SBC Voices

You are here: Home / Archives for William Thornton

William Thornton

Answer: Dee Parsons, because she has much greater power than the SBC Credentials Committee

by

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" in the Southern Baptist Convention. It's just that the Credentials Committee is extremely limited in what they can do. Their ultimate action would be to recommend to the SBC Executive Committee as a whole that a certain church "in friendly cooperation" with the Southern Baptist Convention be … [Read more...] about Answer: Dee Parsons, because she has much greater power than the SBC Credentials Committee

The enhanced Credentials Committee: observations and questions

by

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 these things. My observations are not criticisms. I'm reading the stuff for the first time and relaying what strikes me about it. A few observations: It should be remembered that this is about CHURCHES, not INDIVIDUALS. The … [Read more...] about The enhanced Credentials Committee: observations and questions

Can the gang that can’t shoot straight save the SBC?

by

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 though it may be and I don't see anything happening that is worthy of another Resurgence. We had the Traditionalists who created their own statement of belief. The call went out from that group for quotas (er, 'parity') in entity head theological persuasion. … [Read more...] about Can the gang that can’t shoot straight save the SBC?

Ask Mohler anything…but don’t expect him to give a short or simple answer

by

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 convention. It will be that most prickly matter in Southern Baptist life these days, complementarianism. 'Ask Al anything' is my shorthand of the title of the tour by our leading intellectual and flagship seminary president. I appreciate that he does this. I also appreciate that some … [Read more...] about Ask Mohler anything…but don’t expect him to give a short or simple answer

Is Caring Well doing well in our autonomous churches?

by

It is doing well in my view. Caring Well is the abuse resource and effort that resulted from the joint work of the SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and the ad hoc Sex Abuse Advisory Group appointed by SBC president J. D. Greear. The Caring Well initiative was presented at the SBC Convention this past June with considerable fanfare and strong attendance. The ERLC's conference last month was on the subject of abuse and was very well attended by SBC pastors and others. This week a new Caring Well guide (free, downloadable pdf) was released. I've downloaded it and looked it … [Read more...] about Is Caring Well doing well in our autonomous churches?

The beloved pastor goes turkey hunting and how Buddy made my deacon hall of fame

by

My first church was, literally, in the middle of the national forest. Privately owned land was all along the highways and the church was a strong country church. Naturally, the congregation included a game warden, Buddy, who was also a deacon. The area was populated, infested some drivers might say, by deer and wild turkey. In fact, the headquarters of the National Wild Turkey Federation was in the same county. I'd done a bit of deer hunting (too much of a mess if you killed one), rabbit hunting (too much trouble for such a little bit of meat), a goose using the best goose call for … [Read more...] about The beloved pastor goes turkey hunting and how Buddy made my deacon hall of fame

You know that only about 80% of SBC churches are anglo, don’t you?

by

Dominant ethnic composition, in percentages, below for churches: Anglo             81.9 African American        7.0 Hispanic          4.7 Korean          1.6 Native American         0.8 Haitian            0.8 Chinese          0.4 Filipino          0.3 Multi-ethnic         0.4 20+ other ethnic and languages groups            2.0   I've never seen any figure that breaks out dually affiliated churches. Nothing in the Annual Church Profile asks for that. I suppose LifeWay or NAMB could do a study that came up with a figure but I don't believe they … [Read more...] about You know that only about 80% of SBC churches are anglo, don’t you?

What would less autonomy look like?

by

I confess to giving this some thought but without much in the way of an answer. The call is often heard that "the SBC" should relinquish some of its cherished autonomy in order to keep kids safe at church. Here's how the most recent case was explained. "The SBC views itself as a network of Baptist congregations, each of which is independent and self-governing. Abuse survivors and advocates say that this doctrine of autonomy has thwarted their attempts to fight sexual abuse in SBC churches, such as through the creation of a denomination wide sex offender database." “This clearly paints a … [Read more...] about What would less autonomy look like?

Phillip E. Johnson, my kind of creationist, RIP

by

When I first read Johnson's book, Darwin on Trial, it was a revelation of a sort, my background being steeped in simple ("there's oil because all the dead dinos sank to the bottom of the one-earth ocean"), succinct ("6,000 year old earth, ten thou at the max is all you're going to be allowed if you're a good Christian"), and not so sweet (YEC is rife with strident and harsh polemicists). Johnson launched me on an intellectual search that explored with great interest and curiosity Australopithecus-es and other past creatures. I proudly claim, by DNA mind you, about 4% Neanderthal. Those hairy, … [Read more...] about Phillip E. Johnson, my kind of creationist, RIP