The phone rang repeatedly, and I awoke from a dead sleep and mumbled an answer. The church member on the line sounded frantic and said, “has anyone called you yet?” I managed a “no” before he interrupted me and said, “The church is on fire. You need to get down here." It was about 5 a.m. when I pulled up at the church and saw flames shooting out the top of the roof. The fire department was already there, along with a growing crowd. Even in the morning, people had come out to see the spectacle on Main Street. I felt helpless as there was nothing to do but watch. We have separate buildings, … [Read more...] about Every church should take these steps to make tomorrow easier
Your Invitation to New Orleans from our Local Association of Churches (Jack Hunter)
New Orleans is bounded on the north by Lake Pontchartrain, an estuary covering 630 square miles connected to the Gulf of Mexico by the Rigolets and Chef Menteur Pass, and supplied with fresh water by many different rivers, tributaries, and bayous. The Lake is good metaphor for the churches of the New Orleans Baptist Association. Our association comprises many different streams, but we are united by one heart, one hope, one identity—our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our Baptist community is equal parts African American and Anglo, and we have a rapidly growing Hispanic constituency … [Read more...] about Your Invitation to New Orleans from our Local Association of Churches (Jack Hunter)
Forgiveness is NOT Optional
This is the second in what I intend to be 6 or more posts in a series on forgiveness. I believe the biblical accuracy of my point in this post, but it is generating a strong reaction among some in the survivor community. I intended to deal with some of the issues they are concerned about at the end of the series, but it appears I will need to do this sooner rather than later. In the meantime, I made some edits to the post to until I state my views on key issues, especially to a somewhat harsh illustration. It made a point, but it wasn't worth the injury it gave. … [Read more...] about Forgiveness is NOT Optional
The SBC Voices astronomy report: The ‘spectacular’ Green Comet C/2022 E3
The Green Comet, C/2022 E3 Those intrepid Voices readers who rise early before the sun and who know where to look may easily find in the Green Comet these days. That is officially C/2022 E3 and your humble hacker and plodder blogger, being retired and a light sleeper, has stepped outside on my deck and has been observing this comet for several days. If you look high in the north sky near the Big and Little Dippers before dawn you can find it. its not visible to the naked eye (may be later) and you will need binoculars but if you scan around in that small area you will probably find it. I … [Read more...] about The SBC Voices astronomy report: The ‘spectacular’ Green Comet C/2022 E3
The Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon, Volume VII
I have been following The Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon since the release of Volume I in early 2017. The ambitious project promised 12 volumes based on handwritten notes Spurgeon produced in his first few years of ministry. The first few volumes contained full-color scans of each notebook, a fully-formatted transcription, and copious footnotes regarding everything from stains and misspellings to excerpts from Spurgeon’s sources, explanations of historical or cultural references, quotes from Spurgeon’s later writings, and definitions of unfamiliar words. Around the time Volume III appeared, … [Read more...] about The Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon, Volume VII
Forgive As Christ Forgave
On June 17, 2015, the SBC Annual meeting was breaking up in Phoenix while the Emmanuel AME church in Charleston, SC was holding a small prayer meeting. A skinny white loner wandered in and was welcomed so warmly that he almost changed his mind about the evil he had come to do. When the prayer service ended, he pulled a gun and opened fire on the mostly elderly congregation. Nine people, including the pastor, entered eternity and the world was in shock. Dylann Roof fled but was apprehended quickly and the next day was brought in to be arraigned. At the arraignment, the story took a turn. … [Read more...] about Forgive As Christ Forgave
I Didn’t Know: Prepping for #SBC23
I didn’t know. I had no idea. I’ve been going to SBC Annual Meetings for a couple of decades and had no clue what it took to pull off one of these things. Last week, we (by we, I mean some of the EC staff and then I hung around a bit) finished up a week of meetings of convention planning with logistics people, venue staff and reps from a few of our entities. We did have our larger Local Arrangement Team meeting on Tuesday where we received a bunch of updates and information regarding volunteer needs. The LET also were able to do a full walkthrough of the meeting halls where we will spend … [Read more...] about I Didn’t Know: Prepping for #SBC23
OK, so who are the SBC elites who sit at the cool kids table at lunch?
Pity the exalted, yet poor group of "SBC Elites." Seems the group is always in the bulls eye for one dissenting group or another. They get to sit at the cool kids table at lunch, and, if critics are correct these folks only deign to talk to each other. Communication with lesser SBCers is made by pronouncements, instructions on how to think and act, and by divine fiat. We aren't a convention of churches, as we've been told ad nauseum. We are a convention of pastors, and other clergy who are on the denominational payroll. An elite, self-selected group among these drives the SBC bus. Who … [Read more...] about OK, so who are the SBC elites who sit at the cool kids table at lunch?
I Remember Revival Meetings
This post is about revival meetings. For some, it will be a trip down memory lane, while for others it may be more like a church history lesson. When I was a boy in the 1950s, most churches had two or three revivals each year. They would hold a fall revival, a spring revival, and often a summer youth revival. The churches hoped to energize their members and evangelize the lost. Sometimes the churches would invite a full-time evangelist, and they would invite a music evangelist, also, if they could afford it. Other times, the pastor would invite another pastor to preach, and there were a lot of … [Read more...] about I Remember Revival Meetings
The Pastor and Visitation
I pastored a church in Virginia long (long, long, long...) ago and ran into a culture I wasn't used to. Many of the people there thought that ministry was preaching a decent sermon on Sunday (one that let out on time, of course) and then going from house to house the rest of the week doing visitation. This wasn't evangelistic, but simply calling on people to see how they were doing. This church was in a very small rural town. Then I moved to Iowa, where I served two churches over the past 32 years, both in cities of more than 100,000 people. In these cities, drop-in visitation was not only … [Read more...] about The Pastor and Visitation