SBC Issues

...just get out of pastoral ministry if you've messed up your life and aren't above reproach. I'm about 48% in favor of having a guild for Southern Baptist clergy that has the authority to deny credentials to rascals, scoundrels, Elmer Gantry types, and criminals; to incompetent hucksters, church-wreckers, and money-grubbers; and to just plain ecclesiastical imbeciles who have absolutely no business inflicting their so-called ministry on a Southern Baptist or any other congregation of the followers of Jesus Christ. The devil is in the details, though. The chances of any SBC board, group, or … [Read more...] about Go ye therefore…and sell shoes, be a social media sensation, or unstop toilets…

The thing about an article like this is that those who care already know. Those who don't know the history and trends don't much care. But consider a few things.   These three offerings combined totaled about $682 million for the most recent year's data available. The CP, received by the states, was $463 million. Lottie was $157m. Annie, 62m. I'm rounding the numbers. The CP has been trending down for years as a percentage of church offerings, well below 5% and still going south. The CP at the Executive Committee level is flat, not declining, mainly because states have … [Read more...] about The SBC’s Big Three: Lottie, Annie, and the Cooperative Program

This makes three years running for record offerings to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions.  NAMB, our formerly beleaguered entity with not one but two meltdowns is doing fine. Southern Baptists have bought into what they are doing. I can think of a few reasons why this is so and may update this piece later.  (NAMB gives the best swag at the convention but I wouldn't be so crass to say that this has anything to do with the record offering). Congratulations.   … [Read more...] about No need to spin this: Annie Armstrong sets record, up over a million

I found it difficult to complete my recap series and summarize day three’s morning session—First, because the talks were so rich and full of compelling content that it’s difficult to condense into a concise summary and, second, because even 48hrs later, I remain physically, spiritually, and emotionally exhausted. This conference was one of the most intense, personal, important, moving, challenging conferences I’ve ever attended. The stakes are immensely high and the movement frustratingly slow. Here is my summary, though I don’t really do these talks justice in my meager attempt here so … [Read more...] about Caring Well Conference – Day 3 Recap

A church was experiencing explosive growth. Attendance was skyrocketing. Giving was rapidly increasing. Building programs, outreach initiatives, staff additions, and baptisms were all going up year-after-year. Then, things leveled off. Attendance was no longer going up and other statistics no longer showed eye-popping rates of increase. The church dropped from their accustomed place on various "fastest growing" lists compiled by denominational staff. The church was still a great church being used by the Lord in their community and beyond. But the period of astonishing growth and exceptional … [Read more...] about Southern Baptists can manage bad news, hard facts, and serious missteps.

In a statement from the new VP for communications, Jonathan Howe, Baptist Press admitted that their previous reporting on the Jennifer Lyell story was woefully inadequate. When Jennifer told her story, Baptist Press, though it was begged to do so by many, including Jennifer herself, failed to make it absolutely clear that there was nothing consensual about the "relationship" between her and Dr. David Sills. Because of their failure to report the story accurately, many attacked Jennifer, asking why she was not disciplined for her "immorality." (It was disgusting, to ask why a victim of … [Read more...] about Baptist Press Admits Previous Inaccurate Reporting on Jennifer Lyell/David Sills

Much of day 2 was taken up with breakout sessions, 4 in total out of 12 options. I won’t take time here to cover those because I could not attend them all and they are not easy to summarize. Note, however, that the sessions were recorded and I believe will be available online in the coming days along with the main sessions Here is a summary of the morning and evening sessions for Friday:   Justin Holcomb – Justin opened the session with a talk entitled “Rid of my disgrace -- The work of Christ and the effects of abuse.” Similar to his book of the same name, Justin highlighted the … [Read more...] about Caring Well Conference – Day 2 Recap

Well day one of the Caring Well Conference is done and I'm gearing up for a very FULL day today. Here is a recap with a few comments from day 1:   Phillip Bethancourt opens the conference noting that the speakers have been given the freedom to speak whatever they would like without censorship. He notes, “We’re not here to control a message, we’re here to equip the church. So far, that seems to be the case. However, the more pointed topics and speakers are up today (Friday).   Russell Moore is up first with his message, based on John 9:35ff, that our response to church … [Read more...] about Caring Well Conference – Day 1 Recap

The IMB closed the books September 30th on the 2018-2019 Lottie Moon offering and the amount received was $156.6 million, down $2.3 million from last year. The drop was about 1.4%. This was expected and budgeting was done accordingly leaving the IMB comfortably within their budget spending. Still, it's a disappointment not to see IMB's main source of revenue increase, although $156.6 million is a huge sum. I understand positive spin, thus the lack of any mention of a decline in the offering. The press on the offering emphasized that giving was more than what was budgeted and that the … [Read more...] about Lottie Moon offering is down $2.3 million

In a few hours, the ERLC’s much anticipated National Conference "Caring Well: Equipping Churches to Confront the Abuse Crisis" will begin. I am thankful for the ERLC choosing this timely subject for their conference this year – enough so that I am attending my first one and have brought a small group from my church with me. I attend a fair number of conferences and have participated in many of the SBC’s denomination wide emphases over the years, but this one seems different and I am hopeful that it will make a lasting impact as we focus on ministering well to those around us. In a previous … [Read more...] about #CaringWell: An Opportunity for the SBC and My Local Church