This was expected. Same court. Same judge. Too late for me to slog through the decision tonight. I'll let some GuideStone and ERLC people on the payroll do that. ...and have a nice weekend. … [Read more...] about Housing allowance struck down by federal judge, again
National Cooperative Program gifts are up for third consecutive year
...and that's good news. It's not up by much, 0.71%, but an increase and the third consecutive such increase has to be mildly encouraging to Southern Baptists. The CP total received by the Executive Committee was $197.1 million. The total CP, including the majority share that state conventions keep and do not forward to Nashville for distribution to the mission boards and seminaries, and other national SBC entities will be a little under $500 million. That figure is reported in June. Baptist Press reports National CP ends fiscal year 4.31% over goal Conservative national CP allocation … [Read more...] about National Cooperative Program gifts are up for third consecutive year
The strange world of gender
*******'s mother told the AJC they had attempted suicide two years ago and had battled depression for most of their life. This line from a story in my local paper about a sad case, and this is the media phrase for it, of "suicide by cop." An individual was in a confrontation with campus police in which the individual was shot and killed by police. It was national news and you probably read about it. The quote above may logically lead the reader to think that perhaps the mother and father had jointly attempted suicide, or maybe there was a Romeo and Juliette, forlorn, forbidden love … [Read more...] about The strange world of gender
Crowing about escrowing, monument madness, CP, and disaster relief
Cooperative Program escrowing is rare, but evidently highly leveraged. Earlier in the year a prominent megapastor and megachurch announced that they were escrowing CP gifts over statements coming out of the ERLC. This was resolved but while the Executive Committee's attention was on the matter, they voted to do a study. It was implied that numerous churches escrow their cooperative gifts, leading me to think that the problem may be more widespread than a few disgruntled megas. The study was completed and a report given. BP's headine was, CP witholding found to be lower than anticipated. Seems … [Read more...] about Crowing about escrowing, monument madness, CP, and disaster relief
Our IMB and conservative fiscal management
The IMB's report of their recent trustee meeting included information about their budget for the coming fiscal year, October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. The total budget is $262 million. The Board's budget is by far the largest of all Southern Baptist entities and is slightly more than the combined totals of all six seminaries plus NAMB. My grandson would call it "ginormous" if it was on his radar. The budget is described as "balanced" and "conservative," terms that should assuage all Southern Baptists who drop their hard-earned money in the offering plates Sunday after Sunday to … [Read more...] about Our IMB and conservative fiscal management
A post-Labor Day SBC smorgasbord
My church had a big anniversary celebration this past Sunday. In what was likely the SBC culinary outrage of the year, there was not a single piece of fried chicken available but there was plenty of bbq. Here's a smorgasbord of SBC items of interest: Southern Baptist Disaster Relief is going full bore in response to the two big hurricanes that have hit the US. This is one of the best things we do cooperatively. While we do not minister in this way for the public credit that follows, it would be beneficial if we had a better publicity system. There is an SBCDR Facebook page. NAMB has a … [Read more...] about A post-Labor Day SBC smorgasbord
Baptist associations and the struggle with irrelevance
Did you read the Baptist Press story on the survey of local Baptist associations? Survey Weighs Value of Baptist Associations. Perhaps the most salient quote coming out of this recent study might be this one, "When asked to describe the most exciting aspect of their local Baptist association, the most popular answer among church leaders was 'nothing,'" said Jason Lowe, a Kentucky director of missions who led the study that looked into attitudes about the work of local Baptist associations. "Nothing." How's that for a succinct evaluation of the work of our most historic cooperative … [Read more...] about Baptist associations and the struggle with irrelevance
Eclipse report from William “Totality” Thornton
I'm about 45 minutes from the edge of totality so I had a strategy for prime viewing. Rather than get mixed up in a million or so of America's worst and most aggressive drivers, the metro Atlanta crowd, I took some familiar secondary roads to make a push deep into the totality zone, at least deep enough to get two or more minutes viewing of totality. This is serious business and one shouldn't be too casual about the natural event of a lifetime. My support staff included my wonderful wife and daughter - who understood that this was likely to be similar to airline flights we have taken over … [Read more...] about Eclipse report from William “Totality” Thornton
Confederate Monument Mayhem
In the early 21st Century a paroxysm of rage and indignation arose against the symbols and statues of the Confederacy that was expressed by the defacing of graves, widespread destruction and vandalism of Confederate monuments on both public and private property, in parks, on battlefields and even in museums. The time came to be known as The Great Confederate Cleansing. The movement is generally considered to have fueled the growth of more radical hate groups and to have lowered the tone of racial discussion. Highly unlikely, one speculates, that this would be an accurate description of future … [Read more...] about Confederate Monument Mayhem
Nostalgia, celebration, and those troublesome Confederate reminders
Most southerners my generation go back four or five generations to get to their ancestors who served in the Civil War. With a half century of genealogy as a hobby, I can say with some confidence that most Americans would be at a loss to name even a single great-great grandparent much less convey any knowledge of their involvement in the bloody conflict. I would list seven of eight family lines in the service of the Confederate States of America. The eighth family was a transplanted Yankee who made a stop in Mississippi, didn't like it, and settled in Georgia. My service-aged ancestor in the … [Read more...] about Nostalgia, celebration, and those troublesome Confederate reminders