SBC Issues

“The Lord has established His throne in Heaven and His kingdom rules over all.” Psalm 103:19  The good news is, on November 7, 2012, God will still be God and His kingdom will still rule over all.  The bad news is…come November 7, this country will have either reelected a man and in effect endorsed a platform that affirms same-sex marriage or will have elected a President who for the first time in American history ascribes to a “Bible” that teaches that “blackness of skin” is a curse. Consequently, I find both candidates totally unacceptable. Whoever wins on November 6, I will accept as the … [Read more...] about A RIGHT TO VOTE IS NOT A REQUIREMENT TO VOTE (by Wm. Dwight McKissic, Sr).

Two observations I would make about the Executive Committee Plenary Session this evening. I'm not much of a "meeting" guy, but this was interesting, as some of our leaders gave reports about what is going on in the SBC.  If anyone is under the impression that Fred Luter's election as SBC president was some sort of symbolic act,; that he was elected only because of his race, that person would be wrong. He is the real deal. He told us tonight that he was just going to give an address, and not really preach. Yeah...right. He articulated a vision for the SBC that was biblical, inspiring … [Read more...] about Fred Luter Addresses the Executive Committee – “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work”

I want to depart from the SBC Controversy for a minute, and talk about something a little more nuts and bolts, hands and feet. As you may or may not know, I am in some transition that wasn't necessarily when or how I would have made it, and that has result in a little discomfort. There are two concepts at war within me. The first is my responsibility to provide,to move forward, to take care of things. The other side is trusting God and letting Him have control. How does this work? I am not going into all the nuts and bolts of my situation, I want to deal with the larger issue, because I … [Read more...] about Responsibility Vs Control

LifeWay has just released a fascinating study on Southern Baptist practices as it relates to the celebration of the Lord's supper. Two things are clear about this topic: The Baptist Faith and Message is pretty clear that only biblically baptized believers (by immersion after salvation - if that was necessary for anyone) should receive the Lord's Supper. Most Baptists are ignoring the BF&M on the topic. Look at the graphic here. The SBC Practices OPEN Communion Fairly shocking to me. I must give an admission here. Our church practices with the majority on this one, but I am … [Read more...] about Intriguing LifeWay Study on the Lord’s Supper: The Majority are Ignoring the BF&M

I am in Nashville today and tomorrow for a meeting of the Executive Committee of the SBC. There were committee meetings all afternoon, but as I am only a lowly 2nd VP, I am not a part of those. I plan to hit the Plenary Session tonight and tomorrow. I am invited to these things as a guest (no responsibilities or anything) and I thought I would check it out. Never been to an EC meeting! I do not think I will be doing much in the way of blogging - don't want to scare the good folks of the Executive Committee, though I may have a comment or two if something comes up - that is in the public … [Read more...] about In Nashville, Checking out the Executive Committee Meeting

Dear Members: With the recent change in pastoral leadership here in our congregation, some necessary changes have been instituted. Church Attire - It is requested that you come to church dressed as you can afford to dress, based on your salary, so church leaders can get a better feel for the amount of tithing we can expect. If we see you wearing Manolo Blahnik shoes, we shall assume you are doing well financially and therefore should be giving more; say, enough to pay for the 16-person, 9-day mission trip to China in January.  If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money … [Read more...] about Church Policy Changes from Your New Pastor

Bill Gernenz is a pastor in East Texas and blogs at "Broken and Undone." The American church in general, and Southern Baptists in particular, have issues.  And while all issues at their core are theological, the substance of these issues fall into many different categories. There are the “culture war” issues that most evangelicals come together around.  Issues such as the sanctity of human life, and the definition of marriage motivate us to action – and rightly so.  It is easy to preach to these issues because many of the people in our pews are ready to agree. Then there are doctrinal … [Read more...] about Our Issues Are Not Largely Doctrinal (by Bill Gernenz)

“…set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” 1 Peter 1:13b What does that look like, to set your hope fully on future grace?  It looks like a desperate gambler that has placed every bit of livelihood that the Roulette wheel lands on black.  It looks like the poker player sitting with pocket Aces convinced that he will have the “nut hand”. If it doesn’t land on black you are homeless.  If some other guy gets lucky on the flop and you find yourself up the river with only a pair of Aces and the other guy is sitting there with a Full House … [Read more...] about Going “All-In”

As is the case in most blogging debates, by the time we have discussed something for a few rounds, there is an assumption that the two sides are wildly far apart. That is the nature of blogging. We do not discuss our agreements, but our disagreements.  We also tend to forget that in most debates, there are not simply two positions that stand in opposition to one another, but a continuum of positions between those extremes. Both of these tendencies have been in evidence in our recent discussions of the present day ministry of the Holy Spirit in the church. In this debate, there are two … [Read more...] about The Cessationism/Continuationism Debate: Where We Agree (and Disagree)

In 1 Chronicles, we can read the account of King David’s organization of the temple, one that he helped design.  He instituted singers, handed out specific duties to various Levitical branches and clans, established an order of worship, and more.  In so doing, the king introduced a radical shift in Levitical function. No longer would the Levites pack, unpack, set up, take down, and carry the tabernacle.  Gone were the days of routine maintenance of a cloth-and-leather structure.  Instead, they would care for a permanent structure, one with porticoes and multiple floors, with massive … [Read more...] about Levitical Implications for Today?