SBC Issues

As of Tuesday, Ronnie Floyd is the new President-elect of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee. I assume the 'elect' part of his new title will be dropped after Sunday when he officially resigns as the Senior Pastor of Cross Church in Northwest Arkansas. It is clear, however, that his dual status this week has not prevented him from hitting the ground running. This is a good thing since we are now 68 days away from the 2019 Annual Meeting in Birmingham, AL. There's no time to waste. Yesterday Baptist Press did a story on a number of conference calls Dr. Floyd has already … [Read more...] about Ronnie Floyd has hit the ground running

Yesterday Ronnie Floyd was elected President of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee. Congratulations! We should all be rooting for Dr. Floyd. I know I am. This is an important time in the life of our convention and we need strong, wise leadership coming from the Executive Committee. Let's all commit to praying for Dr. Floyd as he assumes this important role at the EC. Lost in the shuffle, though, were comments made by search committee chairman Steve Swofford regarding an article that appeared late last week in the Houston Chronicle. I do not know the exact context for the … [Read more...] about ‘Pretty much all lies’ is not good enough

Congratulations to Ronnie Floyd on being elected our day-to-day, SBC leader. And congratulations on having a job that has exactly zero power over the 47,000 SBC churches and their often unruly clergy and members. SBC Voices has a leader, Dave Miller (who has a nice article from two days ago about RF) and several others, moi included, who make up a loosely connected team. I think it would be fair to say that I was more positive and optimistic about the SBC's worst kept secret that the rest. May I offer a few suggestions about what we should and shouldn't do as Southern Baptist in regard … [Read more...] about Let’s be optimistic about Ronnie Floyd and the future of the SBC

By a vote of 68-1, The Executive Committee has elected Ronnie Floyd as its next president. Check Baptist Press for more details.   Ronnie's response on Twitter: .@ronniefloyd: 'We asked the Lord for a declarative showing ... Based on your call, I will be, this coming Sunday, resigning from' Cross Church 'and immediately taking the role of president-elect' of the EC. #sbcec19 … [Read more...] about Ronnie Floyd Has Been Elected EC President

Comic Bill Burr riffed on religion during one of his many performances. Actually, he mentions religion somewhat often, though not in this detail. He spoke of leaving his religion behind, and the choices he faced as he headed for the door. He said: “I just had to make a decision. What am I gonna do with this? What am I gonna do? Am I gonna cling to it, be that person, ya know? The guy who says (whiny voice), ‘That’s very offensive to me and other Christians and…’ Really? I’m gonna become that [moron]? “Or be like the casual Christian, ya know, right with, like, one foot on base, … [Read more...] about Letting God Go

Tomorrow, Ronnie Floyd will be elected as the next president of the SBC's Executive Committee. I am told that there will likely be little opposition to his nomination and that a unanimous vote is a possibility. I am not aware of any significant organized opposition to his election. If you read SBC Voices, you are probably aware that I have not been a strong supporter of Ronnie's candidacy. I had hoped that they would choose someone else. When I heard that they were focused on Ronnie, back in January, I wrote an article, "The Man We Need in Nashville" which explained some of my concerns … [Read more...] about When You Don’t Get Your Way

In the worst kept secret in SBC history, Ronnie Floyd will be recommended to the EC as president this week. In this video, shared with his church, he not only announces this, but also gives a pretty good summary of the work of the EC president. I communicated with Ronnie earlier this week that he had my prayers as he undertook this job. While nothing is ever a sure thing, I believe his nomination will not receive much if any opposition at the EC. The Executive Committee is in turmoil right now and needs a strong hand. Pray for Dr. Floyd as he undertakes this task.   … [Read more...] about Breaking News: Ronnie Floyd is the EC Presidential Candidate

At our upcoming Spring Trustee Meeting, I will be bringing a motion to revoke the degree that SWBTS granted to Mark Aderholt. In this post I will explain the rationale behind this action as it is grounded in SWBTS's governing documents and the current state of our laws as I understand them. The motion that I will bring is, of course, just a motion from a solitary trustee. I will not be able to blog about any aspect of how the Board responds to or processes my motion. My purpose in authoring this post is simple: The Southern Baptist Convention has been through a lot of difficulty with regard to … [Read more...] about I Found Something I Could Do

The SBC is in an unprecedented time of transition and turmoil. We are about the fill the third of the five open entity head positions (the EC votes on its new president next week). Throughout all this turmoil we endure a presidential election last year in which the man who is now our president endured an unprecedented stream of slander and false accusation. Southwestern Seminary had the mother of all bad years. Division over our nation's politics have split our convention that once united politically. Racism continues to be an issue. The #metoo/#churchtoo scandal in the SBC hit the front pages … [Read more...] about Reflections on Renewal in the SBC

I think it started with the best of intentions. A preacher I held in great esteem drank deeply from the cup of alliteration. If it was beneficial for him, why not me? Slowly, I began with simple sermonic points (rich, real, relevant) but the thing began to grip me and I spiraled down into secondary alliterative points (the route he chose, the result he gained, the reason he perished) and then, I'm ashamed to admit it, total depravity in the form of double alliteration (His life of luxury, his lament of languor, his lash of lambaste). I'm not proud of spending more time searching for … [Read more...] about Hello. My name is William and I’m an alliteraholic