The Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting will soon be upon us. One item of particular interest will be the probable effort to defund the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. Al Mohler (surprisingly) and Jack Graham (unsurprisingly) have publicly supported defunding, while ten former SBC presidents have advocated keeping the ERLC. Richard Land published an impassioned plea to Southern Baptists to preserve it. As for me, I support maintaining the ERLC. The letter from the former presidents mentions improving the Commission rather than abolishing it. That makes sense to me. If it needs … [Read more...] about Varied and Vacuous Observations and Opinions, Part FIVE
SBC Issues
The joke of ‘the world’s largest deliberative body’
Our Grand Old Convention , The Southern Baptist Convention is in those two days that the convention is actually in existence between gavels at the annual meeting touted to be “the world’s largest deliberative body.” I use the word "deliberative" ministerially, brethren and, in spite of goofballs, circus acts, and impenetrable machinations and motions at the meeting, I rather like the idea that one duly registered SBC messenger from the tiniest Southern Baptist church can make a motion, offer to amend a committee report, nominate himself for president or other action. We are congregational even … [Read more...] about The joke of ‘the world’s largest deliberative body’
The CP: celebrating a century of existence and a half century of decline.
Well, our venerable flagship giving scheme is a century old and there's a bunch of stuff going on at the SBCAM in Dallas next month. A Baptist Press Story of May 13th featured the group picture above and I recognize a number of people. Someone do an analysis of the dozens of people in that picture. Chances are most of them are on the Cooperative Program payroll which doesn't mean they aren't good people committed to the Lord and his work through Southern Baptists. It does mean that there is a financial connection between keeping the CP going, however weakly, and putting food on your table I … [Read more...] about The CP: celebrating a century of existence and a half century of decline.
The Most Practical Classes I Took in Seminary (Joe Radosevich)
The most practical classes you can take in seminary are biblical languages. Most seminaries are reducing their required language classes. Pastors make fun of having to learn the silent shewa in Hebrew class. Many times, students have to take elementary classes that don’t count towards their degree. Even though trends move the other direction, here are 2 reasons Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic are the most practical classes you can take in seminary Original Languages Will Save You Hours Every Week of Your Ministry. I loved every class in seminary. I found so much to learn and so many areas … [Read more...] about The Most Practical Classes I Took in Seminary (Joe Radosevich)
Our political climate is exhausting. Must our Convention also be? (Matt Johnson)
I don’t think it’s too controversial to say that it’s absolutely draining to keep tabs on political news. The constant barrage of outrage demands our every waking moment. At times, it feels like the strategy is meant to fatigue us so that we no longer care anymore. Is the SBC operating by the same playbook? A recent piece from our friends at Baptist News Global (link here: https://baptistnews.com/article/as-god-is-my-witness-mohler-has-changed-his-tune-on-erlc/) asserts that at least two influential Southern Baptists are planting seeds to bring yet another motion to defund the Ethics and … [Read more...] about Our political climate is exhausting. Must our Convention also be? (Matt Johnson)
Your Opinion, Please
One stated purpose for SBC Voices is to give Southern Baptists a forum for sharing their opinions. A friend once quipped. “If you gather four Southern Baptists into a room, they’ll express five opinions.” Well, this post provides you with an opportunity to share YOUR opinion. You’ll find below five matters that I’ve been contemplating, and I would like to know what you think. For several years I served as the Teaching Pastor at Central Baptist Church in Crandall, Texas. Our beloved senior pastor, Charlie Wilson, often said, “Now, in my humble but accurate opinion.” So, let’s hear your humble, … [Read more...] about Your Opinion, Please
More dignity and solemnity; less frivolity and nonsense
Surprising results from a recent Lifeway Research survey: 94% of pastors think their church will survive the next 10 years. Well, that's comforting. No, it's not. The idea that we are in a place where church survival is at risk enough to survey the matter means that 100% of protestant pastors are thinking about survival, some seriously, but most think they and their church has the right stuff to make it another decade. The churches I pastored are now 220 years old, 130 years old, and 125 years old. They are all doing well, although one had to engineer a merger to survive. So … [Read more...] about More dignity and solemnity; less frivolity and nonsense
My 50 Years with the International Mission Board
My wife and I were appointed as missionaries by the Foreign Mission Board (now IMB) in April of 1975. If you do the math, you’ll see we’ve been associated with the IMB for 50 years. When we married in 1971, we wrote the FMB to tell them we were called to missionary service. The Personnel Department wrote back and said, “Wonderful, go to seminary.” So, off to Southwestern Baptist Seminary we went. In those years, 55 percent of the FMB’s appointees had studied at SWBTS. We were appointed by the FMB in April of 1975, and I graduated from seminary in May. (I’ve often wondered what the FMB would … [Read more...] about My 50 Years with the International Mission Board
Complementarian porn
Think of this as food porn, a "glamorized visual presentation of cooking or eating." No need to get triggered. It takes no genius to point out the most obvious and relevant point about the SBC's recent forays into doctrinal purity and the sanitizing of the denomination as it relates to women serving in churches. What is presented as a return to doctrinal fidelity and New Testament ecclesiology is actually complementarian porn, the reality on the ground being far removed from the idealized presentations we hear represented by proponents. I have a distaste for even using the term … [Read more...] about Complementarian porn
Randy Covington should get a trophy instead of resigning [by WILLIAM THORNTON]
Randy Covington has been an IMB missionary for 22 years and the Alaska convention leader for about eight. He is our kind of Christian and denominational servant. It's insanity that we punish and lose people like this. Alaska exec resigns, BP Alaska Baptist leader resigns, BNG The details involve a woman preschool and children "pastor," about which I wrote earlier. Randy Covington did nothing wrong, said nothing wrong, although he might could have explained it better. For crying out loud, he had already set his retirement for a few months later. No reason to resign early to satisfy … [Read more...] about Randy Covington should get a trophy instead of resigning [by WILLIAM THORNTON]