SBC Voices

Five years ago, the SBC in their annual session passed a resolution "On the Sexual Abuse of Children." The resolution was offered by a blogger, Peter Lumpkins, and an amendment was added which was offered by a frequent blog commenter, Bob Cleveland. It is my observation that the issue of sexual abuse in churches is more widely reported and discussed on blogs than in any other arena. The 2013 resolution aimed at not just sexual abuse of children in general but noted that " instances of sexual abuse have been perpetrated within Southern Baptist congregations, churches of other denominations, … [Read more...] about Five years since the SBC Resolution “On the Sexual Abuse of Children” and earlier SBC level actions

Older readers can remember the worship wars that raged thirty years ago. The growing popularity of contemporary Christian music led many churches to change (or try to change) their worship style. They abandoned choirs, organs, and hymnals for praise bands, drum sets, and projected lyrics. Generally, younger people embraced the changes enthusiastically, while old folks complained and resisted. In some churches, the wars over worship led to church splits and/or member defections. I’m old enough to remember the night (more than 50 years ago) when our youth group led the evening service. We used a … [Read more...] about Worship Wars Still Rage (Mark Terry)

Dr. Kevin Blackwell is Director of the Ministry Training Institute at Samford University. Bottom line is this: The overwhelming majority of declining churches in North America are ineffective simply because they have lost their sense of desperation for Kingdom impact.  Oh sure, every evangelical church (I would hope) will say that they want to see people saved, baptized and discipled.  You will not find a minister or lay leader in a church that would say, "we really don't care that the majority of people in our community are lost and will die in that condition."  I truly believe that the … [Read more...] about Has Your Church Lost its Desperation? (by Dr. Kevin Blackwell)

My article yesterday gave some brief reflections on the Evangelicals for Life Conference that took place last week in Washington, DC.  As is true each year, the conference was held on the days surrounding the annual March for Life. The schedule is cleared during the afternoon on the Friday of the March, and conference participants are encouraged to participate in the March.  I enjoyed my first March for Life and hope to be able to participate again in the future.  Below are a few brief reflections. 1. I was impressed by the size of the crowd. This was my first March for Life, so I didn't … [Read more...] about The March for Life: Some Brief Reflections

Dave just shared a condensed version of his study on the Holy Spirit at Midwest Advance in Springfield, Illinois. If you've never read Dave's "continuationist" theory of the role of the Holy Spirit or you were at Dave's breakout and want to read him explain his view in more detail, here are the links to each of his previous blog posts on the topic: Baptist in the Spirit, Part 1: One Thing Changed Baptist in the Spirit Part 2: Overview Baptist in the Spirit, Part 3: The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament Baptist in the Spirit, part 4: Old Testament Pentecostal Power? Baptist … [Read more...] about “Baptist in the Holy Spirit” – Here are all the links

I had the privilege of attending the Evangelicals for Life Conference in Washington, DC last week.  The conference was put on by Focus on the Family and our own Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.  The conference is a relatively new annual conference that is held each year on the days surrounding the annual March for Life.  I was challenged and encouraged by the conference and hope to be able to attend again in the future.  Below are a few brief observations from #EFL2018. 1. Progress is being made in the fight against abortion. No, Roe vs. Wade has not been overturned.  Abortion is … [Read more...] about Evangelicals for Life: Some Brief Reflections

Just arrived in Springfield, Illinois, for the Midwest Advance - a large gathering of Baptists from the cool-kid states in the Midwest. None of you SEC types are allowed. They used to call this by some other name but it is a triennial gathering. The first one I went to lo these many years ago had this featured speaker from Arlington, TX, named Dwight McKissic. It was long before blogging started and I didn't even get a chance to meet Dwight, but he preached a great message. Todd Benkert is supposed to show up and we plan to stir up as much trouble as we can. Seriously, if you are a Voices … [Read more...] about Breaking Out at Midwest Advance!

The very first funeral that I took part in as a pastor was for an infant. The child had died in the womb the day before her due date. I walked with the family through that in the best way that I could; though it is one of those experiences for which no book or seminary class can adequately prepare you. As a pastor, you end up dealing with death a lot. But when I saw the funeral director pick up and carry that tiny casket by himself, it brought tears unlike most funerals would. It was an experience that I hoped to never have again. Over the past two weeks, however, I had to walk through … [Read more...] about A Funeral for an Infant

While not exceptional individually, stringing together untenable, pervade, malleable, immaterial, cognitive, sophomoric, and lobotomy in a single article does elevate writing to a higher grade level. Lobotomy, a barbaric but accepted medical practice of an earlier time, is used in conversations today when one wants to offer a more sophisticated insult to one's opponents. As a collection of terms, admirable. "“No American — whether a nun, nurse, baker, or business owner — should be forced to choose between the tenants of faith or adherence to the law,” the president said in his statement." … [Read more...] about Admirable, deplorable, or forgettable?

Editor's Note: There was some special formatting on Jim's poem that just doesn't translate to Wordpress. I apologize. When things confuse me, I write poetry.  When I read Adam Blosser’s recent blog on Andy Savage and the many comments, I needed to say something, but did not know what.  I watched the video of Highpoint Church’s worship service where it was revealed that Andy had a “sexual encounter” with a teenage girl, Jules Woodson, who was under his leadership as Youth Minister.  I paid close attention to what was said by Chris Conlee, Andy, and the Worship Leader, as well as the … [Read more...] about A Long Comment on Adam Blosser’s “Andy Savage, Sexual Assault, and the Church” (Jim Lockhart)