SBC Issues

Seminary professors Malcolm Yarnell and Keith Whitfield wrote an article put here on February 16, 2019, Addressing Abuse in the SBC: A Proposal. Keith Whitfield is Professor of Systematic Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Malcolm Yarnell is Research Professor of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. This is the only concrete proposal I have seen from any in the SBC that goes beyond providing resources and educating SBC pastors and churches. For some time now, SBC seminaries have been requiring students to take some level of training in the area of … [Read more...] about ICYMI, Yarnell and Whitfield proposal for addressing abuse in the SBC

Dr. Danny Akin recently held a chapel Q&A session with students at Southeastern. As you might imagine, several of the questions he received were about critical race theory. You can watch him answer those questions in the video below. Start at the 38:52 mark. Some highlights of Dr. Akin's response include: First of all, you should always be concerned about any accusation about our institution. They could be true. And they could also be false. And the way that you find out is by being a good thinker and investigating the accusation. Not playing the fool and listening to what are … [Read more...] about Dr. Akin on Critical Race Theory

Somewhere it is inscribed in stone, as if by the finger of God, that there must be SBC state conventions and that they must receive the lion's share of Cooperative Program revenues. Such is not inscribed by the finger of the Almighty but by the finger of respected but not omnipotent denominational bureaucrats. Our venerable Cooperative Program is almost a century old. It is not vigorous in it's old age and even though it is rather weak of eye and has been in declining health for generations, still transfers $467 million dollars from church offering plates to a variety of destinations. … [Read more...] about Does the Cooperative Program make state conventions lazy and inefficient?

The following is a guest post by Dee Miller, former FMB missionary and long-time survivor advocate. See her post from last week #LONGbeforeMeToo: SBC’s Oldest Survivor Advocate Speaks Out for important background. ______________ It’s a Set-Up! A total Set-Up! Not only for survivors who’ve waited years in hoping the SBC might someday hear their cries. It’s also a set-up for everyone on the Credentials Committee. And they know it, I discovered in the opening remarks made by chairman Mike Lawson in a Zoom call I’d been waiting to have for weeks. If the EC had asked me for input … [Read more...] about Who’s Caring Well Now?

Recently, I received this message from IMB missionary friends in Thailand. Dr. Paul Chitwood, the President of the International Mission Board gave me permission to publish this information and make this appeal. Here is the message: We hope you all are doing well. We have a prayer request and opportunity for you to help. As you may be aware there is a coup happening in Myanmar (Burma). Our national partners who live on the border of Thailand and Myanmar have informed us that the Myanmar military has been bombing Karen villages. The Karen people have fled to the border of Thailand. The … [Read more...] about Let’s Help the Karen Baptists in Burma

Last year in March I was headed for my tenth trip to the Casamance region of Senegal when this little virus started popping up. I tried to go back again in March and there was political unrest that stopped the trip (we were leaving Monday and the plug was pulled on Sunday afternoon). I plan to leave on Tuesday morning to head to Senegal (finally!) and assess what has been happening in the Essing region, a UUPG we have been trying to turn into a UPG. I will meet up with a co-laborer from Texas who works with the adjoining villages. We would appreciate your prayers. I will be gone, Lord … [Read more...] about Senegal Bound!

I’m the guy who will actually bend over and pick up a penny in a parking lot. In a restaurant parking lot at the beach eagle-eye Plodder spotted a bill behind the car parked next to mine. Nope, not an old school Gospel tract fake currency, guaranteed to alienate restaurant servers who think they have a big tip, but a real bill. Guys fold a $100 bill I twice and stick it behind their insurance card. Some dude dropped his. I found it. What should I have done? What should I do? _________ I’m also the guy who has never found anything of value, until now. … [Read more...] about OK, so I found a hundred dollar bill

… [Read more...] about It’s the End of the World As We Know

Some years ago, I heard Johnny Bisagno preach in the Southern Baptist Seminary chapel. He had announced his retirement from FBC Houston, and he was making a “farewell tour” of the SBC seminaries. He titled his message “Finishing Well.” In the sermon, he recounted how he studied at Oklahoma Baptist University with 24 other “preacher boys.” They all had enrolled in OBU to prepare for the ministry. He stated that as best he could determine, he was the only one still active in ministry. So, in his message, he exhorted the seminary students to continue in ministry and “finish well.” This past … [Read more...] about What Keeps You Going in Ministry?