SBC Issues

Joe Blackmon attends an SBC church in Tennessee.  He blogs at Hear God Speak.  You can follow him on Twitter @joe_blackmon_72  Scripture tells us that we, who have trusted Christ to save us, are new creatures (II Corinthians 5:17). In fact, Ephesians 2:1 tells us prior to our conversion we were dead. So, not only are we new creatures, we’re new creatures who went from being stone cold dead to being alive. Now, living things have certain characteristics in common. One of those characteristics is growth. Living things grow. My children, a flower, a colony of bacteria, and a puppy dog will all … [Read more...] about II Peter 3:18 Four Imperatives of a Forward Looking Faith Part IV (by Joe Blackmon)

Long ago, Noah descended from Mt. Sinai carrying five smooth stones and a sling to Mt. Carmel where fire fell, parted the sea, and revealed stones upon which were written the essential principles of Southern Baptist polity. The basis of that polity has been, is now, and forever will be the trustee system. Each year, autonomous local churches gather in a large metropolitan area to hear sermons, elect officers, receive reports and to approve trustees for our various boards, agencies and entities. Those entities are then run and managed by those trustees. It was quite a revelation to me a few … [Read more...] about So It Is, So It Has Always Been: Baptists and the Trustees They (Sometimes) Trust

I dropped my daughter off at school this morning and I was overjoyed to see the kids around the flagpole. I was saddened that this year I couldn't join them. What a great event, a great stride for Christians having prayer in public school, which is 100% legal if you do it right. There is great opportunity for Christian activity on public school campus if it's done correctly. Items like the Equal Access Act give Christian students a right to have Christian clubs if the school allows any other clubs.  It opens the door for great opportunity. We need Christian students who will stand up for … [Read more...] about Did I See You At The Pole?

Since I don't really care that much about the NFL (at least not while important things like Yankees baseball are still going on), I've watched the foofaraw about replacement refs with amusement. I would make two observations: 1) Everyone complained non-stop about the REAL refs, so some of this is just sour grapes. 2) Think about it, folks. The New England Patriots are 1-2. The Pack is 1-2. New Orleans is 0-3. Can we really say this is a bad thing?  We have to admit the replacement refs have done some level of community service. Anyway, in addition to apologizing for those … [Read more...] about I Apologize in Advance….

I saw a Twilight Zone episode years ago about a man who was being punished by being marked. That mark meant that he was functionally invisible, no one could talk to him, address him or help him. He had no interaction with anyone for a year. Sometimes I feel like I am stuck in that episode, like I am seen, but not really seen. More than that, I think the church sometimes does a lousy job of making people functionally invisible. We don't mean to do it, it just sort of happens. Unwed moms, we often just turn away. People who are hurt by the church and become fringe members, as long as we still … [Read more...] about I Can See You

Joshua was devastated.  Thirty-six of his men lay dead and the nascent nation of Israel was defeated and demoralized.  Joshua was confused, clueless and even angry.  Why would God let this happen?  And how could God’s people be humiliated in battle by a little village like Ai? Just a few days before, Joshua was the triumphant conqueror.  The mighty city of Jericho lay in ruins and Israel rejoiced.  Having polished off a walled, armed city like Jericho, a tent village  like Ai did not present much of a challenge. They decided that the entire army was not even needed to tackle Ai and only … [Read more...] about Jericho and Ai: Joshua’s Painful Lesson on Dependence

David W. Jones and Russell S. Woodbridge have served the church well by writing Health, Wealth & Happiness.  It is probably no secret to my readers and those within my church community that I absolutely abhor the prosperity “gospel”.  It’s not just some little error to be trifled with, it’s dangerous heresy that breaks people and churches.  I was even more convinced of this after reading the work of Jones and Woodbridge. One of the most helpful things in their book is in the conclusion they give five questions to diagnose our openness to the prosperity gospel: Why does God exist and … [Read more...] about Are You Prone to the Prosperity “Gospel”?

  William Thornton blogs at the SBC Plodder.  Our wonderful Cooperative Program has done well in funding the panoply of state and SBC missions, seminaries, and entities over the last 87 years. It is not a perfect stewardship vehicle but is has been and is our main channel for cooperation. SBC life as we know it is unimaginable without it. As it stands now, the state conventions keep, on average, about 62% of each CP dollar for their own use, a figure well within the 60 to 65 percent range that is the historic average.  Question: How much of each undesignated Cooperative Program … [Read more...] about Is 60%+ of each CP dollar enough for state conventions? (by William Thornton)