SBC Issues

Visiting a church in a church in Birmingham (well, Fultondale) thinking through some issues I am going through in my church. After 14 years there I haven't seen the progress I'd like to see. I get discouraged, angry down, frustrated. Sometimes it feels every day is a Monday. I sat...well, stood...in church and the praise team did a song I'd never heard. It was a moment. It was as if the words of the song were written to address precisely the situation I was going through. I am not going to be specific because I don't want this to be a discussion of the particular person or … [Read more...] about Blessed by a Song by a Group I Disdain

Did you gloss over this paragraph (emphasis is mine) of the SBC Caring Well Report? One final note: This report has required collaboration and cooperation from many Southern Baptists this year, and we pray that this first step will help Southern Baptists and Southern Baptist churches move forward. But we acknowledge that this report is a first step of many. Significant developments have occurred on a number of important items that are outside of the scope of this report to address, such as strengthening screening for abuse in the ordination process, potential enhancements to the Annual Church … [Read more...] about No database, no deal? Not this year but work continues on that and other aspects of abuse in churches

These come from the floor of the convention, the hoi polloi, the unwashed masses of SBC messengers. Sometimes fanboys stack the mics and lob softball questions but occasionally messenger actually asks a question worth having answered. Here is a mix, serious and not so serious, of my own: Al Mohler, president of Southern Seminary: Dr. Mohler, you recently said that the SBC had reached a "critical moment" in regard to "complementarianism." Yesterday there were women on the sidewalk outside the convention center who were abused by male SBC clergy and laypeople. Would you like to revise and … [Read more...] about Questions for entity heads no one will ask next week

Most Cooperative Program money, well over half of it, goes to fund state conventions and their mix of ministry causes and activities. Almost all of the state convention share of CP dollars, 90% or more last time I checked it, stays in sixteen Southern states from Missouri, down to Texas, then east through the gulf states, Florida, and up the east coast to Virginia. With several hundred million dollars to spend, are these states baptizing more people, gaining more members, and increasing the number of their churches? The simple answer is, "no." Measurable statistics are declining … [Read more...] about A look at the records of state conventions: who’s up, who’s down.

Last September I shared my church experience with MinistrySafe child safety system product: Implementing MinistrySafe child safety training in my local church Yesterday I gave a brief review of the SBC, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission's new product, Becoming a Church That Cares Well For The Abused: A brief review of the ERLC's new training - ChurchCares: Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused The churches I served were average-sized SBC churches in the neighborhood of 100 in primary worship. About half of the time I was the single, fulltime clergy staff for the … [Read more...] about MinistrySafe abuse awareness training and ChurchCares ‘Becoming a church that cares well for the abused

I have spent a lot of time and energy on this in recent weeks. I thought I would state a few things I think and believe, and then it is my intent to move on. These are random thoughts. 1. Gender issues will be key in the future of the SBC, but likely won't be a huge issue in Birmingham. If the Mother's Day Homilicaust had kicked off earlier, we might have gotten a spate of resolutions, but I doubt this will dominate the meeting. Abuse will be the issue this year, not gender issues. 2. Complementarianism is becoming a meaningless term. It is actually a noble word – men and women … [Read more...] about Random Things I Believe about Gender Issues in the SBC