SBC Issues

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

Reports came out this morning that Billy Graham School Dean, Adam Greenway, will be nominated to serve as the next president of Southwestern Seminary to be elected at a special meeting of the SWBTS board, Feb 26-27. You can read the press release here. I affirm the work of the search committee and I believe Dr. Greenway will make an excellent president at Southwestern. The Baptist Press article notes several qualities about Dr. Greenway that led the committee in selecting him. The search committee describes Greenway as “a man of impeccable character who demonstrates kindness and humility in … [Read more...] about Adam Greenway to lead Southwestern Seminary

The proposal by professors Whitfield and Yarnell, of Southeastern and Southwestern seminaries respectively, is serious, comprehensive, and deserves due consideration. In my reading of their 2500 word article, Addressing Abuse in the SBC: A Proposal, it seems to me that the key sentence is this: We must leverage our autonomy to call our churches into a covenant of protecting the vulnerable. I do not know if their article previews the conclusions and recommendations of the work currently being done by SBC President J. D. Greear's Sexual Abuse Presidential Study Group a partnership with … [Read more...] about Can autonomy be “leveraged” in the SBC to guard against abuse?

One hundred years ago last month the necessary number of states ratified the 18th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which banned the manufacture, transportation and sale of intoxicating liquors. The Amendment went into effect the following year. Thus, next January, my fellow dry Southern Baptists may raise a toast to the time when our great republic gave a black eye to demon rum and the evil alcoholic beverage industry. Or, maybe not. I recall Prohibition being taught in history classes as a failed experiment. That it failed is manifestly true since the country, after a dozen years of … [Read more...] about A century after prohibition

In regard to child protection in SBC churches and entities, whatever solutions are proposed or adopted in the various levels of Southern Baptist life if they prove ineffective in local churches the effort will have minimal value. Our convention has 50,000 or so individual churches that voluntarily cooperate on associational, state, and national levels. The country crossroads church needs to protect children just like the multi-campus megachurch franchise operation. In my church we have used MinistrySafe child protection system for about a year now. It is not a perfect system but works well … [Read more...] about Protecting children in your church

Some Southern Baptist churches would ordain a ham sandwich. One pastor told me that his ordination was a joke. One ordination council in which I participated would have been a joke if I had not been present. No one seemed to know why they were there. Ordinations are quickly given but rarely revoked. Ordinations are not registered with any SBC body that I know of. Ordinations have no recognized requirements in the SBC. We Southern Baptists are not sacerdotalists but what are we? Ordinations require no particular education even though many laypeople think that a seminary … [Read more...] about The ordination scandal in the SBC