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