SBC Voices

This past Wednesday, United States immigration authorities arrested 680 undocumented workers in Mississippi in what Mike Hurst—the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi—said was the “largest single state immigration enforcement operation in our nation’s history.”  As reports came in, it was apparent that this was something important.  I live in Mississippi.  I have both lived and served in two of the areas affected by these arrests.  I grew up and pastored in Carthage, MS and lived in Morton, MS, where my dad pastored.  When I was a bi-vocational pastor in … [Read more...] about Pastoral Reflections on the ICE Raids in Mississippi (Adam Wyatt)

No suspense about why the SEC is the leading college football conference: money. The lowest paid head coach in the conference still makes more than $2 million annually. Some SEC assistant coaches make that much. My team, Georgia, will have no less than four assistant coaches making over one million dollars for the year if bonuses are scored. It's old news that any of those four will be paid more than the university's president. The head coach will make many times as much as the president. This, brethren and sistren, is cold, hard capitalism. College football in the SEC fills enormous … [Read more...] about The pastor and givers and why the SEC is the leading football conference

By the grace of God and the tolerance of Dave Miller, I occupy the lofty heights of the SBC Voices Distinguished Chair of SBC Realism. Alas the chair is not endowed but I'm receptive to any offers. Here are a few questions for the SBC hoi polloi: Revitalization Church revitalization has been a buzzword and a watchword since I took my first church in 1982. Do those who are practitioners and contributors to the concept have honest metrics that actually demonstrate the success or failure of revitalization efforts? I'm not accusing anyone of anything, just asking. What is the measure of … [Read more...] about Questions from the Voices Distinguished Chair of SBC Realism

There is nothing profound about this. You have a church and a pulpit. Use it to God's glory. Sometimes events occur that demand your attention from the pulpit. The congregation looks to their pastor and church for a word from God in the midst of such events. I'm reading how every pulpit in the nation should address white nationalism, white privilege, white supremacy, Christian nationalism, Christian supremacy...various phrases that flow on social media with such indignation. Some of these concern me. Some events demand immediacy. Most do not. I'm semi-retired now and don't have a group … [Read more...] about Pastor, be neither bullied nor shamed in your preaching

Last month my dear wife and I went on a cruise to Alaska with Dr. David Jeremiah. He preached great sermons, and the music was wonderful. The natural beauty of Alaska prompted us to praise the Creator and admire His handiwork. During one of his sermons, David Jeremiah said something that gave me pause: “At Shadow Mountain Community Church we demand excellence in all things.” Since then I’ve been pondering that phrase—"excellence in all things.” I’ve heard other mega-church pastors make the same statement, and it always evokes mixed emotions in me. Positive Reaction Positively, I agree … [Read more...] about Excellence in All Things

I am currently on a social media hiatus. You could call it a detox. I realize that may sound strange since I am writing this article. I know blogging is a form of social media. But it's really just Facebook and Twitter that I am breaking from for a while. Let me explain. I have wanted to do this for a while, but there have been a couple of legitimate things that have kept me from taking the plunge. The first is that social media is the way I stay in contact with some of my friends. I participate in a discussion group on Facebook Messenger that is an encouragement to my soul. That group has … [Read more...] about Some thoughts about social media

I do not deal with comments nearly as much as I used to, for several reasons - some noble and others not so much. In the "not so much" category, I find myself tiring of answering the same questions and responding to the same criticisms over and over again. So, I am putting together a post answering some of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) or Frequently Made Criticisms (FMCs) with my answers. I may make this a permanent page and then I can just link people to it, or copy/paste answers. I know, first of all, that I am sometimes impatient with people. You may be making a criticism or … [Read more...] about SBC Voices is BIASED: Some FAQ (FMC?) about SBC Voices