Before I attended seminary and pastored for three decades I was a zoning administrator for a mid-sized city/county planning agency. As a twentysomething bureaucrat in his first post-college job, part of my responsibility was to inform property owners, real estate developers, and other interested citizens what could and could not be done with a particular piece of property. "No, Donald Trump, you cannot build a towering condo on that property." Actually, Trump was interested in Manhattan not Athens, Georgia, so we never had such a conversation. It was more like, "No, ma'am. I'm sorry, but … [Read more...] about Angels and demons, churches, and zoning laws
Syrian family resettled in my area
A Syrian refugee family was recently settled in the Atlanta area according to a local paper article: Bryant Wright, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and now the pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, confirmed Monday that his large Marietta church is helping resettle a Syrian refugee family that arrived in Georgia last week. A family that attends Johnson Ferry let [the couple] and their four-year-old son stay in their home until the church found them an apartment in the Atlanta region, said Wright, who is known for his “Right from the Heart” ministry broadcast on … [Read more...] about Syrian family resettled in my area
Trump? Nope. Never.
There is no circumstance under which I would vote for Donald Trump. Trump represents or exhibits most of the things that run counter to the Christian values, morals, virtues, and principles I have spent half a lifetime attempting to model, preach, and teach. Am I to classify these as mere trivialities such that in the interest of political expediency I would be willing to reject them all in order to have a Republican president for our country? Nope. Not now. Not ever. His personal morality is not atypical for our times but hardly represents anything in the neighborhood of Christian … [Read more...] about Trump? Nope. Never.
So, what will Lottie do this year?
I don't know. I don't know if our International Mission Board has a projection that goes along with their $175 million goal. In past years, they have used real estate sales and reserves to spend as if the goal were met. With considerable reductions in personnel (I am unaware of any hard numbers released by IMB just yet) I would assume they are planning to live within their operating income for 2016. Southern Baptists have given considerable sums the past two years to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, a record $154 million in 2013 and the second highest ever, … [Read more...] about So, what will Lottie do this year?
10 years since Adrian Rogers died
I believe the brightest light in the SBC Conservative Resurgence was Adrian Rogers and it ought to be noted among us that it's been a decade since he left us for a better place. I'm highly prejudiced in this since I was a Bellevue member for the three years I lived in Memphis and attended Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. Bellevue's old campus was adjacent to MABTS' old campus in midtown Memphis. The thirtysomething SBC site, B21 has a tribute including Bellevue's video retrospective. Check it out. I suppose there are other articles marking this anniversary but I haven't seen … [Read more...] about 10 years since Adrian Rogers died
These are complicated times for SBC international missions
Consider me to have a bit of a deficit in denominational nostalgia. I don't apologize for it. A lament heard often in our SBC circles is about the halcyon days of ten percent Cooperative Program giving, the fictional harmony among various groups that made up the SBC back then. That lament includes despair for the days of ever growing statistical measures, chiefly money, that gave state conventions and the other SBC entities the optimism and verve to engage on endless staff hiring sprees, build magnificent buildings, and dream of ever greater sums to fund denominational dreams. The ten … [Read more...] about These are complicated times for SBC international missions
Pastor disaster is always just around the corner…or is it?
A staple of the pastoral ministry is the ubiquity of doomsdayers, naysayers, and highly negative soothsayers. To wit: Epidemic of forced pastoral terminations! Thousands of pastors leaving ministry each month! Depression rampant among pastors! Pastors are overworked, underpaid, drowning in a sea of student debt! Average tenure of pastors is short, and unsweet! Toxic churches driving pastors to quit ministry, commit suicide! There is some truth in all of these but a steady diet of such things is unhealthy for those called to the pastoral ministry. From the get-go thirty-five … [Read more...] about Pastor disaster is always just around the corner…or is it?
Platt on mission funding “outside traditional cooperative funding channels”
David Platt had a live stream question and answer session earlier this week. Here are some subjects covered. I appreciate his efforts to be available and to communicate with Southern Baptists. The link is to the Baptist Press article reporting on it. -- "Has any thought been given to changing the funding model of IMB missionaries?" Platt said he hopes some IMB missionaries will be "totally self-funded," travelling overseas as students in international universities, business professionals employed by corporations and retirees funded by their own savings and U.S. government programs. He also … [Read more...] about Platt on mission funding “outside traditional cooperative funding channels”
Would you qualify under NAMB’s church planter Code of Conduct?
Our North American Mission Board is devoting about half of their $120 million budget to planting churches and is enlisting church planters to plop themselves down in locations, mainly cities, all over the nation to gather and plant a congregation. Needless to say, there are expectations and requirements for planters. Here's the NAMB web page that outlines planter expectations: Send Network: Planter Expectations Included in these expectations are such things as: Adherence to the Baptist Faith and Message An investment of a minimum of 25 hours per week in establishing the new … [Read more...] about Would you qualify under NAMB’s church planter Code of Conduct?
NAMB to give IMB $4 million? What’s the SBC coming to?
The North American Mission Board trustees also voted Oct. 7 to reduce NAMB's budget by $4 million and transfer the money to IMB. While the SBC Executive Committee must approve the proposal before funds are transferred to IMB, NAMB trustee chairman Chuck Herring called the unanimous decision by NAMB trustees a "Kingdom vote." Let me get this straight. Our North American Mission Board trustees voted to reduce their budget so that they can " send funds to assist International Mission Board (IMB) missionaries"? That's what I read. One SBC entity saying to another, "Here's $4 million. Hope … [Read more...] about NAMB to give IMB $4 million? What’s the SBC coming to?