I was driving my kids to school this morning when the news segment came on K-LOVE. Usually it's cut and paste from Associated Press, but today they ran a story asking for prayer against the website WikiLeaks. According to them, Christians should join together to ask God to intervene against this “radical” news source. They cited the upcoming release of more documents about the war in Afganistan saying this could be dangerous for the US military and civilian informants. Here's my problem. This approach to journalism turns prayer into a tool for controlling public opinion. Never mind if … [Read more...] about When Prayer is Propaganda
SBC Issues
Contra Svoboda: Answering Matt Svoboda’s Arguments for Amillennialism
In recent days, Matt Svoboda has posted two essays at this site explaining why he has adopted Amillennialism and the problems he has with premillennialism. I was away at a speaking engagement and did not have either the time or the internet access to engage the discussion. So, I thought that I would write a response to Matt’s post and deal point-by-point with his assertions about premillennialism. Matt and I harass each other a lot about eschatology. Frankly, I think he is jealous of me! Neither of us believes that these issues are fundamental to our faith. We agree that those who love … [Read more...] about Contra Svoboda: Answering Matt Svoboda’s Arguments for Amillennialism
Interview with Trevin Wax
Trevin Wax, a rising voice in the SBC, is a brother in Christ and has been helpful to me as of late as I learn the ropes of potentially publishing a book. Further showing his unselfish character, he was gracious enough to allow me to ask him a few questions about the SBC without hesitation. His blog, Kingdom People, is one of the most read Christian blogs on the internet today and his book, Holy Subversion, has been acclaimed by J.I. Packer, Al Mohler, Ed Stetzer, and Russell Moore. I first interviewed him on my blog and it was a great blessing and I pray that this will be for the SBC … [Read more...] about Interview with Trevin Wax
Hiring Pastors: Is It Working?
In typical SBC life, when a church looks for a new pastor you go through the process of establishing a committee, collecting resumes, sorting through the resumes for a handful that have potential, then: ask questions, call references, listen to sermons on CDs or DVDs (or tapes, if we still know what those are), set up meetings, narrow it down to one resume, bring him in “in view of a call,” have a pot luck, Q&A, he preaches, church votes… maybe it’s not all in that order or maybe there’s a piece added or removed but that’s the general gist. (And particularly this is on my mind b/c I’m … [Read more...] about Hiring Pastors: Is It Working?
Joe Thorn on Procrastination
Here are some excerpts from a post by Pastor Joe Thorn. It is a great post and I hope you to head over to his blog to read the rest! For years I was a serious procrastinator. In fact, I think I could have gone pro (if that sort of thing paid). So I did what a lot of college students do, putting off assignments until the last minute. But I would justify myself by calling it “time management” and pointing to a solid grade. Of course this was not limited to writing papers in college. It was something that was true of my life in general. On a few occasions and in a couple different contexts I … [Read more...] about Joe Thorn on Procrastination
Jerry Falwell, Jr’s Statement to Glenn Beck: Is the Gospel Secondary to Political Gain?
An IMB missionary told me something interesting on my recent trip to Taiwan. We Americans tend to be far more “patriotic” than people from other nations. Other people appreciate their nations – we love America. There is an increasing conflict among American Christians as to how involved the church should be in political activity. Left wing churches embrace political action as a part of their pursuit of social justice. They have abandoned the gospel for social transformation and embrace political action without shame. But those of us who hold faithfully to scripture have to balance … [Read more...] about Jerry Falwell, Jr’s Statement to Glenn Beck: Is the Gospel Secondary to Political Gain?
Always Reforming
Some things I love about being a part of the SBC: 1) We have a great love for God’s Word. Admittedly, I wasn’t born when the Conservative Resurgence started; and I was a child when most of the meetings and changes occurred. I’ve merely been a beneficiary. But I have gotten to know some men and women who were there through it all and staked reputations and friendships on one main issue: the Bible. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to hear their words and learn their hearts, and to see the humility, the love for Jesus, and the love for his word. 2) We have a great love for missions. … [Read more...] about Always Reforming
Albert Mohler: Why All Southern Baptists are Calvinists
At the 2006 SBC Pastor's Conference, Albert Mohler listed ways that all Southern Baptists are Calvinists: A belief in the inerrancy of Scripture - "It is not by accident that there are no great Arminian testimonies to the inerrancy of Scripture. We really do believe that God can work in such a way that the human will wills to do what God wills that will to do. And that is exactly why we believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. We do not believe that the Apostle Paul was irresistibly against his will drawn to write the Book of Romans.” A belief in the substitutionary atonement - "The logic … [Read more...] about Albert Mohler: Why All Southern Baptists are Calvinists
Unofficial Report: Caner no longer dean of LBTS as of June 30
This entire post is from James White: This was just reported by the News and Advance out of Lynchburg: Liberty University announced today that Ergun Caner will no longer be dean of the university’s Baptist Theological Seminary. After an investigation conducted by four members of Liberty’s Board of Trustees, the university said it found that Caner has made “factual statements that are self-contradictory” concerning “dates, names and places of residence.“ The statements included his description of being raised as a Muslim in Turkey, when documents indicate he moved to the United States at … [Read more...] about Unofficial Report: Caner no longer dean of LBTS as of June 30
Why I Oppose Internet Voting at the SBC
I have seen several comments by bloggers on this site and others advocating off-site, electronic voting for the SBC. Travel to the SBC cost me a lot of money (well, my expense account) and the time off can be a hardship. Of course, that results in fewer churches sending messengers and taking part. Here’s one vote against electronic voting in the SBC. It may happen, but for the time, I am going to speak against it and vote against it if given the chance. Here are the reasons why I do not think it is a good idea. 1) The Ideal, Theoretical Reason: Most churches have rules against … [Read more...] about Why I Oppose Internet Voting at the SBC