The great automobile companies have historically been in the Detroit area. There’s no good reason for that, seems to me. It’s cold up there. But the big company plants are there, along with scads of ancillary manufacturers, services, and the like. Detroit isn’t the Motor City for nothing. The area functioned as a magnet for […]
Finally! Winter Solstice is here
That’s right. At 11:19 PM Eastern is the moment the the sun is at its lowest daily maximum elevation in the sky. OK, genius, you explain how the sun is at it’s lowest when it’s dark outside. It’s an astronomical thing and SBCers don’t do astronomical things well, excepting perhaps megapastor salaries. Being a keen […]
Top SBC News of 2019, Part Two
To tidy up and finish my list. Add these four and you get twelve, a good Bible number. Forsuchatimeasthis rally in Birmingham. It was a big newsmaker nationwide. Paige Patterson and SWBTS sued over rape case. The litigation is ongoing. Kathy Litton elected registration secretary. If you don’t include the two vice-presidents, officers who are elected […]
“Pastor” ain’t what it used to be
In the recent incident in which a female reporter was slapped on the derriere (and arrested and charged with sexual battery, a misdemeanor), reports labeled the guy a “youth pastor,” “youth minister,” “youth group leader,” along with other various non-church related titles. The church says he is a volunteer worker. So, how do we get […]
Maybe they can get a dead cat bounce out of the movie
Watched or listened to the whole Founders movie, almost two hours. I’m retired and free to waste time as I see fit. There’s no grass growing right now that needs watching and, not being all that energetic, there’s no drying paint to gaze upon. There are some interesting things in this and some points that […]
More Americans are dying at home. Notice the change pastor?
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 […]