SBC Issues

Let's admit a fact. Not a single one of us knows what happened that fateful night when George Zimmerman encountered Trayvon Martin. We know that a young man died, but none of us knows whether George Zimmerman intended to kill Trayvon or whether he was defending himself. None of us really knows. You don't. I don't. The prosecutors don't. Even the jury doesn't. George Zimmerman is the only person on earth who really knows what happened that night. Of course, God knows and eventually full justice will be done here. We know that. Until then, we have to live in the realm of uncertainty. I would … [Read more...] about A Not-Guilty Verdict, A Restless Nation: Was Justice Served?

By dismissing as insignificant the Augustinian principle of a spiritual participation of all men in Adam’s sin, Dr. Harwood (with agreement of both Calvinists and Traditionalists) discards that which offers the most hope for bringing Southern Baptists closer together (and closer to the Biblical truth) on this issue. Currently, the standard Calvinist position is that all are born under the condemnation of the imputed sin of Adam, and the only alternative they see is a denial of the union of the race in Adam. As well, the Traditionalists position is to deny imputed guilt by denying the union in … [Read more...] about Who Is Guilty if Adam’s Sin? A Centrist Response to Adam Harwood, Part 2 (by Ken Hamrick)

Alan Cross posted a comment yesterday on my "sixty year decline" post. It made a point worthy of its own discussion. Here is the comment, in its entirety. All of this begs the question of whether or not our expansive growth in the postwar decade of 1945-1955 was God’s work or simply a shift in culture – or perhaps a combination of the two? Everything that was stable and conservative exploded in American in those 10-15 years. Then, we had the great unraveling because the children of the “Greatest Generation” largely rejected their values and saw them as hypocritical. We had our chance to … [Read more...] about How Much Did the SBC’s Racial Past Contribute to America’s Moral Collapse? – A Comment from Alan Cross

At the most peaceful and drama-free SBC in recent memory, there was one bit of news that had things stirred up - a fresh set of evidence that the SBC's statistical decline was not just a blip. It is a real problem. We are a shrinking denomination. One seminary professor has described it as a "free-fall." While that may be hyperbole, it is not wholly inaccurate. And, of course, as soon as the statistics were published, the blame-game began. It ought to surprise no one that bad news like this is used to point the bony finger of blame within the SBC. We see it all the time in Washington. The … [Read more...] about The SBC’s 60 Year Decline! Beyond the Blame Game

Ken blogs at SBC Open Forum. Adam Harwood spoke at the 2013 John 3:16 Conference, and the paper he presented there is available on the conference e-book at SBC Today. Like Dr. Harwood, I deny that anyone is born condemned for Adam’s sin; but unlike Dr. Harwood, I find in Scripture such a real union of mankind in Adam as to justify the inheriting of all the temporal penalties for Adam’s sin, including the spiritual death and depravity that all are born into. Dr. Harwood identifies as a Traditionalist, and is mainly arguing against Calvinists. But as a Baptist centrist, I propose that there are … [Read more...] about Who is Guilty of Adam’s Sin? A Centrist Response to Adam Harwood, Part 1 (by Ken Hamrick)

The primary purpose for addressing this topic is to answer the question: Is there a biblical basis for a Kingdom citizen to pray in tongues in private? The late Dr. Manuel L. Scott, Sr., said, “There is an orthodoxy within him that would not permit the sermonic broadcasting of an idea that the Bible would not back.” Not only do I share Dr. Scott’s orthodoxy regarding sermons, but I believe that this orthodoxy extends to worship practices—including tongues—publicly or privately. If the Bible does not back the practice of speaking in tongues, then no believer—period—should speak in tongues at … [Read more...] about A Biblical Basis for Speaking in Tongues in Private (by Wm Dwight McKissic)

Ken Hamrick blogs at SBC Open Forum.  The Church long ago embraced the idea that what happens within substantial reality is not necessary to how God views a man. As this idea gradually worked its way into Christian theology, God’s focus (as perceived) was quietly removed from the lives of men. The importance of how a man lives in reality was replaced with the importance of how God chooses to see him. By a simple prayer of faith, the way that God chooses to see the man could be changed from wrath to redemption, merely by the way that the man chooses to see God. The all-consuming faith lived … [Read more...] about Christ In You, the Hope of Glory (by Ken Hamrick)

In this, the first in a series of posts articulating my understanding of the New Testament gift of tongues, I choose for myself a narrowly constructed task: The consideration of what the relevant non-narrative passages in the New Testament say to us about the essential nature of the gift of tongues. "Relevant non-narrative passages" because Alan Cross has rightfully insisted upon the primacy of non-narrative passages over narrative ones in the determination of doctrinal matters as a core principle of sound hermeneutics. I was thankful for Alan's emphasis here, since this principle is an … [Read more...] about The Nature of the Biblical Gift of Tongues: Consideration of Relevant Non-Narrative New Testament Passages

REFLECTIONS AND RUMINATIONS ON THE SBC AND HER FUTURE BY WM. DWIGHT MCKISSIC, SR.   PART II (PART I) WHAT THE SBC IS DOING RIGHT AND HER SINGLE GREATEST NEED? Nathan Finn referred to the vital statistics health decline of the SBC as a “Free-fall.” Because Dr. Finn is not just a casual observer, but a critical thinker, historian, and seminary professor regarding SBC life and history—I found his description, “Free-fall,” fascinating. When I prodded him to give an analysis and antidote of the “free-fall,” he gently pushed back and said that the critique and construct relative to the … [Read more...] about Reflections and Ruminations on the SBC and Her Future – Part II (by Wm. Dwight McKissic, Sr.)

Heresy is truth taken to its extreme.  I don't know who coined that term, but it is accurate. Truth existed first and heresy is not the absence of truth, but its corruption - twisting it and unbalancing it. Hyper-Calvinism, though a frequent accusation raised by some, is actually a pretty rare thing. But there is a Hyper that is common, growing, and a real danger to the gospel, to the church and to believers. It is sometimes called "Hyper-grace" - the doctrine of grace on steroids, taken to the extreme, until it becomes heresy. I have observed this phenomenon in churches of which I am … [Read more...] about Hyper-Grace: the REAL Hyper-Danger