I suspect I’m not the only person or pastor who wishes for better friendship. I haven’t made the friends that I should have or kept up with the good ones that I had. Pastors often have temporary work friendships until life and ministry take them in different directions. Here is what is helping me: Pray for your friends and their families. I’m gearing this for pastors, but this applies to everyone. I started praying for a couple of friends 1-2 years ago. I just wrote down two names and prayed for them once a week or so. One is a friend that I see once per month. The other is a friend that … [Read more...] about Praying for Friends and Their Families
SBC Issues
The Illusion of Control in the SBC (by Jonathan Raffini)
I am keen on several things, and history is topping the list. Baptist history, military history—you name it. But nothing compares to living through history, and if you’ve ever attended a Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting, you’ve experienced just that. Sometimes the history is remembered for decades. Other times, you look back and think, “Wow,” and I don’t mean that in the same way Dr. Chuck Kelley (former president of NOBTS) meant when he referenced that “ancient Hebrew expression.” I mean “wow” as in, “I can’t believe that happened,” or “What were we thinking?” No matter the moment, … [Read more...] about The Illusion of Control in the SBC (by Jonathan Raffini)
Headed to Senegal and a Welcome to Joe Radosevic
I am sitting at JFK waiting to board a Delta jet for 10 days in the Casamance. I've lost count - it's either my 17th or 18th trip. Pray for spiritual fruit...and no pulmonary embolisms this time! I am posting this to welcome Joe Radosevich to the Voices team. He has posted several guest posts and has gotten his official Voices drivers license. Welcome aboard. … [Read more...] about Headed to Senegal and a Welcome to Joe Radosevic
Jeff Iorg Is “God’s Man” “For Such a Time As This”
Sorry guys. The title is an inside joke to the Voices team. We laugh at the frequency at which people use these two phrases when nominating people for positions in the SBC. I don't drink, but if I were hardcore Reformed enough to imbibe, this would make a great drinking game at the SBC (smile folks, I'm joking!). I am not at the SBC, and to be honest, I haven't paid attention to what is happening until this afternoon, when I tuned in while the elections were taking place (strange format, not sure what I think about that!). Then, there was a report from the EC and Dr. Iorg's presentation. I … [Read more...] about Jeff Iorg Is “God’s Man” “For Such a Time As This”
Second VP Report
Second VP Election 10,541 registered messengers, 6668 voting Christopher Rhodes 806 votes (12.09%) Tommy Mann 2057 votes (30.85%) Craig Carlisle 3765 (56.46%) Craig Carlisle is elected Anyone have opinions on this new election process? Seems to me it works well in this year with no highly contested elections. Might get more messy if there were a lot of tight elections...like next year. … [Read more...] about Second VP Report
First Vice President Election
Reporting from my office here in Tekamah, Nebraska, I have an observation. This may be the first time in convention history that more people voted in the First Vice President election than in the President election. First Vice President Election 10,511 messengers registered, 6158 voting (6009 voted for president) Daniel Richie 5409 votes (87.84%) Larry Helms 722 votes (11.72%) … [Read more...] about First Vice President Election
Election Results – President. Clint Pressley reelected by Landslide
Presidential Election 10,495 registered with 6009 voting Clint Pressley - 5567 votes (92.64%) David Morrill - 408 votes (6.79%) Can't remember the last time there was a contested election for president with a landslide this big. … [Read more...] about Election Results – President. Clint Pressley reelected by Landslide
Collective Amnesia and the Priority Allocation: Why the Guidepost Investigation Was Necessary and We Must Pay Our Bills
As Southern Baptists prepare to meet in Dallas, many are understandably frustrated that messengers will be asked to approve a $3 million priority allocation of Cooperative Program funds to cover anticipated legal expenses. It’s important for us to remind ourselves how we got where we are. The Original Motion At the 2021 SBC annual meeting, pastor and messenger Grant Gaines moved the creation of a task force to oversee a third-party investigation into the actions of the SBC Executive Committee regarding sexual abuse in the SBC.[1] Below is the full text of the motion:[2] I move that … [Read more...] about Collective Amnesia and the Priority Allocation: Why the Guidepost Investigation Was Necessary and We Must Pay Our Bills
I’m still all in on our cooperative work
I’m still all in on our cooperative work as Southern Baptists. Things are not perfect in the SBC. That’s no secret. We have our issues. We always have. We always will. Until Jesus returns. But I am still committed to cooperating with other like-minded churches for the sake of the gospel. I attended my first Southern Baptist Convention in 2013 in Houston. Fred Luter was the president. He was re-elected for his second term at that meeting. Some guy in an ugly lime green suit was the second vice president. Sorry, Dave! The Calvinism task force presented their report. It was Russell … [Read more...] about I’m still all in on our cooperative work
The myth of the world’s largest deliberative body (or, when it comes to women, how the SBC loses its mind)
One of the brag points about our Grand Old Convention, back when we were doing well enough to think about bragging and strutting, was that the SBC in annual session was The World's Largest Deliberative Body. Everyone has a vote and can speak and stuff like that. Now we excel at doing stupid stuff like passing motions that led to incredible, wasteful and perhaps endless squandering of assets, all of that for no discernible benefit at this time. Add to that the recent announcement that the SBC is "losing members at a rate that we have never experienced in modern American Christianity.” (Ryan … [Read more...] about The myth of the world’s largest deliberative body (or, when it comes to women, how the SBC loses its mind)