William Thornton

A subject that is guaranteed to stir the SBC masses is anything remotely critical of our beloved and ubiquitous practice of short term missions.  Why would anyone find reason to criticize that in which the smallest Southern Baptist church participates - a short term, volunteer mission trip to another country, another culture, a location with vastly greater human needs than we generally see in our church fields here in the states? You can judge by the headline, Ministers, churches seek end to 'mission tourism', that the article is not likely to be friendly to the typical short term mission … [Read more...] about Short term missions: First, do no harm

  The Cooperative Program is now in its tenth decade of existence. For many Southern Baptists, their memory of it does not include any time when it was a thriving, increasing measure of Southern Baptist denominational health. The general narrative concerning it has been negative in that churches, relentlessly and depressingly, have dropped their CP percentages, a decades long trend. Here are a couple of things that offer a modicum of optimism relative to the CP: First, the sub-narrative that megachurches are not helpful to the Cooperative Program and do not support it with the … [Read more...] about A little more light for the Cooperative Program

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?