An organization in my state that does licensing and placements for foster care posted the following statistics recently on social media: In our state 14 out of every 100 children are in foster care The average stay of these children in foster homes is 700 days There are ~15,000 children in foster care and only 4700 licensed foster homes Like other foster parents, we have had a season with multiple placements in our home at the same time. We had two case workers, two different schedules, the kids went to school in two different towns, and we had two different plans to sort through. Even … [Read more...] about Why Not You?
SBC Issues
The beloved pastor goes turkey hunting and how Buddy made my deacon hall of fame
My first church was, literally, in the middle of the national forest. Privately owned land was all along the highways and the church was a strong country church. Naturally, the congregation included a game warden, Buddy, who was also a deacon. The area was populated, infested some drivers might say, by deer and wild turkey. In fact, the headquarters of the National Wild Turkey Federation was in the same county. I'd done a bit of deer hunting (too much of a mess if you killed one), rabbit hunting (too much trouble for such a little bit of meat), a goose using the best goose call for … [Read more...] about The beloved pastor goes turkey hunting and how Buddy made my deacon hall of fame
You know that only about 80% of SBC churches are anglo, don’t you?
Dominant ethnic composition, in percentages, below for churches: Anglo 81.9 African American 7.0 Hispanic 4.7 Korean 1.6 Native American 0.8 Haitian 0.8 Chinese 0.4 Filipino 0.3 Multi-ethnic 0.4 20+ other ethnic and languages groups 2.0 I've never seen any figure that breaks out dually affiliated churches. Nothing in the Annual Church Profile asks for that. I suppose LifeWay or NAMB could do a study that came up with a figure but I don't believe they … [Read more...] about You know that only about 80% of SBC churches are anglo, don’t you?
What would less autonomy look like?
I confess to giving this some thought but without much in the way of an answer. The call is often heard that "the SBC" should relinquish some of its cherished autonomy in order to keep kids safe at church. Here's how the most recent case was explained. "The SBC views itself as a network of Baptist congregations, each of which is independent and self-governing. Abuse survivors and advocates say that this doctrine of autonomy has thwarted their attempts to fight sexual abuse in SBC churches, such as through the creation of a denomination wide sex offender database." “This clearly paints a … [Read more...] about What would less autonomy look like?
This is the future of SBC missions
Atlanta area megachurch Johnson Ferry Baptist announced the results of their annual Great Commission Offering. It was suitably mega with over $5 million given. The offering was divided: $2.7m Lottie Moon, $1.7m Johnson Ferry missions budget, and $680k Annie Armstrong. That's a single SBC church giving about 1.5% of the total Lottie Moon offering. … [Read more...] about This is the future of SBC missions
Phillip E. Johnson, my kind of creationist, RIP
When I first read Johnson's book, Darwin on Trial, it was a revelation of a sort, my background being steeped in simple ("there's oil because all the dead dinos sank to the bottom of the one-earth ocean"), succinct ("6,000 year old earth, ten thou at the max is all you're going to be allowed if you're a good Christian"), and not so sweet (YEC is rife with strident and harsh polemicists). Johnson launched me on an intellectual search that explored with great interest and curiosity Australopithecus-es and other past creatures. I proudly claim, by DNA mind you, about 4% Neanderthal. Those hairy, … [Read more...] about Phillip E. Johnson, my kind of creationist, RIP
CP sort of up for 2019-2020; designated giving definitely up
No one pays attention to Cooperative Program this early in the fiscal year (runs Oct 1 to Sep 30). Sage Baptist bean counters tell me to wait until January to see how things are going. But the Executive Committee gives a report every month, partly to keep their positive headline writing skills sharp, so I'd like them to know that at least one person reads these articles. As of October 31, gifts received by the Executive Committee for distribution through the Cooperative Program Allocation Budget totaled $15,207,651.44. This exceeded October 2018's budget contribution of $14,454,637.36 by … [Read more...] about CP sort of up for 2019-2020; designated giving definitely up
And now “credible accusations of misconduct” has currency in the SBC because of Al Mohler
Abuse survivors and their advocates have long called for the creation and funding of an independent investigatory body in the SBC and staffed with experts on sex abuse. Part of the task of such a committee would be to investigate "credible reports" of abuse in SBC churches. So far as I know, no SBC leader supports this proposal. Yesterday, Al Mohler, president of our oldest seminary, announced nominee for president of the SBC, and one whom many would say is the SBC's most visible spokesperson, made a statement to the public about an SBC pastor, SBTS grad and adjunct professor. The statement … [Read more...] about And now “credible accusations of misconduct” has currency in the SBC because of Al Mohler
Top Ten State Conventions in total giving to IMB
Baptist General Convention of Texas........$30.0 million Alabama..................................................... $24.8 Tennessee.................................................. $24.3 North Carolina.......................................... $22.7 Georgia...................................................... $22.1 South Carolina.......................................... $17.8 Mississippi................................................ $15.9 Florida...................................................... … [Read more...] about Top Ten State Conventions in total giving to IMB
A simple way to bankrupt your church and lose your job in the process
The administrative assistant in charge of financial matters was a long term employee and completely trusted. She was also a brazen thief and by the time the organization started paying attention to her spending she had stolen at least $1.3 million over a period of years. The theft finally came to light when a check was needed to pay an obligation and there were no funds in the account. After the matter was investigated it was found that the trusted employee would ask one or the other of her supervisors to sign blank checks. Sometimes the requests were verbal, other times she left sticky … [Read more...] about A simple way to bankrupt your church and lose your job in the process