Editor’s Note: Julian is a layman who has taught Sunday School in various Southern Baptist churches for the past 20 years. The article originally appeared at his personal site, Ridgetop Reflections. The words from the pulpit pierced my heart as the pastor challenged us to look around the congregation and notice that the crowd we formed that morning was likely the most “racially homogenous group” we routinely gather with in any given week. While that might have been a bit of an overstatement, the message was clear. It was also very timely, coming just a week before the start of Black … [Read more...] about Congregational Diversity by Julian Wells
Is our Sacred Tax Break, the clergy housing allowance, unconstitutional?
The clergy housing allowance, that magnificent tax break provided by Uncle Sam to ordained ministers which allows them to exclude from income taxes a sizable chunk of their clergy income, is under scrutiny. Nothing new here. Among the many lawsuits the Freedom From Religion Foundation keeps juggling is one that seeks to have the cash clergy housing allowance unconstitutional. The FFRF website describes their suit thusly, FFRF is asking the court to rule the provision unconstitutional because it provides preferential and discriminatory tax benefits to ministers of the gospel. The section … [Read more...] about Is our Sacred Tax Break, the clergy housing allowance, unconstitutional?
Reflections on the SBC Pastor’s Conference by Chris Davis
Editor's Note: The following article was written by Chris Davis. It is his reflections on being asked to preach at the SBC Pastor's Conference and his participation in the colloquium. Chris is the Pastor of Groveton Baptist Church in Alexandria, VA. This was originally posted at his church website. Before the Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting each June, many pastors and church leaders gather on Sunday night and all day Monday for the SBC Pastor’s Conference. High-profile authors, speakers, and pastors are brought in to encourage those invested in the life of the … [Read more...] about Reflections on the SBC Pastor’s Conference by Chris Davis
Funeral selfies? Oh please!
You knew it was coming: funeral selfies. I'll not use any of the macabre photographs here but you can see more than you want in the link. "Hey, check out me and grandma in our last photo together!" No thanks. Lest we think that it took smart phones, social media, Instagram, Facebook, and the modern, highly connected era for such things as funeral selfies, take a quick look if you dare, at the practice of death photographs that was popular in the Victorian era of over a century ago. It made a certain sense for families to have a photograph, even after death, with which to remember a loved … [Read more...] about Funeral selfies? Oh please!
An Open Letter to Micah Fries and Family
Hey SBC Voices world, I have been away for a while, testing out the theory that it's better to be silent and considered a fool than to speak and remove all doubt. Things in this country have been pretty shaky, which leads me to my letter today. I have message a little with Micah, but wanted to share my thoughts to him with all of you. I am up the lovely I-29 corridor from Micah's old stomping ground, and met him the few times he ventured out of the "south" to the "Midwest". That Missouri to Iowa transition can be tricky. Fries Family, including Haddon. During the presidential . . . fiasco … [Read more...] about An Open Letter to Micah Fries and Family
It’s A Wrap
Whew! I am flying home as I type this, and I'm exhausted. If I'm this tired, I can only imagine how an old guy like Dave feels. If you haven't already figured it out from my previous posts about the colloquium, we had a great two days at Southwestern. Everything was top notch. I am confident that the colloquium will help the conference preachers tremendously as they prepare to proclaim the Word of God this summer in Phoenix. My primary job today was to do a brief video interview of all 11 preachers who attended the colloquium. Those videos will show up here on SBC Voices over the next … [Read more...] about It’s A Wrap
Day 2 of the SBC PC Colloquium at SWBTS
It's been a very busy day. The speakers had a session this morning with Dr. Allen. I missed most of the information from that session because I was filming interviews with the speakers. Those interviews will show up here at SBC Voices in the near future. Going to the Chapel After the session we headed over to the chapel on campus. The chapel is a beautiful facility that was built since Dr. Patterson became President at Southwestern. Dr. Patterson told us yesterday that the facility was designed to be conducive to preaching. The purpose of going over to the chapel was to give the … [Read more...] about Day 2 of the SBC PC Colloquium at SWBTS
Day 1 of the SBC PC Colloquium at SWBTS
We had a great first day. Dave and I have both written about some of the first events of the day, but I want to give you a brief update before I hit the hay. Our First Session with Dr. Allen Dr. David Allen knocked it out of the park in our first session this afternoon with his lecture on text-driven preaching. Lots of people call their preaching expository, but often it is not text-driven. Southwestern is committed to teaching text-driven preaching in their brand new School of Preaching of which Dr. Allen is the dean. Text-driven preaching is where the main point of the text is the … [Read more...] about Day 1 of the SBC PC Colloquium at SWBTS
And We’re Off!
It's always a little bit disorienting when you wake up in one place, and by early afternoon are in another place. I woke up in Virginia and am now in Fort Worth, Texas at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. I've already been encouraged by what I have heard thus far. The colloquium began at 3pm today. After brief introductions, we then had the opportunity to hear from Dr. Patterson for about 15 minutes. Dr. Patterson has been extremely helpful to the Pastor's Conference in so many ways. We cannot adequately express our gratitude. There were three main focuses of Dr. … [Read more...] about And We’re Off!
Colloquium at Southwestern: Pastors’ Conference Speakers Gather to Immerse Themselves in Philippians
After months of anticipation, our "colloquium" is finally here. We have gathered here in Ft. Worth with the speakers for the Pastors' Conference for 2017. D. Paige Patterson, Dr. David Allen, and the rest of the Southwestern Seminary family have bent over backwards to make us welcome and to help us make this two-day event a success! Since the day I was elected to this office, no one has been more gracious to us than Dr. Patterson. We are greatly in his debt. Soon after my election last June, Bart brought to me with this idea - gathering all of the preachers together to immerse ourselves … [Read more...] about Colloquium at Southwestern: Pastors’ Conference Speakers Gather to Immerse Themselves in Philippians