SBC Issues

I have been traveling the same path to work for almost 20 years.  I go north from my suburban home to the city where my office is.  Just shy of downtown, there is a split where two lanes go to the left and two go to the right.  I take the left branch, which immediately puts me on the left side of four very busy lanes . . . with the next right exit being the one I need to take . . . during rush hour, when all four lanes are packed. In all the years I have taken this route, I have learned to pay attention to the smallest signals given by the other drivers.  Those signals range from the most … [Read more...] about Signals (by Poor Richard)

Dave Miller is getting incredibly forgetful these days! I set this interview yesterday and then consulted Alan Cross about how we should format it, then just forgot. Alan Cross did the legwork, in coordination with the group of guys who have been discussing SBC Issues together (not sure any of us really like the name "Voices for a New Baptist Future" - but till we come up with something new that's it). We worked together on the questions and so Alan felt we should present this as a group interview, even though he did all of the work. After reaching that decision, I promptly forgot to format … [Read more...] about An Interview with JD Greear

I wrote this post Feb. 27 and since then, reports have come out that church-going Evangelicals do not support Trump. Ask most pastors and they can tell you that they knew that already. On February 29, Russell Moore wrote about why he had come dislike the word "Evangelical." It is with that in mind, that the potential coming rift makes sense. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/02/29/russell-moore-why-this-election-makes-me-hate-the-word-evangelical/ Most pastors don't see it coming. Most church-goers do not see it yet. Denominational and movement leaders might be more … [Read more...] about A Coming Evangelical Civil War?

I've been working on this concept since long before JD Greear announced, so this has nothing to do with an analysis of his candidacy. I want to take a brief moment to set forth the rubric I'm going to use to judge the candidate or candidates for president of the SBC. It's a tricky thing. It's not a secret that last time around I put my support behind Dennis Kim and advocated him strongly. We fell short and Ronnie Floyd was elected. I am not sorry we promoted Dr. Kim - he is a good man and well worthy of our support - but I've come to be grateful that Ronnie Floyd was elected. He's been as good … [Read more...] about What I Want in an SBC President

Okay, guys, it's time for some strategy. I have to admit that this election cycle has confused me more than any before. The American electorate has changed and I just don't understand it anymore. But there's a big question that we, the members of the SBC Voices Super PAC (we've contributed 0$ to 0 candidates and raised $0 so far) need to discuss. It's about the upcoming Florida GOP primary. It is one of the first 2 winner-take-all primaries and there are about 100 delegates (perhaps 99?) at stake. The guy with the most votes gets them ALL!  If Trump wins, he's on his way to the nomination. If … [Read more...] about You Are Invited: A Voices Super PAC Discussion – What about Florida and NeverTrump?

(I was supposed to post this a couple of days ago, but I've been enjoying the flu. Most of you know Joel. You may not know that he recently returned to the pastorate!) Two days ago, the "Super Tuesday" elections seemed to solidify the already large lead of the current front-runner for the Republican nomination for President. Donald Trump has surprised nearly everyone, and if the trend continues, we are headed toward a Republican convention that will nominate him to face off with the Democratic nominee--presumably Hillary Clinton--in the November general election. It is truly sad that … [Read more...] about Evangelicals and Donald Trump: Its not Him. Its Us. (Joel Rainey)

Here we go again. My state, Georgia, is in the throes of another legislative season where various bills are proposed. These relate to gay marriage, protection of pastors, religious liberty, and the ability of Georgians to discriminate. How the issues are framed depend on which side you are on. Check a few quotes: Our Governor, Nathan Deal, a Southern Baptist, says he is not interested in any bill that "allows discrimination in our state in order to protect people of faith..." Our paid Georgia Baptist lobbyist, Mike Griffin, a pastor, failed political candidate, and now employee of the … [Read more...] about In favor of religious liberty…or against discrimination…or neither…or both.

**In the light of Stanley's apology, I changed the more incendiary title of this post to a more descriptive one. Andy Stanley has responded in a tweet, not to this article in particular, but to the general social media firestorm. Here is what the tweet said: The negative reaction to the clip from last weekend's message is entirely justified. Heck, even I was offended by what I said! I apologize.  That is a fair response by Andy Stanley and I would hope that our response to that would be equally gracious. Obviously, many of us still have differences with Andy Stanley on other issues. … [Read more...] about Andy Stanley’s Statement on Smaller Churches** (Stanley’s Response)

J. D. Greear to be SBC president nominee I don't think I have ever seen as much statistical information tossed out for an SBC presidential nominee. Church growth from 350 to 10,000 928 baptisms in 2014 149 SBC, IMB missionaries from his church currently on the field $390,000 budgeted in 2016 for the Cooperative Program (up from $150k the last reporting year; it's confusing) 26 church plants the last five years in conjunction with NAMB Great Commission Giving "around 10%" although ACP data has it at 13-15% Over $1 million to IMB, over $500k to NAMB, $500k destined for an … [Read more...] about Aha, finally, a nominee for SBC President