I've always paid attention to the matter of retirement and retirement income. When GuideStone or the state convention sent a guy around to speak to the pastor's conference or to an associational meeting, I was present and paying attention. When I reached the age (I think it was 55) where I received an invitation to our state convention's pre-retirement conference, I registered and attended. In fact, I did so several times before I pulled the trigger and actually retired. There is no shortage of advice floating around about retirement. GuideStone has tips, calculators, and counsel about … [Read more...] about Best retirement advice I ever received
Lost in the blogging black hole: Cooperative Program is up
Lost, swamped, overwhelmed by white hot discussions of the Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, by debate about whether or not elder rule practitioner and SBC Pastor's Conference invitee James MacDonald made a proper apology for calling congregational governance "satanic", and by other weighty matters is this little item that directly affects tens of thousands of Southern Baptists in ways other than triggering social media explosions: Our beloved Cooperative Program is up 2.49% for the current fiscal year. Baptist Press: CP 2.49% ahead of projection at mid-year point. Year-to-date … [Read more...] about Lost in the blogging black hole: Cooperative Program is up
The Christian butcher, baker, and wedding picture maker
Should Christians who by reason of belief and conscience discriminate against same sex couples be held liable under non-discrimination laws or should there be an exception made in order to uphold their First Amendment religious liberty rights? Though none of the occupations (I added the butcher for obvious literary reasons) are mentioned in the recent spate of Religious Freedom Restoration Acts passed or proposed in several states, the matter is being driven by a few cases across the country involving Christian businesses and gay couples. Without citing case law and plunging deep into … [Read more...] about The Christian butcher, baker, and wedding picture maker
The “ideal” Cooperative Program division between state and national
Our venerable Cooperative Program now in its tenth decade and while somewhat diminished in percentages and sums from earlier times, is still a mammoth funding engine without which the SBC at the state convention and national levels would be unrecognizable. In my several decades of pastoral hacking and plodding in the SBC hinterlands I have concluded that almost all laypeople and many, perhaps most, pastors lack the most basic understanding of the CP, that is, that it is mostly a state convention program, and that most of the money given by churches in a particular state … [Read more...] about The “ideal” Cooperative Program division between state and national
Reality on the ground in the Middle East
Recent posts and comments here on the reality on the ground in the Middle East have been somewhat informative though, to me, generally discouraging. Most of us share some level of concern for the appalling, senseless, and shocking violence committed by radical groups in the area. Although we receive steady streams of news, videos, and reports of shocking events, such things are far removed from the United States. I do not question either the Christian commitment of my friends here nor their compassion for human suffering anywhere. I do speculate, however, that none of us here are directly … [Read more...] about Reality on the ground in the Middle East