SBC Issues

A friend took me out to a little tea shop for some “fellowship” one day about 3 years ago – someone I had known in high school and had only recently reconnected with. I was actually doing some ministry where he lived and worked and he was my host. It was great to catch up and renew our friendship. But then, that day, he dropped a bomb on me. I don’t remember his exact words, but it was something like this. “Dave, you make a lot of jokes about your weight, but maybe you should start taking this a little more seriously.” He is my age, but a highly conditioned athlete who has remained … [Read more...] about Fat Pastor, Fit Pastor: Speaking the Truth in Love

This week we will complete the 31 Day Pray For Your Wife Challenge. It has been an amazing experience to dedicate an entire month to pray for my wife. I believe other men have been blessed as well. I’ve been taken aback by the way that God has answered prayers in the life of these men. Many have asked how they could continue praying for their wives. I know I intend to keep praying for my wife as well. To help men continue to pray for their wives, and to extend this beyond the initial group, I’ve decided to make available a free eBook for all those that participated in the prayer … [Read more...] about Free Pray For Your Wife eBook

Joshua Breland blogs at "A Return to Faith." Right now, there are jaded people among your church body. Some are laypeople, some are deacons, some are perhaps elders or pastors. But know this, there are Christians in your congregation who are hurting and struggling with their faith and their relationship to the church. Merriam-Webster can help us understand what I mean by “jaded”: jaded: made dull, apathetic, or cynical by experience Merriam-Webster accurately describes where I am at in regards to the local church, Christian organizations, and theSouthern Baptist Convention. I do not admit … [Read more...] about Love The Jaded Among The Church (by Joshua Breland)

My wife and I were at the Mall of America on Monday, part of our celebration of our 35th wedding anniversary. We were wandering that behemoth aimlessly when we found the fourth floor cinema. Jenni wanted to see the movie "The Butler." I wasn't excited about seeing that movie, but I went to please my wife. I was wrong. She was right. This is a must-see movie for every American. It is a powerful and moving portrayal of the progress of race relations in America from the despicable era of desegregation to the election of a black president in 2008. I am aware that some of the more strident … [Read more...] about Lee Daniel’s “The Butler” – A Powerful Telling of the Race Story in America

Alan Cross blogs at Downshore Drift. Today marks the 50th Anniversary of one of the most important speeches in American history, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech given on the Washington Mall on August 28, 1963. It marked a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement and it had such galvanizing power because it called America back to who we claimed to really be. It lifted up our nation to what we were supposed to be - to what we could be together. An excerpt: I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will … [Read more...] about Is Dr. King’s Dream Dead? (by Alan Cross)

Joel Rainey is the Director of Missions at Mid-Maryland Baptist Association, an adjunct professor at Capital Bible Seminary and blogs at Themelios. This post was originally published at his site. Much is being written of late about the milennial generation (b. 1978-circa 2000) and the profound effect they are already having on our culture, including the western church.  Since two members of that generation live in the same house as me, I have a front-row seat to how their perceptions, choices, and preferences are driving everything from marketing and education to social policy and perceptions … [Read more...] about The Promise and Peril of Young Evangelicals: Passion, Politics, and Idolatry (by Joel Rainey)

A few weeks ago, someone raised a question in a comment regarding church discipline. I don't remember exactly how it was phrased or who raised it. What I recall as the essence of the question was this: What is church discipline, specifically in a Baptist context? Which is, of course, a great question. I would attempt to give you a blog-length answer, and I will start at the end and work backwards. The first point to consider is this: What is a "Baptist context?" What is it about Baptists that makes this question different? Here are some key truths regarding Baptists that matter for … [Read more...] about Church Discipline

Fearless leader Dave hath lamented, again, that we contributors are not contributing as abundantly as we need. He's right. I would plead busy but in truth, I have to plead hesitant. I'm working, offline, on a few thoughts on issues raised around here, but I'm just not sure I'm up for minding that comment stream. I do, though, have this to say. Recently, I read a book to review for Kregel Ministry. It was One Year to Better Preaching. This little volume contained more than 52 exercises to strengthen your preaching skills. I'm not going to give you a full review of the text here, because I … [Read more...] about Continuous Improvement

Joel Rainey is the Director of Missions at Mid-Maryland Baptist Association, an adjunct professor at Capital Bible Seminary and blogs at Themelios. This post, the second in a series, was originally published at his site. Here is the introductory post and the first post. There is much talk these days among organizations of all stripes about "de-centralization."  For most, this term simply means a spreading of a still-centralized bureaucracy to more than one location.  But the essence of whether an organization is truly de-centralized surrounds the location of three things:  power, personnel, … [Read more...] about The Future of the Baptist Association: Spreading our Influence (by Joel Rainey)

William Thornton is the SBC Plodder. Perhaps I am in the wrong churches to evaluate the state of congregational singing in the Southern Baptist Convention but I rarely find a church where it appears that there is much concern about the congregation, rather than soloists or the choir, doing any serious singing in worship. The whole assembly was worshiping, singing the song, and blowing the trumpets...   2 Chronicles 29:28a There is always music planned for worship that is called congregational singing but not much singing seems to occur. The choir, praise team, music leader, platform … [Read more...] about The Death of Congregational Singing (by William Thornton)