navy, for years the largest, most powerful ship of its day, was sunk on May 24, 1941 by the giant and famous German battleship, the Bismarck. The Hood, launched in 1918,  was getting a bit long in the tooth but along with British battleship Prince of Wales engaged with the Bismarck and  German heavy cruiser Prince Eugen in the battle of Denmark. The Hood was hit by several German shells and sank in three minutes. There were only three British survivors among the Hood's crew of around 1,500 souls. Over 46,000 … [Read more...] about This day eighty years ago the ‘Mighty” HMS Hood was sunk; will the SBC follow?

This is the time of the year, just prior to the SBC Annual Meeting, when Lifeway Christian Resources releases the dreaded Annual Church Profile data collected for the previous year. Baptist Press story: Southern Baptists grow in number of churches, plant 588 new congregations amid COVID-19 pandemic. I'm in favor of emphasizing the positive so long as we're given all the data, not just the headline worthy stuff. Last year was a statistical mess with the pandemic; churches weren't meeting for much of the year, much less having intimate events like baptisms where hugs and close contact … [Read more...] about 2020 SBC Covid year statistics, not all that bad

One of the most common questions I've fielded over the past few decades is about the ordination of Southern Baptist clergy. The most common misconception in regard to ordination is that seminaries confer ordination after the individual graduates, along with the degree earned. Nah. Seminaries confer a lot of stuff but not the thing that lets the pastor or prospective pastor be properly addressed as "The Reverend," "Rev" in rural South Carolina, as in "Hey, Rev...". Here are a few facts and opinions on Southern Baptist ordination: There is no Southern Baptist theology of ordination, or … [Read more...] about Southern Baptist don’t have a theology of ordination, do they?