SBC Issues

This letter was sent to me by a Missouri Baptist pastor. Since we have published articles about the controversy at Southwest Baptist University, it seems fair to publish this response by the president, Dr. Eric Turner, to the controversy. It appears to be transparent and forthright.   Dear Missouri Baptist Pastor,   In Matthew 28, Jesus commands us to change the world with passion and compassion. During the past fourteen decades, Southwest Baptist University’s education, founded upon a Biblical worldview, has followed that command. SBU Bearcats are impacting the world as … [Read more...] about A Letter from the President of SBU to Missouri Baptist Pastors

If Dave Miller can bare his soul by reflecting on his ministry I can at least empty my mind on one aspect of my own: I was totally uprepared for how folks move so easily and often among churches. It was my own fault, or at least a lack of preparation caused by never having been involved in an average sized SBC church until I was the pastor of the same. A church leader asked for a meeting with me within days of my arriving on the field at my new pastorate. He was a long time, faithful member of the church, a deacon, an energetic and committed worker in the congregation. He had been thinking … [Read more...] about People change churches easily and often and I was totally unprepared for this

I’m sure some readers will assume that I’m trying to launch a feminist campaign. I intend nothing of the sort. I fully affirm the Baptist Statement of Faith and Message article that specifies that the office of pastor is for males only. Still, I find the question of deaconesses (female deacons) an interesting exegetical question. This topic came to mind one Sunday morning, as my wife and I drove to church. We were listening to Dr. Robert Jeffress (pastor of FBC Dallas) on the car radio, and he was preaching about deacon ministry. As an aside, he stated that he had no objection to women serving … [Read more...] about What about Deaconesses?

We in the SBC have sanctified the bottom line. Good pastors grow churches. If your ministry is plateaued or declining (as the majority of SBC churches are) there is something wrong with you, your ministry, your priorities, or your people. In a Facebook exchange recently, a couple of online friends unwittingly drove knives in my heart when they said that churches that are plateaued or declining should stop playing church, close their doors, and give their buildings to new churches that can be replanted in their facilities. My Situation It hurt because after a long ministry in my current … [Read more...] about Faithful? Failure? Reflections on Frustrating Ministry

Pictured above are my magnificent gospel beans, heirloom pole beans handed down in my wife's family for generations. These beans made the trek in a wagon down the eastern seaboard and across Georgia and Alabama to northeast Mississippi. The family story is told that in the 19th century one ancestor, a woman, traveled through Indian territory with her wagon, children, and one cow. She was stopped by Indians and they kept the cow but allowed her to continue. In the wagon were seeds for the next crop, including these bean seeds. At least six generations of my wife's family, ones alive during … [Read more...] about The sorry state of SBC evangelism and ye old time gospel beans

My friend and colleague Alan Cross is an expert on immigration and immigration policy. Your humble, happy, semi-retired hacker and plodder SBC pastor is not. But I know what I am seeing and reading. While on a vigorous four mile walk yesterday morning (vigorous to me, approaching my eigth decade, is about 18 minutes per mile, less than that if I schedule a time trial, more than that if I get lazy or go uphill) I was drawn to some hammering and banging of a construction project, the universal magnet for old dudes. I sauntered over to observe. It was a reroofing job on a multi-unit office … [Read more...] about A pastor looks at immigration and immigration policy

I am an old, conservative, fuddy-duddy Baptist preacher. I never thought I would be posting something like I am about to post! If you are not aware, Mark Aderholt, former SBC pastor, IMB missionary, and South Carolina state convention staffer, pled guilty to lesser charges while denying the charges that Anne has consistently made through the years. No, I will not be linking to a Baptist Press article on this. To this point, BP has maintained stony silence about Aderholt's guilty plea. As is usual, the Houston Chronicle is providing excellent coverage, this time, from Sarah Smith. The exact … [Read more...] about Anne Marie Miller’s Survivor Statement to Mark Aderholt

Recently, Bart Barber posted the following words on Facebook: Want to fix the nation? Fix the churches. Want to fix the churches? Fix the SBC (or your own family of churches). Want to fix the SBC? Fix your local church. Want to fix your local church? Start with yourself. #SpiritualAwakening101 Before proceeding with my response to Bart’s Facebook post, I want to make a few things clear: Though from time to time in the past I have publicly disagreed with Bart on a few issues of theology (mostly related to questions of Baptist Identity and the continuation of spiritual gifts … [Read more...] about Fixated on Fixing the Nation?

... More rom the AP article: The searing photograph of the sad discovery of their bodies on Monday, captured by journalist Julia Le Duc and published by Mexican newspaper La Jornada, highlights the perils faced by mostly Central American migrants fleeing violence and poverty and hoping for asylum in the United States. According to Le Duc’s reporting for La Jornada, Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez, frustrated because the family from El Salvador was unable to present themselves to U.S. authorities and request asylum, swam across the river on Sunday with his daughter, Valeria. I'm not posting … [Read more...] about Do We See the Migrant Crowds, Harassed and Helpless?