SBC Issues

LifeWay's Facts and Trends magazine has just released that Ben Mandrell, pastor of Storyline Fellowship in Arvada, Colorado, will be the search committee's candidate to be the next president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources. I heard him speak for the first time at the Pastors' Conference this year and thought he was great, but had no idea this was coming! LifeWay kept this under wraps better than most of the others! Go to Facts and Trends for all the information.   Just as an addendum, yes, we went 5 for 5 as a denomination in keeping the SBC's entity heads white! Each … [Read more...] about Ben Mandrell Announced as Presidential Candidate for LifeWay

May 4 was my last day at Louisiana College, where I had taught Old Testament and Hebrew for the past four years. I left because of how the school handled what seemed to me to be a clear example of the type of theological system that undergirds the current sexual abuse crisis in the Southern Baptist Convention. It was February 14, 2019, just a few days after the Houston Chronicle released its stunning, sickening series of articles on sexual abuse in Southern Baptist churches and how that abuse had been covered over for years. That day in chapel Joshua Dara, the dean of the school of human … [Read more...] about Misogyny in Baptist Higher Education (by Russell L. Meek)

The SBC meeting in Birmingham is one week past. In this short time three horrific cases of sexual abuse of children involving the SBC at various levels have come to light. All of these are malevolent and deplorable. The nationally-known reporter for the Houston Chronicle and co-author of the long and depressing series on abuse in SBC churches, Robert Downen, related a conversation in an airport bar (where else?) with an SBCer returning home from the convention in Birmingham. Downen said that the man, an associational worker, attributed a lot of the SBC's problems as "not malevolence, but … [Read more...] about Malevolence, incompetence, and ignorance in the SBC concerning abuse

LifeWay shared this video at the SBC Annual Meeting which explained why they had to close the brick and mortar stores. I know there are people who are upset about that decision, but this video makes a compelling case. This is the way all such decisions can and should be handled. LifeWay gave the straight scoop to the messengers - gave us the hard, cold, and yes, ugly facts. Can anyone listen to this and say they did the wrong thing? Thank you, LifeWay, for trusting the messengers and being transparent on this issue. Thank you, Brad Waggoner, for your leadership during this interim. … [Read more...] about LifeWay Video Explaining the Store Closings

I am still having trouble recovering from this year's annual meeting. Wears this old codger out. I was born on Friday the 13th, and tried to wear 13 in athletic competition when possible. So, here are 13 prophetic utterances about 2020. Of course, if this were OT Israel my track record on predictions would have long since gotten me stoned to death. What will Orlando hold for the SBC? 1. A smaller church challenge for the pastors' conference is likely to happen again. No, I do not plan to be involved but I think it will happen. 2. As an election year, it will be a bit more rough … [Read more...] about Predictions for SBC 2020 in Orlando

The group that brought the federal lawsuit against the cash version of the clergy housing allowance has decided not to appeal the unanimous Federal Appeals Court ruling that upheld the thing. They have a clever title to this news: Appeals Court Blesses Housing Allowance. Now's the time to start thinking about next year, brethren and sistren. Max your housing allowance out; that is, take as much of your clergy income in the form of the housing allowance as you can. It's our best tax break. If you own your own home here's what GuideStone says about the maximum: Ministers who own their … [Read more...] about Your housing allowance is safe for the forseeable future

Probably my most enjoyable convention in quite some time, partly because I stayed in the HQ hotel with the SBC heavy hitters. I spent my own money doing so. They surely did not. Good to see Kevin Ezell in the lobby very early in the morning, 5:30-6:00, working for us. The Westin had some very helpful people. They worked out a problem for me: Home run Hey, Westin, your restaurant and coffee shop opens at 6:30 which is 7:30 real (Eastern) time: Whiff. Yeah, that's Johnny Hunt ahead of me walking at about the same pace. Well, we are about the same age. SBCV colleague Todd walked with me … [Read more...] about #SBC19: home runs and whiffs