SBC Issues

I'm not the best person here to explain or opine on this, since I'm not an active pastor and don't have a payroll to meet. I know that many pastors are considering this. The Payroll Protection Act is a part of the CARES Act, the multi-trillion government response to the COVID-19 crisis. Here's how Baptist Press put it in regard to churches and non-profits: Nonprofits, including churches and other religious ministries, are eligible to receive funds covering up to 2.5 times their average monthly payroll, with a cap of $10 million per loan. Jonathan Whitehead, occasional commenter here and … [Read more...] about Government Paycheck Protection Plan for your church

A couple of days ago Rodney Howard-Browne, a false teacher in Florida, was arrested for holding services against a state mandate. There are quite a few moving parts to this discussion—and as such I’m a bit hesitant to enter in here. So rather than speaking of Howard-Browne or other pastors being arrested, I want to speak of a general principle here. I do not believe it is religious persecution for law enforcement to enforce a ban which includes holding religious services. Nor do I believe it is bold and God-honoring to hold such services in the face of a government lockdown. Let me explain … [Read more...] about Holding a Church Service on Lockdown: Radical Obedience or Denial of God’s Authority?

I recently engaged an old friend on several questions related to how the Coronavirus has changed the way our church (Memorial Baptist Church, New Castle, Indiana) is currently doing ministry. This informal Q&A amongst friends helped me process what I am learning as I lead our church through some valleys. What I Have Learned. 1. The Officers of the Church Have Had to Take More Responsibility, Not Less. That’s right. Instead of things getting easier on lockdown things have gotten harder. Our church is a conservative Reformed Southern Baptist Church. We have Elders who provide oversight … [Read more...] about The Coronavirus Learning Curve (Tobby E. Smith)

Hearty credit to GuideStone for their fast action, research, and simple explanation of how the COVID-19 Pandemic Phase III Stimulus Package might affect you and your church or ministry. Great work also by Baptist Press (which carried GuideStone's Q&A Friday and a FB live event yesterday with Jonathan Howe asking questions of  GuideStone Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel, Harold Loftin, Jr.     We all get checks or deposits, with an income cap. Churches are eligible to obtain small business loans for "payroll protection." Church staff under many … [Read more...] about The government bailout of your church…possibly…but hopefully you won’t need it.

Social distancing? Hey, I got this. I was born for this, brethren and sistren ("Hey doc, back off a bit would you? You're in my space"). Six feet, you say. How about sixty? I DNA tested at four percent Neanderthal. Is it necessary to point out that the socially obtuse Neanderthals died out. This requires some translation but maybe they didn't like each other's company. As a pastor, I spent  a considerable number of years working on likeability. Made some genuine progress, according to my wonderful wife. Although the qualifications for pastor/elder/overseer do not include "must be … [Read more...] about On releasing my inner misanthrope

Been a while since I've been to a drive-in theatre and I've never been to one in the daytime but we had drive-in worship this morning. It was novel. Pretty good. I commend my pastor and staff for setting up this addition to live streaming a sermon. The design of our building is such that several rows of parking spaces face the elevated front entrance to the church. We had music and preaching on an FM station. I don't know how this works. The fire marshall was present to be sure no one rolled down their windows. I guess this was a precondition. I may get churched for rolling mine down. I … [Read more...] about My drive-in church this morning

This is a time of uncertainty. COVID-19 has swept through our nation, with the total number of cases in the United States exceeding 100,000 today. Schools have been shut down. Businesses have closed. Many of those who still have a job are working from home. The President just signed a 2.2 trillion dollar economic relief bill to help prop up an economy that has been in a free fall. Things are far from normal. Churches have not been immune to the effects of this Coronavirus pandemic. Churches have had to alter the way they do ministry. Almost no churches are meeting in person right now. Many … [Read more...] about Back to the Basics

I gather that some people are hoarding items. My stash of frozen Mrs. Callendar's Chicken Pot Pies is down to just a couple (my wife says they are inedible anyway, so they are mine! All mine! I like the KFC chicken pie, heavy on bread, fat, and salt but I'm not all that keen on their food handling.). Looks to me like the supply chain is working well where I am. It's all anecdotal but I'm seeing churches and others be incredibly generous in these times. To wit: I've heard of at least one megachurch that has recalibrated their budget so that they can help smaller churches that cannot … [Read more...] about In times like these…folks get generous.

My apologies! I posted this for Mark Terry and forgot to change the author from Dave to Mark! You can color me surprised. Last Sunday, by the order of the governor of Texas, we had to cancel our public worship service. We did have our men’s prayer meeting at 8:00 a.m., assuming we would not have more than ten guys. We had seven, so we did not violate the governor’s ban against meetings of more than ten people. Usually, when we emerge from our prayer meeting, I see our church hallways filled with people who are talking, laughing, shaking hands, hugging necks, and catching up on each other’s … [Read more...] about Color Me Surprised (Mark Terry)

1. Calling off Orlando was 100% the right thing. I love the annual meeting and look forward to it. Calling this one off was the right call. Even if we are blessed and the COVID-19 virus crisis fades quickly, we need to be spending the next couple of months ministering in our communities, not preparing for a trip to Orlando. I hate it, but it was right. 2. The SBC Cooperative Program is in a crisis mode.  I am sure some people will find a way to point fingers of blame on this, but the math is simple. My church gives 10% of our general offerings to missions through the CP. If our … [Read more...] about Some Southern Baptist Realities