SBC Issues

Just the facts, friends, just the facts. Here's what the Baptist Faith and Message says about pastor ordination:   A leading seminary president has said that Southern Baptists don't have a theology of ordination. A brilliant and erudite blogger has said that some churches would ordain a ham sandwich. OK, maybe a turkey sandwich, a fish taco, a bowl of spicy ramen noodles, or the ultimate: a Chic-fil-A sandwich. Here's where you go in the SBC to find a registry of all ordained ministers:  www.fahgettaboutitSBC. There is no requirement that any pastor in any position be … [Read more...] about Hard to see the matter of ordination as a tool in preventing clergy abuse

Several days ago, Bart Barber, our current SBC president, declared that he would “defrock” (unordain) Johnny Hunt if he had the power to do so. His emphatic declaration seems to have prompted Baptist News Global to publish two articles on ordination, more specifically revoking ordination. The articles, written by Marv Knox, Curtis Freeman, and Mark Wingfield, are certainly thought-provoking. (They inspired me to write this post.) This post is not meant to be a poll on Johnny Hunt; rather, I want us to focus on revoking ordination. How is that done? What would justify revoking a pastor’s … [Read more...] about When and Why to Revoke Ordination

I was taught a simple hermeneutical principle long ago, one that makes sense if we actually believe the Bible is inerrant and sufficient for faith and practice. When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense. I realize that sometimes there are addenda to that concept. We need to understand the plain sense of Scripture as it would have been understood by the audience that received it – Ancient Israel, the First Century Greek culture, etc. Archeology and historical studies, as well as language studies can inform our “plain sense of Scripture.” Having said all … [Read more...] about Litigious Believers: We All Lose

I love my microwave oven. I can reheat my coffee or have a bag of popcorn in a couple of minutes. No muss, no fuss. There are things you cannot microwave. Biblical restoration from sin is one of those things. That is a process that must be slow-cooked or it will be ruined. Yesterday, a group of Johnny Hunt’s close friends announced that 7 months after reports surfaced that he had abused a woman in his church around the time he was the president of the SBC (details are sketchy on the timing of all of this) he was now fully restored and ready to return to ministry. Hunt has left Woodstock and … [Read more...] about Microwaved Restoration

Recently, I retired for the third time. The first time I retired from the International Mission Board; the second time I retired from Mid-America Seminary, and the third time I retired from Central Baptist Church in Crandall, Texas, where I served as teaching pastor. The other day, I reflected on my years of ministry (53 years), and I asked myself if my ministry was successful. (At Least it was long!) Of course, that is for the Lord and others to say, but that reflection made me wonder—How do you define success in ministry? A missionary might focus on the number of folks baptized and churches … [Read more...] about How Do You Define Success in Ministry?

I am sitting in JFK airport putting the final touches on this, after an overnight flight that ended my two week stay in Senegal. While there, I’m pretty much cut off from most things I do that distract me, but when the sun is in the east, the breeze out of the west, and phase of the moon is right, I can get a bit of bandwidth and browse Facebook, even Twitter at times. I’m sure you haven’t noticed that there’s a bit of hysteria out there about the elections on Tuesday. My first encounter with electio-mania was with a high school friend who basically anathematized anyone who would … [Read more...] about Finding Our Political Sweet Spot

Editor’s note: This is the second in a three-part series of articles exploring the monumental contributions slaves and convict laborers made in Georgia Baptist history. This article was first published by The Christian Index and is reposted here by permission of the author. Thousands of enslaved Black people were members of Georgia Baptist churches. They supported their churches through active membership, including voluntary gifts, and through the profits taken from their labor. Willis Williams and Lucrecia “Creecy” Daniel were two such enslaved persons and were members of Shiloh Baptist … [Read more...] about Georgia Baptist bicentennial: Lamenting a heritage of racism and slavery