SBC Issues

Note: This post provides an overview of the SBC Ordination Practices Report. You can download the full report here.   “An overseer must be above reproach…” 1 Timothy 3:2   Southern Baptists, we have a problem. Actually, we have multiple problems brought to light by a recent investigation by The Houston Chronicle, which uncovered a horrific litany of sexual abuse among Southern Baptist churches, with more than 700 victims over the past twenty years and more than 250 offenders since 2008.  This has led to some difficult, but necessary conversations among Southern Baptists, … [Read more...] about Above Reproach: A Study of the Ordination Practices of SBC Churches (Jason A. Lowe)

Savvy Southern Baptists, and that includes all who read, comment, or post here at Voices, know about Great Commission Giving, the new metric created by the Great Commission Resurgence group nine years ago. GCG is supposed to be giving by a church "to any Baptist association, state convention, and to the causes of the Southern Baptist Convention." It should include Cooperative Program, Lottie and Annie, all state convention special offerings, whatever the church gives to their association, and anything else given to SBC entities and causes of the SBC. Offering for The Gideons, Samaritan's … [Read more...] about Our new Executive Committee leader and Great Commission Giving

I visited my mom and dad in Florida last week to celebrate the old guy's 90th birthday and as was to be expected, dad and I had some late night chats. We talked about the greatest sports team in the history of sports - the New York Yankees. We talked about family, about grandkids. We talked about old times. More than any other topic, though, we hashed out what is going on in the Southern Baptist Convention. Dad devoted his life to ministry within the SBC. Dad was never a bigwig but his service in the convention made it such that he was widely known by people who were. A graduate of … [Read more...] about “Yeah, It’s Worth It” – Why I Stick with the SBC

I think all major state conventions have a foundation that does estate planning, manages funds, makes church loans and offers investment options. The Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma would be happy to have your money even if you are not in Oklahoma. They've even launched a new brand, WatersEdge Ministry Services to be more appealing to folks outside Oklahoma. "Waters" and "Edge?" I have no idea about the name but they do use a baptism picture in their slick, full page ad in SBCLife. I'm all for competition but it's a brave, new Baptist world I suppose. Let's see what kind of swag they're giving … [Read more...] about The Oklahoma Baptist Foundation wants your money…and other interesting SBC news you may not have heard

Over the years I’ve served one church as pastor and ten churches as interim pastor. Besides that, I’ve served as a supply preacher or missionary speaker at countless churches. At many churches after the service, the preacher stands at the main exit and speaks to the folks as they leave. Many feel compelled to say something about the sermon. The comments the departing attenders make vary widely and wildly. If you are a visiting preacher, they often say thanks for coming or thanks for preaching for us today. However, if you are the pastor or interim pastor, the comments change. Of course, … [Read more...] about After-Sermon Comments

No surprise about that; nothing new, nothing different. Latest CP figures released by the Executive Committee have this as a headline: Nat'l CP 2.67% over YTD budget projection Savvy CP watchers will appreciate that the 2018-2019 Cooperative Program Allocation Budget was a conservative budget and that the Executive Committee has sufficient revenues to meet the budgetary expectations of the mission boards, seminaries, and other national CP recipients. The national CP is roughly 40% of all CP revenues. State conventions keep the bulk of it, always have, though less now than in earlier years. … [Read more...] about The Cooperative Program is in a long time funk

When Evelyn showed up at church one Sunday morning, I didn't have to ask the regular members about the new lady whose appearance was striking and a bit bizarre. "Oh, that's just Evelyn," I was told. "She's a country music star." Evelyn turned heads. You almost couldn't look away. She was dressed outlandishly, rather gaudily. Her makeup was quite heavy. The hair was far darker than her age would permit and coiffed vertically. And there were sprinkles of glitter and clouds of perfume everywhere. The congregation was polite and cordial and most members seemed to be accustomed to her. She … [Read more...] about The country music star