A little more than a day after receiving information from J.D. Greear on the 10 churches named in the Houston Chronicle’s series of articles, the Bylaws Committee of the Executive Committee issued a wholly inadequate response that called for further inquiry into three of the churches, absolved six of them by saying that no further inquiry was needed, and pointed out that one of the churches was not SBC-affiliated. (The offender in the non-SBC church moved from an SBC church after committing the offense, so it is easy to see how the Chronicle did not figure that out.) This report cannot … [Read more...] about The EC Bylaws Committee Investigation Cannot Stand
SBC Issues
Preacher, Give an Invitation!
In recent years some pastors have abandoned the invitation at the conclusion of the sermon. I’m sure they have various reasons for this; however, the primary reason seems to be equating invitations with “easy believism.” I realize that invitations have been abused and misused over the years; but so have sermons, and we still preach sermons. Properly done, invitations are still necessary and helpful. Why do I still believe in and extend invitations when I preach? Invitations Are Biblical The Apostle Peter gave an invitation on the day of Pentecost: “And with many other words he bore … [Read more...] about Preacher, Give an Invitation!
The Heritage of SWBTS Continues
Yesterday the Board of Trustees of SWBTS elected Dr. Adam W. Greenway as the ninth president of the seminary (See coverage in Baptist Press here). The reception of the news has been overwhelmingly positive both across the campus and across the convention. There have, however, been a few expressions of concern. I write today to address them briefly. Although worded in different ways (Southern takeover, Mohler takeover, Calvinistic takeover, etc.), the expressions of concern yield themselves, I believe to analysis that distills them into two basic loci of angst: First, does Greenway's … [Read more...] about The Heritage of SWBTS Continues
JD Greear Was Right to Name Churches
There has been a lot of discussion over the last few days about whether JD Greear was right to call the names of specific churches during his recent address to the Executive Committee. The manuscript for Greear's entire speech has been published here at SBC Voices. Here's the relevant portion of the speech: In media reports over the last week, churches who are currently in cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention were alleged to have displayed a wanton disregard for the seriousness of abuse. In some cases, they were alleged to have directly acted in a manner that was … [Read more...] about JD Greear Was Right to Name Churches
Greenway is Ninth President of Southwestern
Dr. Adam Greenway has been unanimously elected the ninth president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, according to a release on the SWBTS website. He was also elected as a professor of evangelism and apologetics. In addition to Greenway, the board named Randy L. Stinson as provost and vice president for academic administration, also unanimously. They affirmed the work of Dr. Jeffrey Bingham during the time he was interim president, an affirmation I would strongly affirm. I have spoken to many from the seminary who tell of the work he has done in providing stability and a positive … [Read more...] about Greenway is Ninth President of Southwestern
Autonomy is still the reality and rule in Southern Baptist life
Nothing in the past two weeks has changed these facts of SBC life and polity: The SBC (and I use "SBC" in the broad sense of the entire universe of churches, entities, committees, boards, organizations, and institutions) ordains no clergy. Only churches who voluntarily cooperate with Southern Baptist organizations ordain ministers. Neither does "the SBC" hire, supervise, and fire local church clergy. No body in the broader SBC - not associations, state conventions, the national convention or Executive Committee - puts clergy in churches or transfers them from church … [Read more...] about Autonomy is still the reality and rule in Southern Baptist life
Cliches – What Would We Say without Them?
What would preachers, politicians, and sports writers have to say without clichés? According to my American Heritage Dictionary, a cliche is “a trite or overused expression or idea.” Of course, there is truth in clichés. If there was no truth, we would not use them. Still, some are used so much that wise preachers would do well to avoid them. At least, you should. When I use them, that’s different. I’ve compiled a short list of preacher clichés, and I hope our readers will add to my list. Here are some that I’ve heard (or used). Every head bowed and every eye closed. If no one … [Read more...] about Cliches – What Would We Say without Them?
‘God’s Man’
The Executive Committee Presidential Search Team announced Tuesday that they have found "God's candidate" to lead the Southern Baptist Convention's administrative entity. The announcement comes nearly eleven months after the position of EC President was vacated by Frank Page. I have no doubt that the search team has rightly prayed and sought God's guidance throughout the process. They are, therefore, convinced that they have found the right person to lead the EC. EC Chairman Mike Stone said, "God was guiding us." I am thankful that they experienced the guidance of the Lord throughout the … [Read more...] about ‘God’s Man’
SBC Executive Committee Recommends Bylaw Change, Disfellowshipping on Basis of Racism or Indifference to Sexual Abuse
More big news out of this week's SBC Executive Committee meeting. The EC is recommending changes to article 3 of the SBC Constitution, which would add racism or indifference to sexual abuse to the list of circumstances which would call for a church to be deemed out of cooperation with the convention, and therefore no longer a part of the SBC. You can see the language below from the photo in Phillip Bethancourt's tweet. This change will need to be approved by the messengers of the SBC to become official. https://twitter.com/pbethancourt/status/1097970328201035776 This part of Article … [Read more...] about SBC Executive Committee Recommends Bylaw Change, Disfellowshipping on Basis of Racism or Indifference to Sexual Abuse
A Word of Appreciation to J.D. Greear
I imagine there were some gasps last night among those in the Executive Committee meeting room when J.D. Greear laid out his plan for responding to the current abuse scandal which we’ve known about for a while and has been made national news by the Houston Chronicle. We are not used to this kind of bold and forceful leadership in response to charges of sexual abuse in the SBC. There was also anger directed at J.D. among some who thought he went too far when he named several churches – churches that were identified by the Chronicle as having hired or not responded appropriately to the … [Read more...] about A Word of Appreciation to J.D. Greear