William Thornton

Maybe it's me but there's a different feel to the convention this year: it's better, fresher, younger, more energetic and vibrant, less perfunctory and predictable. Maybe it's because I'm spending my own money here and feel compelled to enjoy it and get my money's worth. I sit in on the Executive Committee meeting. It's Southern Baptist sausage making, reminds me of my own church business meetings at times, but they get it done. JD addresses the group. If he has written remarks he doesn't look at them; nonetheless, he hits every correct note. It looks to me like he is so thoroughly … [Read more...] about This is different

"No one wants to go these days." "The crowds are shrinking." "Let's meet remotely, satellite locations, ballot by phone." "People can't afford to get there" The naysayers, whiners, and complainers with their doleful laments had the obit written for our grand SBC annual meeting. Better set that aside. Predictions of 10,000 are being tossed about. I'm here early. There's youth, energy, excitement, smiles, laughter, backslapping, and gaiety. Wine, I might note, is not being served. There's a different, positive, feel if I'm reading the tea leaves correctly and that with several … [Read more...] about Set aside the obituary for the SBC annual meeting

Did you gloss over this paragraph (emphasis is mine) of the SBC Caring Well Report? One final note: This report has required collaboration and cooperation from many Southern Baptists this year, and we pray that this first step will help Southern Baptists and Southern Baptist churches move forward. But we acknowledge that this report is a first step of many. Significant developments have occurred on a number of important items that are outside of the scope of this report to address, such as strengthening screening for abuse in the ordination process, potential enhancements to the Annual Church … [Read more...] about No database, no deal? Not this year but work continues on that and other aspects of abuse in churches

These come from the floor of the convention, the hoi polloi, the unwashed masses of SBC messengers. Sometimes fanboys stack the mics and lob softball questions but occasionally messenger actually asks a question worth having answered. Here is a mix, serious and not so serious, of my own: Al Mohler, president of Southern Seminary: Dr. Mohler, you recently said that the SBC had reached a "critical moment" in regard to "complementarianism." Yesterday there were women on the sidewalk outside the convention center who were abused by male SBC clergy and laypeople. Would you like to revise and … [Read more...] about Questions for entity heads no one will ask next week

Most Cooperative Program money, well over half of it, goes to fund state conventions and their mix of ministry causes and activities. Almost all of the state convention share of CP dollars, 90% or more last time I checked it, stays in sixteen Southern states from Missouri, down to Texas, then east through the gulf states, Florida, and up the east coast to Virginia. With several hundred million dollars to spend, are these states baptizing more people, gaining more members, and increasing the number of their churches? The simple answer is, "no." Measurable statistics are declining … [Read more...] about A look at the records of state conventions: who’s up, who’s down.

Last September I shared my church experience with MinistrySafe child safety system product: Implementing MinistrySafe child safety training in my local church Yesterday I gave a brief review of the SBC, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission's new product, Becoming a Church That Cares Well For The Abused: A brief review of the ERLC's new training - ChurchCares: Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused The churches I served were average-sized SBC churches in the neighborhood of 100 in primary worship. About half of the time I was the single, fulltime clergy staff for the … [Read more...] about MinistrySafe abuse awareness training and ChurchCares ‘Becoming a church that cares well for the abused

This is free and is available now. This is the new resource on abuse that features, among others, Rachel Denhollender and Diane Landberg. ERLC says: Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused (churchcares.com) is a training experience designed to equip the church on how to respond well to the initial report of abuse. This free resource brings together top experts in the areas of social work, law enforcement, trauma counseling, abuse counseling, legal advisement, and pastoral care. Its purpose is to help pastors and ministry leaders equip their churches to be able to provide excellent … [Read more...] about A brief review of the ERLC’s new abuse training – Church Cares: Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused

              Baptist Press reports monthly on CP monies received by the Executive Committee. The report made yesterday for eight months of the EC's fiscal year was encouraging: Contributions to Southern Baptist Convention national and international missions and ministries received by the SBC Executive Committee in May were 3.47 percent above the projected budget through eight months of the current fiscal year and 0.93 percent above the amount received during the same period last year, according to a news release from SBC Executive … [Read more...] about Pre-convention Cooperative Program giving is $1.23 million better than last year same period

I have read of some who were around when "complementarian" was invented. They would speak reverently and in awe of the term. It certainly was a brilliant move that provided folks with a sophisticated sounding, eight-syllable word to use. Who would argue with a fancy term like that? After that, we could assign ourselves to one of two broad categories: egalitarian or complementarian. Egalitarian was always fairly straightforward but complementarian meant something a lot more fuzzy and not much more than that it was not egalitarian. It's a political reality that issues are won or lost on the … [Read more...] about “Complementarianism” isn’t worth diddly-squat any more