SBC Voices

Suppose, beloved pastor, you wanted to know how much money your church had on hand today. How would you find out? You could ask the financial secretary and she would give you a number but how do you know this is accurate? (Hint: You don't). You could find the latest financial report given to the church but this might not be current and, besides, the figure might not be correct. You could call the bank if you are an authorized church person and they would tell you. While this would answer the question, you might not on the bank's list of approved persons to whom they may release … [Read more...] about How much money does your church have in the bank? Today.

I’ve read quite a few articles lately about something sociologists are calling FOMO. That’s short for “fear of missing out”. It’s why you keep your phone with you all the time and are almost constantly checking out social media. But I can save you from FOMO…at least a little bit. Here is what you are going to miss out on this week if you disengage for a little while. I don’t know the details but they don’t matter—or at least won’t matter once the next big story drops. At some point this week somebody important is going to say something dumb and insensitive. Some people will laugh. Most … [Read more...] about How Our Unbiblical View of Forgiveness Perpetuates Social Media Outrage

In sorting out some of my material I ran across a folder with the April 26, 1912, local paper, The Athens Banner. The Titanic had just sunk. My parents had not been born. The last member of my family who served in the Civil War had died three years earlier and numerous other CSA veterans had died a decade or two earlier. Almost all of these veterans' children and grandchildren were alive, including my two grandfathers. Their grandparents (and in one case, a parent) were the CSA veterans. The issue of the Banner was a special Confederate Memorial Day edition which contained a number of articles … [Read more...] about A bit of the Lost Cause and monuments

Jim is an attorney (don't hold that against him) and a frequent reader of Voices.  I was born in 1947 and attended integrated Army schools.  I learned about white supremacy while visiting family in Alabama.  My cousins would trick me into drinking from “colored only” fountains or going into “colored only” men’s rooms.  It was easy to do. I hated what I saw, so I rebelled.  I held the door open for an older black woman and I saw fear in her eyes.  Older, I realized I crossed a line.  Seeing wrong and trying to make it right, I put this woman at risk. White supremacy rules by … [Read more...] about Southern Baptist Reconciliation Council (Jim Lockhart)

Doesn't take much to stir me up these days. Consider these. Who will be the first brave pastor who bans service dogs from his church service? I see these dogs around and read about them being everywhere - airplanes, businesses, schools - you name it. Now, I'm seeing one at church for worship. The cute mutt isn't a problem so far as I know, and I'm sympathetic to the human handler. I don't know if the dog is in training or is for the emotional well being of the handler. I do know that I really don't care to worship with dogs. Perhaps someone will enlighten me. There are people who have pet … [Read more...] about Pent up irascibility

There is a type of shrewdness that is pastoral. There is another type of shrewdness that is Satanic. Knowing the difference is key to church revitalization. Pastor Jim normally threw away all the ads that piled on his desk on Monday morning. Most of them frustrate him. He’s been pastoring this little church for a few years now. The initial growth which came from the “new pastor” is long gone and his hope is deteriorating every Sunday. They’ve plateaued and he knows it. So all those invitations to conferences about pastoring an awesome church serve as daggers to his weary soul. But one … [Read more...] about One Essential Mark of Church Revitalization

Driving home in my car just now I turned my radio on to the local Christian talk station just in time for the Jay Sekulow Live program. The topic of discussion for today was tax reform. Even though it is not the topic I want to write about, nor what I really want to discuss here, I will come out and say it right up front anyway, since I imagine some commenters will want to direct the conversation that way anyway: I am not, in general, a big fan of the Jay Sekulow show. The main reason why I am not has to do primarily with the topic of my article: I do not believe it is generally a good idea … [Read more...] about The Rub

Kevin Sanders is a follower of Jesus, husband, pastor, blogger, and caffeine addict. He is the pastor of the Apollo Heights Baptist Church in El Paso, Texas. I led the church I currently pastor to make a significant change in our ministry programming: canceling our Sunday evening services.  This happened back in January, but I decided it was best to see how things go before I posted anything about it. Allow me to share a little more about my own background before going any further: I jokingly tell people that I started attending a Southern Baptist church nine months before I was born.  … [Read more...] about We Cancelled Our Evening Service (Kevin Sanders)