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
Pray for Those in Authority (thoughts for the 4th of July)
As we get ready to celebrate the Fourth of July, the birthday of our nation, let us remember the Bible's admonition to pray for our leaders. In 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Paul wrote: First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. Though the "authority" in our nation is meant to lie with the voters and the ballot box, we elect leaders to represent us. Therefore, we pray for our president, representatives, senators, … [Read more...] about Pray for Those in Authority (thoughts for the 4th of July)
Fixated on Fixing the Nation?
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?
Three Words: Justice, Beauty, & Evangelism
NT Wright is one of my favorite authors. Every time I read one of his works it challenges me to think more deeply on matters of faith. In the book Surprised by Hope**, Wright brings into focus how the hopes of eternity found in Jesus intersect with how we live today. Toward the end of the book, Wright suggests that "the church is called to a mission of implementing Jesus's resurrection and thereby anticipating the final new creation" (pg. 212). In other words, though we ourselves cannot make the world perfect, as followers of Jesus we should seek to help the world look as much like Jesus' … [Read more...] about Three Words: Justice, Beauty, & Evangelism
Beautiful Feet 1015
I've tried to limit this blog/ministry to praying for our IMB missionaries, but I've been asked by a couple of other solid missionary groups to include them in our prayers. Thus, Prayers for IMB is expanding to include prayers for more missionaries. Prayers for our IMB missionaries will continue, but I will not be copying and pasting the daily IMB email. If you'd like a long email with lots of prayer requests, go to the pray section at imb.org. The daily post of prayer requests will be posted in an hour at Beautiful Feet 1015 As always, thank you so much for praying for missionaries, … [Read more...] about Beautiful Feet 1015
Pure secular politics and the reality show that is the Democratic nomination process
It's a slow time at SBCV so... Two debates, four hours of snippets, indignation, and the party of free stuff is back on my radar. It's over two months until college football, so why not? Biden; from "Uncle Joe" to "Poor Uncle Joe"; looks feeble, frankly. Come on Joe, get stirred up about something. Michael Bennet; zzzz Pete Buttigieg; reminds me of Marco Rubio, always composed and competent. Kirsten Gillibrand; the incredible shrinking candidate; Madame Bromide. Kamala Harris; Kick Butt Kamala...told ya; has a nice warm smile and is likable. How about taking a stand on health … [Read more...] about Pure secular politics and the reality show that is the Democratic nomination process
Prayers for IMB June 26, 2019
Been a little busy the last couple of days, so I missed Monday, but here are some prayer requests from our awesome IMB missionaries, and more of them over at Prayers for IMB Last Frontier--Please lift up two individuals who recently heard the gospel. God's powerful truth was shared with them, but they didn't make a decision at the time. Pray that God's life-changing Word will be like a seed, as taught in the Parable of the Sower (Luke 8:11, 15). Ask that it will take root in good soil and bring forth the fruit of salvation and more. Pray that God will work his good purposes in both of their … [Read more...] about Prayers for IMB June 26, 2019
Do We See the Migrant Crowds, Harassed and Helpless?
... 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?
No matter what, Southern Baptists can always brag
Baptisms may be in freefall, the Cooperative Program may be half of what it used to be, membership may be declining, and we might be in the grips of nasty controversies and extremely bad behavior by prominent SBCers...but Southern Baptists can always brag. Here are a few bragging points for some of the state conventions: Most Baptisms: Florida. The 2,709 SBC churches in Florida baptized 26,162 folks last year and that is tops among the state conventions. The Baptist General Convention of Texas had the second most, 23,181 but the venerable BGCT has over 1,600 more churches than the Florida … [Read more...] about No matter what, Southern Baptists can always brag
Don Currence: A Picture of Grace (CJ Adkins)
It was a perfect storm and Don Currence got caught right in the middle of it last week at the Southern Baptist Convention Annual meeting in Birmingham, Alabama. The large deliberative body meeting in that historic city took important measures to deal with the heartbreaking issue of sexual abuse which tragically exist in some of our churches (as well as in many other denominations and other institutions). This is a difficult issue to engage, particularly for us, since the roughly 47,000 SBC churches are autonomous bodies and there is no hierarchical structure that can direct any local … [Read more...] about Don Currence: A Picture of Grace (CJ Adkins)