It's been a little quiet around here since Tuesday evening. We closed comments temporarily and thought it was best to allow things to settle some before jumping back into the conversation. A lot has happened on social media and these articles have been widely shared. I think all three are really helpful in thinking through and absorbing what has transpired over the last month and especially this week. Each one is well worth your time. The Wrath of God Poured Out — The Humiliation of the Southern Baptist Convention by Al Mother. Available at Mohler's website and Christianity … [Read more...] about What Is Happening in the SBC: Helpful Thoughts & Reflections
Social Issues
SBC Resolution On Praying for the Plight of Arab Christians
Guest post by K.V. Paxton, Lead Pastor at Grace Baptist Church, Quinlan, Texas. The following resolution “On Praying for the Plight of Arab Christians” will be submitted to the Resolutions Committee to be considered at this year’s annual meeting in Dallas, Texas. Allow me to share the heart behind this resolution, then you can read it for yourself. Last year at the annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, I submitted a resolution I titled, “On Praying for the Peace of Jerusalem”. The intention of that resolution was to bring attention to the fact that we have brothers and sisters in Christ … [Read more...] about SBC Resolution On Praying for the Plight of Arab Christians
Some Observations on Religious Freedom
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released it's annual report on April 18th. If you're interested, you can read the full version here, or the abridged version here. If you're unfamiliar with the work of USCIRF, they are responsible for monitoring the conditions of religious freedom around the globe and submitting reports to the White House, and to the Senate. They also lobby for legislation and other political action related to global religious freedom. In the style of fellow voices contributor William Thornton, I am going to offer my observations of … [Read more...] about Some Observations on Religious Freedom
Harboring Conflicting Emotions Regarding Paige Patterson’s Counsel on Spousal Abuse and the Resulting Implications
The most loved and loathed personality in SBC history is, without a doubt, Dr. Paige Patterson, current President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, TX. Dr. Patterson remains a figure held in the highest esteem by many SBC pastors, who find no fault with his controversial and now well-known remarks, spoken on the subject of spousal abuse in 2000 at The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Patterson is loathed by many in the SBC, not only for the spousal abuse comments, but for many miscues, missteps, mistakes and positions taken, that many find unacceptable. [Wade … [Read more...] about Harboring Conflicting Emotions Regarding Paige Patterson’s Counsel on Spousal Abuse and the Resulting Implications
The Looming Civil War in the SBC? A Response to Lorine Spratt and Others
The recent MLK50 Celebration in Memphis was a phenomenal success: Almost 4000 in attendance; over a million have listened online; 25% of the live audience were minorities, predominately African American; incredibly powerful, persuasive prophetic, biblical and redemptive preaching, teaching, panel discussions, fellowship and networking across racial lines. The most diverse gathering in my 40 years of observing SBC Life, with approximately 1000 Blacks in attendance. The Annual Convention of the SBC has nowhere near that kind of Black attendance. Obviously, with a million listeners online, it has … [Read more...] about The Looming Civil War in the SBC? A Response to Lorine Spratt and Others
The SBC, Racial Reconciliation, and Rhetoric: An Appeal
I have been a fairly consistent and often annoying advocate for racial diversity and reconciliation in the SBC since the day I met Dwight McKissic. It was at the SBC Annual Meeting in Orlando in 2010, and Dwight walked up while I was talking to someone else. I'd heard him speak many years before and he had read some of my posts at sbcIMPACT, where I blogged at the time. Dwight offered a resolution or motion (he can probably remember the details, at my advanced age, I cannot) which failed and I sought him out. He pointed something out to me that day, something I simply hadn't noticed. He … [Read more...] about The SBC, Racial Reconciliation, and Rhetoric: An Appeal
Martin Luther King, Jr. & Destiny Will Meet April 3-4, 2018 at the SBC ERLC King Celebration, MLK50
If Dr. King were alive, he would be utterly amazed that the Southern Baptist Convention, this year will be hosting a party in his honor in Memphis, Tennessee. When he penned “The Letter from The Birmingham Jail,” King had his “Christian and Jewish brothers” in mind, including Southern Baptists, when he wrote the following words in April 1963: While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling our present activities ‘unwise and untimely.’ I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the … [Read more...] about Martin Luther King, Jr. & Destiny Will Meet April 3-4, 2018 at the SBC ERLC King Celebration, MLK50
The World Needs More Foster Parents
Fostering—I’m writing on this topic being by no means an expert but being involved. When my wife and I married, we entered our union with a shared conviction: No matter what God gave us for biological children, we wanted our home to be a place to welcome children in need via fostering and adoption. We even moved from our rental to our first owned home recently, a purchase we made specifically to become a foster home. Though there are many avenues, we decided to work through our state and local offices. We attended the informative sessions, took the classes, did our home studies, and … [Read more...] about The World Needs More Foster Parents
Planned Parenthood Continues to Be Fully Funded by Government
A $1.3 Trillion Omnibus Spending Bill was passed late last night in the Senate after being passed in the House. It now goes to President Trump for his signature, which is expected. There is a lot to this massive spending bill, but of interest to Evangelicals will surely be the continued funding at almost $500 Million per year of Planned Parenthood, an organization that performs approximately 330,000 abortions per year. A Republican majority House, Senate, and Presidency has no impact on the half a billion dollars a year that goes to Planned Parenthood. This is the second year in a row we … [Read more...] about Planned Parenthood Continues to Be Fully Funded by Government
REVIEW: Removing the Stain of Racism from the Southern Baptist Convention
This compelling work, led by Jarvis Williams and Kevin Jones, including input from Al Mohler, Walter Strickland, Kevin Smith, Dwight McKissic, and others, is not a book merely to be glanced at like passing a curious situation alongside the highway as you speed by at 65 miles an hour. We must not give mere token acknowledgement to this issue simply because the media highlights a specific circumstance in the ever transitioning news cycle. Ethnic tensions, systemic racism, and latent prejudices remind us of the deep darkness of sin that is always around us. We cry out as Paul did in Scripture … [Read more...] about REVIEW: Removing the Stain of Racism from the Southern Baptist Convention