SBC Issues

I believe that the 2020 presidential election season has the potential to be one of the final nails in the coffin of the SBC. If we continue on our current course we may well see this as the point at which the die was cast and our fate was sealed. (Let me see if I can work another cliche or two in there). I hope the reader doesn't misunderstand my use of the concept of Luther's 95 theses. I realize, first of all, that my political meanderings do not compare in any way to the Reformation inducing insights of Dr. Luther. I was gathering a list of insights about politics and thought of his … [Read more...] about The SBC, Pastors, and Partisan Politics: Nailing My Theses on the Wall

Mohler, somewhat long winded, in his own words, here. The Rev. R. Albert Mohler Jr., one of the key leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, plans to vote for President Trump in the fall, a reversal of his position in 2016 when he argued that support of Trump risks destroying evangelicals’ credibility. One of the country's best religion reporters, Sara Pulliam Bailey, in The Washington Post yesterday. Trump formerly "The Great Evangelical Embarrassment" (Mohler's phrase in WAPO, 2016), is now his guy for 2020. Boom! One might say that he just blew up his credibility but more likely, … [Read more...] about So, Al Mohler will vote for Trump?

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how our church was coping with the pandemic and its effects on our church. I thought I would give you an update and invite our readers to share their experiences, also. We have now presented our Sunday morning worship online for four Sundays. We’ve posted our worship videos on Facebook and Utube, and we’ve also posted them on our church’s website. Our viewing audience has increased each week. It hard to determine exactly how many people watch the whole service, but we estimate that 685 people watched on Easter Sunday. We’re confident that many more people … [Read more...] about Our Church: A COVID-19 Update

Today, I am writing two letters. The first is to our county Sheriff, thanking him and his deputies for stellar service during our Easter “drive-in” services yesterday.  Since we held our last “in-person” worship service on March 15, our church had gone almost completely online—live corporate worship at 5 online channels, small groups meeting via Zoom, and social distancing and other protective measures instituted for any on-campus ministry (food distribution and a coming “lunch to go” for the unemployed) necessary for meeting the needs of our community and region—all under the advice of … [Read more...] about Safety and Liberty are Not Mutually Exclusive (Joel Rainey)

LifeWay Research director Scott McConnell was interviewed about our current health care crisis where almost every church in the country is not holding physical services. In an article entitled, Empty pews, empty collection baskets, coronavirus hits U.S. church finances he said: “It would not surprise me at all if 5% of churches close over the next year,” McConnell said. That is five times the typical annual closure rate estimated by The Christian Century, a U.S. mainline Protestant magazine.   If his speculation holds true (and he did not apply it to just SBC churches) that would … [Read more...] about Will COVID-19 see 2,500 SBC churches close over the next twelve months?

On this Silent Saturday, I read the last two chapters in my journey through the New Testament reading plan that I’ve been going through with two close friends. It was fitting, that it was the last two chapters of Matthew—his version of the crucifixion and resurrection. Of course, I don’t think that was a coincidence, even though technically I should have been done a week ago. This quarantine has thrown everything off, but I don’t think that was one of the things. What occurred (or rather, didn’t occur) out of distraction, preoccupation, and suddenly becoming an elementary teacher again, God … [Read more...] about Silent Saturday (Etta Waller Linton)

In recent weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about how we deal with suffering as Christians. Those reflections are especially appropriate on Good Friday. We know that suffering is a part of life in a fallen world. The impact of Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden is still being felt today. This world is broken. Things are not as they should be. We await a Savior who will make all things new. But until then, we must learn to deal with suffering in a way that pleases our Lord. As a pastor, I have the great privilege of walking with people in their suffering. I’ve often seen God’s people suffer … [Read more...] about Good Friday Reflections

And I'm one of them. Hardheaded or stubborn might be the words used by my wonderful wife about her wonderful, retired SBC pastor husband. It was less than a month ago that the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Things moved rapidly. Here are a few observations about the past month. Many of these are obvious to all. I have retained a keen grasp of the obvious. Look elsewhere for profundity and meta-analysis. An extended period of church where virtually (did you catch that?) no congregation meets in their dedicated worship building is something unanticipated by all. We … [Read more...] about Change comes hard for Southern Baptists but better come quickly

In the dark days of 1942 one of the United States Navy commanders in the Pacific was reported, twice, to have exclaimed, "My God! What are we going to do about this?" in response to critical communications about the war situation in his command area. Such didn't inspire confidence in his ability to lead and the admiral was soon sacked. This article isn't about national leadership during our current COVID-19 crisis. It is about pastoral leadership and public communications from some segments of Christendom active on social media. There is not a whole lot that the pastor can do other than … [Read more...] about “My God! What are we going to do about this?”