SBC Voices

I have loved social media and defended its value against its detractors. Every year at our Annual Meeting I've bristled when our entity leaders and other platform personalities take pot-shots at bloggers, tweeters, and others involved in online communication, especially since most of those making those criticisms have blogs and are active on Twitter. It need not be argued that social media has had negative effects, but there have been some positives as well. We shine lights into hidden places where the powers-that-be do not want light shined. Of course, we also spread fake news, … [Read more...] about Social Media Burnout: Thinking It Through

  I'm in therapy having worn out my facial musculature, exhausted by SBC events. Used to be that regular SBC news caused a single eyebrow to be raised and I could alternate between the two of mine. Now the demand is always for both. To wit: May I, ahem!, tout my own humble stuff on complementarianism? That is, the definitive, succinct, 319 word piece that declared "complementarianism" not to be worth diddly-squat any more. Southern Baptists love adjectives and thus will flood the comp market with them: hard, soft, broad, narrow, traditional, etc. Is this the hill we want to die … [Read more...] about Not gone unnoticed: The complementarianismness mess, CaringWell/abuse, hanging around past your shelf life…and bacon, brethren.

"Yes, I also ask you, true partner, to help these WOMEN who have CONTENDED FOR THE GOSPEL at my side..." Philippians 4:2 Ladies, we are not secondary to gospel ministry. Our job here on this earth isn't JUST to make things pretty and sweet and delicate and feed the men and build them up. Note: I said JUST. (I actually want and enjoy doing those things...well, maybe not so much the delicate part.) We are GOOD at those things and we should do them. But we, LADIES, are CONTENDERS FOR THE GOSPEL. BY THEIR SIDES. Don't ever think for a second that God doesn't intend to use you, woman, for the … [Read more...] about An Admonition for Women Serving Christ (Etta Linton)

What does it say about the future of Southern Baptist state conventions that the movement among them is to voluntarily reduce their revenues by cutting the percentage of Cooperative Program offerings that are kept and spent within a particular state's borders thereby reducing their ability to hire staff and do ministry? What it says is that the work done within a state (and I'd add to that especially within the legacy southern states where most Southern Baptists live and which receive the great majority of CP revenues) is less important than that which is done through our two mission boards … [Read more...] about What does the future look like for state conventions?

Here they are: Thomas "Call me Tommy" Hammond, Georgia Baptist Mission Board Rick Lance; Alabama Baptist Convention State Board of Missions Jim Futral; Mississippi Baptist Convention Board Tommy Green; Florida Baptist Convention Gary Hollingsworth; South Carolina Baptist Convention Milton Hollifield; Baptist State Convention of North Carolina Brian Autry; Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia Todd Gray; Kentucky Baptist Convention Randy Davis; Tennessee Baptist Mission Board David Hardage; Baptist General Convention of Texas Jim Richards; Southern Baptists … [Read more...] about The 15 SBC leaders you never heard of who control most of the CP

Since the publication a couple of weeks ago of the admission by Jonathan Howe that the story published by Baptist Press on Jennifer Lyell was not accurate, I've been dealing privately with a man (I won't give any information on him, other than he holds a responsible job at a non-SBC parachurch organization) who constantly wanted to find fault with Ms. Lyell and continue to besmirch her reputation. I finally cut him off, because I was getting so frustrated with his ignorant insinuations. It is hard to imagine the damage done by the Baptist Press's irresponsibility in March when they first … [Read more...] about Expanded Statement by Baptist Press about the Jennifer Lyell Story

In recent weeks we’ve commented extensively on the need to revoke the ordination of pastors who have been convicted of child/sexual abuse. I’m confident our Voices writers and readers agree on that. We have not discussed how that can be done. That thought prompted me to do some research on revoking ordination. I checked the Broadman Minister’s Manual by Franklin Segler, a longtime professor of practical theology at SWBTS. His chapter on ordination is detailed and helpful, but he does not mention revocation. I also consulted W. A. Criswell’s Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors. His chapter … [Read more...] about Revoking Ordination

At the #CaringWell conference last week, Rachael Denhollander recommended that Southern Baptists read Christa Brown’s book, This Little Light: Beyond a Baptist Preacher Predator and His Gang.[i] I read the book after receiving a copy at the For Such a Time as This rally at the SBC Annual Meeting in Birmingham at the recommendation of a friend. I too commend the book to you. This Little Light was released 10 years ago, a year after the SBC Executive Committee declined to create a database of credibly accused sex offenders (considering a motion originally made by Wade Burleson). In the book, … [Read more...] about This Little Light – A reflection on Christa Brown’s Story