My time at Southern Seminary opened my eyes to a lot of theological issues. Eschatology is certainly one of those issues. When I arrived, The Left Behind Series was all I knew. I soon realized I had been trapped in a theological vacuous church. I began to study Eschatology and I came to a very different conclusion than the one I had been raised in. Most of the professors at Boyce College, that I am aware of, hold to a post-tribulation, Historic Premillennial view of Eschatology. Yet, a lot of the students I spoke to were going in a different direction. Although there were a fair share … [Read more...] about Eschatology In the SBC
SBC Issues
“We Are Out To Change The World”
That was the theme of matriculation when my husband enrolled at Boyce Bible School (College today), in 1979. We were so excited. We sold our home, the majority of our belongings, said good-bye to family, packed up our children, and caravaned with another couple from East Hartford, Connecticut to Louisville, Kentucky. We had no solid revelation as to what the Lord was calling us to do, but we knew He wanted my husband to surrender to full-time (or part-time) ministry. We'd envisioned going back to New England to pastor. Instead, God kept us in full-time ministry in Kentucky for 23 years. … [Read more...] about “We Are Out To Change The World”
KBC Pictures an Unsteady Future for the Convention At-Large
On April 21 the Courier-Journal, based out of Louisville, KY, ran this article concerning the state of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. It is hard to tell if the findings are truly representative of all SBC state conventions, or the SBC as a whole, but the numbers quoted by the article are enough to deserve attention at least locally in the state housing our largest Southern Baptist seminary. Here's a quick run-down from the 2008 profile: Total undesignated giving and discipleship training were both up 3% over 2007 numbers Annual baptisms in the KBC were up 2% from 2007 … [Read more...] about KBC Pictures an Unsteady Future for the Convention At-Large
The Problem of “Southern Baptist” Branding
In America, brand perception is the reality. This is bad news for Southern Baptists, if a recent straw poll by LifeWay's Thom Rainer is correct. Last week, he sent out requests on his @ThomRainer twitter page with this simple question: What do you think when you hear ‘Southern Baptist’? Despite the informal approach, this may be a very useful piece of research. Every major business in America monitors their brand image on social media sites like Twitter. It has become an effective way to get feedback about your product and position in the marketplace. None of this is lost on a sharp … [Read more...] about The Problem of “Southern Baptist” Branding
People of the Book?
As Southern Baptists, we have long prided ourselves as "people of the Book." I can recall this description used about our denomination my entire life. When I did a paper a couple of years ago about Baptist history, I enjoyed reading the tales of early Baptists who disputed publicly with people of other denominations, asking them to prove their doctrine from the Bible. Surely a denomination that prides itself on going "by the Book" would never do anything that contradicted Scripture or simply on the basis of "church tradition," would we? I am not even talking about the favorite target for … [Read more...] about People of the Book?
Now Something You’ll Really Like {I Hope}
Since I've been out of Seminary, I tend to get a little restless. Especially when my kids get to bed and my wife is tired of talking about theology. That is when I plot - scheme - strategize - imagine - new ways to take over the Internet. My latest project has the potential to be the best yet. Incredibly useful Beautiful design Search engine magnetism Open ended possibilities Minimal on-going admin It's called My Christian Blogs and it's an aggregator similar to Alltop or PopUrls - except it's only for sites written from a Christian worldview. To start, I built the … [Read more...] about Now Something You’ll Really Like {I Hope}
2009 Blog Madness Champion
Blog madness 2009 has ended. The $313 gift card to Westminster Books has been sent to Internetmonk.com (Michael Spencer). Special thanks to Ministry-To-Children.com and the Westminster bookstore for putting up the prize. The final round was decisive, with iMonk taking 58% of the votes. But I also want to say thanks for all the referral traffic. This month has been another breakout for SBC voices and well worth the prize money. Top Referrals Last 30 Days internetmonk.com facebook.com jdgreear.typepad.com teampyro.blogspot.com hershaelyork.blogspot.com boarsheadtavern.com … [Read more...] about 2009 Blog Madness Champion
Thanks for the TIP, but what’s the POINT?
This post is a response to "We Have Reached A Tipping Point" by Dr. Alvin Reid as posted (here, here, here, & here). WE should not overlook this one fact - the SBC has a history of self correction. It's never been pretty, and it's often been too late. But as a denomination we've always found a way to change. For example: Missionary slave holders - Really? Denominational debts - Never a good plan. Unbelievers training future pastors - Duh? There are many more examples, but the "SBC is evil" line is really old news. This post is not about the effects of the Fall on religious … [Read more...] about Thanks for the TIP, but what’s the POINT?
65 Reasons Why I Love The Southern Baptist Convention – Really!
On a blog like this, we tend to be self-critical to a fault. But behind all our talk about making the SBC better is an unspoken assumption - we still love our denomination and especially its people. So, this post is my attempt at penance for all the nasty things I've every thought about being the SBC. Feel free to add to the list in the comments, just be nice or I'll ban you for life. Why I Love The SBC The Gospel always has, and always will be the main thing. We can point fingers at ourselves. We are not afraid to offer public repentance. We trust the … [Read more...] about 65 Reasons Why I Love The Southern Baptist Convention – Really!
Death By Nostalgia And The SBC
I've heard from several readers who are just discovering that iMonk is a long time (and current) Southern Baptist. Even more are surprised that he is making a solid run in our SBC blog contest. So, if you need just one more post to prove his credentials as an SBC blogger, I think he just published it. Avoiding Death by Nostalgia: My Denomination (The SBC) Today “Death by Nostalgia” is wishing the world was like it was in the 1970’s and we could just assume that we were right . . . We’ve become functionally unevangelistic in many places because our past methodologies- door to door … [Read more...] about Death By Nostalgia And The SBC