William Thornton

Russell Moore, head of our Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, has a new book, Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel. The book was given to attendees at the Send Conference last week, courtesy of our North American Mission Board. Here are a few quotes from his chapter on religious liberty: The church's witness on these matters [culture war conflicts] has sometimes proven incoherent at best, and counter-Christian at worst; and this tendency grew more pronounced whenever Christianity was assumed to be the default position of American culture. (139) [A proper] … [Read more...] about Quotes on Religious Liberty from Russell Moore’s new book

I didn't see or hear any convention hall, hallway, sidewalk, or restaurant talk about the speakers or conference being a disappointment. I saw a lot of people who didn't look like the usual convention crowd. I didn't see or hear anyone take a shot at the Cooperative Program, state conventions, seminaries, or mission boards. I did see all leaders expressing support and appreciation for the CP, often while recognizing that many attendees would likely not be familiar with either the terminology or concept. I didn't see, hear, or even get a whiff of Calvinism/Traditionalism by any … [Read more...] about Things seen and not seen at the SEND conference

I'm at the Send Conference in Nashville. It is a joint IMB and NAMB event and it's maxed out. The arena seats 13,500. Reminds me a bit of the days when the SBC annual meeting attracted tens of thousands but that ended two decades ago (attendance around 20k in Atlanta) and these days around 5,000 is the number. SBC annual meeting = yawn Send Conference = wow There are similarities and differences. Why are all these people toting backpacks? Oh, they're younger, hipper. Got all that hipster stuff packed inside, I guess. Where is all the gray hair (aside from mine, that is)? Oh, this is … [Read more...] about About this maxed out SEND Conference in Nashville

That's "attitude" brethren, not "altitude." It's presumed that all SBC pastors will be "high" on Sundays when they are with the assembled congregation and when they ascend to the pulpit and preach God's Word. But what about attitude? It's important and I confess that some of the 48 or so Sundays each year I arrived at the church building with a bit of an attitude problem. Here are a few, not in any particular order of frequency or importance: 1. All messed up about numbers. When attendance had been good, had been up, when a large crowd was expected, I generally had a more optimistic … [Read more...] about What’s your attitude on The Lord’s Day, Pastor?

August 3,4 in Nashville The conference, last I checked, has registered about double the number who attended the SBC annual meeting last month. I'm planning to be there and would love to meet and visit with any SBCV contributors, commenters, or others. SendNA is the biggest thing going in SBC life these days. One notes that one of the few areas where our statistics showed an increase was in numbers of churches. That was for last year. I suspect that the renewed emphasis on church planting by NAMB is a major contributor to the increase. Either leave a comment or email me and I'll give you my … [Read more...] about Anyone attending the Send >> North America Conference, Nashville

Chances are, someone will, perhaps in real time. You likely have bored listeners sitting in the pew who can quickly google "pastor jailed in Vermont for refusing to perform gay wedding". Didn't happen. Snopes it, bro. As a fallback position, you can say that you meant to say that a preacher was arrested and locked up for saying that homosexuality is a sin. Just say that it happened in the United Kingdom, not the States, and that it was five years ago. Hey, first the UK, then Nashville or somewhere, First Amendment be doggoned. If you want to make a point about America going to Gehenna … [Read more...] about Anyone fact-check your sermons, pastor?

If someone sat down and designed a ministry system for senior pastors and other church staff it's hard to visualize the design of a tougher system than we already have in the Southern Baptist Convention. There is no entry level of education; therefore, many pastors who have plenty of both compete with others who have no ministry degrees, degrees from shabby educational institutions, low threshold "doctorates" that are seen by churches as equivalent of rigorous academic degrees. There is no entry level of experience required. Actually, there's not a lot of choice here. We have to start … [Read more...] about Pastors have a tough job in our ministry system

Georgia House Speaker David Ralston has announced his intent to file legislation for a "pastor protection act" later this year when the legislature is in session. The pastor protection act will: a) provide security for pastors against forced termination b) legislate civil protections for pastors against obstreperous deacons c) cause the state to pay for all pastor's health insurance premiums d) protect pastors from being forced at gunpoint to perform weddings they don't want to perform The answer is, of course, "d", although some pastors already perform weddings they don't … [Read more...] about Pastor protection act proposed for Georgia