William Thornton

This is important as the amendment zealots well know. To wit: The SBC constitution specifies what churches must do or not do to be considered "in friendly cooperation", or, an SBC church. The Convention will only deem a church to be in friendly cooperation with the Convention, and sympathetic with its purposes and work (i.e., a “cooperating” church as that term is used in the Convention’s governing documents)... This is followed by five sub-paragraphs that enumerate things like the Cooperative Program, sex abuse, racial discrimination. The Amendment adds a sixth sub-paragraph. The … [Read more...] about For our casual observers: The Amendment is to the SBC Constitution, not the BFM.

This could easily be the headline if the amendment on "pastors of any kind" is passed for a second time. I'm just going by the numbers provided by the zealots in charge of pushing this. The SBC may decide on whatever basis and criteria they wish to use for membership. Autonomy at work. It just seems like severe overkill to target women sub-pastors in this fashion.The problem is that once the SBC makes this negative requirement official (the wording is “Does not affirm, appoint, or employ a woman as a pastor of any kind”), where could the EC go except to recommend en masse to the convention … [Read more...] about SBC Executive Committee to recommend over one thousand churches be expelled

Here are some questions from an admitted and certified cynic on matters concerning the SBC Executive Committee: When will any present or former EC member or staff member admit that the vote to open themselves up to the Madison Avenue law firm was a mistake? Is the EC still on the hook for legal expenses not only against their own actions but any that arise from litigation against that Madision Avenue law firm? Shouldn't the EC find a lawyer to be CEO, since (a) they didn't like their first candidate, a pastor; (b) they got skewered over the next guy and presumed front-runner who had … [Read more...] about Yes, this could be considered ‘piling on’ the beleaguered SBC Executive Committee

Jonathan Whitehead is unlikely to win a popularity vote among SBCV people but his words on the current controversy over a brief filed by lawyers for the SBC, SBCEC, Lifeway, and SBTS regarding a Kentucky case should be read. I've always found his writing to be incisive and well informed. Excerpts from his American Reformer article: Many Baptists have understood the SBC abuse reform effort in terms of brochures, websites, and trainings about how churches can prevent grooming and abuse.  But the brief brouhaha highlights the area of “caring well” or “responding to abuse victims,” which can … [Read more...] about Sober view on the amici controversy

Jared Wellman and the SBC Cooperation Group is doing a survey. Lifeway Research is collaborating in this and all SBC churches with an email address receive the survey. [As an aside, I get a malware notice from my security software on Windows but not on my iPad.] Here is the survey and how I would have answered as pastor of the church from which I retired. The survey asks for answers on a scale from "strongly disagree" to "don't know". I'm not a survey expert and don't know why the choice was negatives first followed by the positives. _____ The Cooperative Program supports SBC … [Read more...] about The Cooperation Group/Lifeway survey on the Cooperative Program: Anything of value to come from it?

It's stunningly stupid that in the 21st century any church or individual would not recognize that white people using black theatrical makeup to portray any African American is highly offensive. But, one Oklahoma church pastor did (8 years ago, when Obama was president) just that. The mostly dysfunctional SBC Executive Committee recently expelled the church. Here's what I don't like about that: It looks like a case of a stubborn pastor, not a racist church. The pastor should have said about the 2015 incident, "Yeah. That was dumb. I apologize for it." He doubled down instead. So, a … [Read more...] about Blackface and expelling the lowly offensive church

If you like turmoil, rancor, disasters, and train wrecks...you should be enjoying SBC life right now. But...a glimmer of optimism appears. Is the Cooperation Group too little, too late? Cooperation Group named by Barber. Our president, Texas cattle baron and beleaguered Cardinal fan, Bart Barber said: “These declarations that churches are not in friendly cooperation and these appeals in response to those declarations represent a change in the fundamental processes by which we cooperate with one another,”   “Within our Convention exists a widespread sentiment that the terms of the … [Read more...] about Have “the terms of our [cooperative] agreement changed?”…and other important SBC questions.

Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable... He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, That would be the universe of our Grand Convention, proudly Southern Baptists, and doggone the critics we will slog onward whatever the insanity. I cannot provide the mindset of Southern Baptist women, since my pronouns are "he," "him," and occasionally "jerk," but I'm taking a risk that our recent experiences with amending the SBC constitution to target any woman who fills a job with the title of "pastor/elder/overseer" has set the … [Read more...] about In what universe do immoral pastors get standing ovations and faithful women staff pastors are “sisters living in disobedience”?

Take the biblical approach to this: when you hear about SBC transparency,  see that ye be not troubled. It's not going to happen. But allow me to sally forth and tilt once again against the non-transparency windmill: I commend herewith respected pastor Andrew Hebert, whose Baptist Press article included this point: If our cooperative work if going to succeed, we need a new commitment to integrity in our leadership and transparency about our leadership. We need to make sure the windows are open and the light is shining into how we do our business. Transparency builds trust. The old … [Read more...] about Transparency and rumors of transparency