SBC Issues

One of the signs of advancing age is growing nostalgia. I no longer ridicule those who say, "back in my day" since I'm often now the one saying it. Oh, I'm not anti-technology, nor do I automatically think that things were better back in my day. But I am convinced that there was one thing dramatically better back in my day. Thanksgiving. We would have a large gathering of family and friends; the meal started around noon. Turkey. Dressing. Mashed potatoes. All the expected delicacies! Grandma made ambrosia with fresh Florida oranges  and shredded coconut. After the food came the football. … [Read more...] about “Black Thanksgiving”: It Is Time to Draw the Line

Joel Rainey is the Director of Missions at Mid-Maryland Baptist Association, an adjunct professor at Capital Bible Seminary and blogs at Themelios (Twitter - @joelrainey). This post was originally published at his site. I'm not sure if I've ever used this site to address an issue having to do with the United States Tax Code, so this will, I believe, be a first.  But before you browse on, or think you can use the following to put yourself to sleep, indulge me for just a bit, especially if you are a pastor or a church leader trying to make sense of a recent Federal ruling that could potentially … [Read more...] about What To Think About the Minister’s Housing Allowance (by Joel Rainey)

Originally posted at Praisegod Barebones And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?" Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, … [Read more...] about Reflections upon Matthew 13:10-17

“This tastes like the cow got into an onion patch”. If you’ve watched Napoleon Dynamite more than a couple of times you know what that quote is from. Young Napoleon is taste testing milk for an FFA competition. If you’ve ever lived in a rural community and had milk from a cow you also know that onion-tasting milk is a legit thing. Unless you like your milk with a nice oniony flavor, you don’t drink milk when the cow gets into an onion patch. It’s nauseating. Her milk is no longer fit for consumption. Some preaching is like milk from a cow eating onions, it’s nauseating. That’s why … [Read more...] about Pastor, You Have Onion Breath

Have you ever flown on a dreary, rainy day? You taxi down the runway and everything is gray, dark and damp. You pick up a little speed and the front of the plane points up just a little. It tilts a bit more and you feel the wheels come off the ground. The plane rises into the sky and things get worse. As you enter the clouds, you can’t see a thing as the fog closes all around you. That is when it happens. You burst out of the clouds and suddenly, the sun is shining brightly all around you. It is no longer dark or dreary, it is beautiful, cheerful. Everything that seemed to be true as you … [Read more...] about Thanksgiving: Rising above the Clouds

William Thornton is the SBC Plodder, and this post originally appeared there.  It has been ruled so by a federal district judge in Wisconsin. I don't know how widely the decision is to be applied. My CPA blogging friend, Peter Reilly has greater understanding of this than I, so here is what he says: The Freedom From Religion Foundation has won a stunning victory in the United States District  Court For The Western District Of Wisconsin where Judge Barbara Crabb has ruled that a substantial tax benefit enjoyed by many thousands of clergy – ministers, priests, rabbis, imams and others – is … [Read more...] about Brethren, Our Housing Allowance Is Now Unconstitutional (by William Thornton)

Jeremy Vanatta is the pastor and an elder of Southside Baptist Church in Lebanon, TN.  He holds a PhD in New Testament from Mid-America BTS.  He blogs at The Threshing Floor, where this article originally appeared.   Exposing Man-Centered Methods in Parenting As discussed in the previous article Beyond Behavior: Dealing with the Heart, parenting is no easy task because we are not just dealing with our children that sin.  We are also dealing with our own sinful hearts.  In order to discipline our children biblically, we must be aware of the ways in which our sinful pride manifests … [Read more...] about Gospel Parenting, Part 3 (by Jeremy Vanatta)

My name is Sammy.  I'm 24 years old, and I live far away from most of you.  I don't have a car, a passport, or a Judeo-Christian cultural background.  I do, however, have a story. I remember the first time I saw Mr. Robert and his wife Sarah.  As usual, I was hawking my father's special tea from a small metal cart containing a small brazier of live coals, simmering water, and an enormous bag of aromatic leaves for the beverages I sold.  The American missionaries stood in the market surrounded by my people, an island of khaki and plaid in a sea of solid-colored shawls and scarves.  Bright … [Read more...] about Persecution of the Unsaved

We just finished the off-cycle elections and the next round of Congressional elections will be ramping up in the coming months. Will the split remain between the House and the Senate? Will one side or the other take both houses? Will the Senate have a veto-proof majority? These questions will be answered in 11 and 1/2 months. While the political fires are in at least a brief hiatus, I'd like to make some personal observations about the coming elections and my participation in it. I am thinking through whether I should continue to be affiliated with the Republican party and support its … [Read more...] about What the Republican Party Must Do to Keep My Vote

The Southern Baptist Convention has certainly seen a mellowing out of what came to be quite a heated debate once again over Calvinism after the publishing of "A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation" in May 2012.  Of course, Dr. Frank Page's appointment of the Calvinism Advisory Committee the next month in June 2012 and the unifying document they crafted and published in June 2013 called "Truth, Trust, and Testimony in a Time of Tension" (aka, T5) has had a great deal to do with the mellowing out we are now enjoying, or at least I … [Read more...] about But SBC Calvinists Believe That Too