SBC Voices

Can these average sized and below SBC churches survive?

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Dave Miller's insightful article about his and his church's recent travails was excellent. It was also paradigmatic of thousands of SBC churches. Dave's church was not a small or average-sized church and I'm thinking here of the average-sized SBC church, somewhere around 125, and the median sized SBC churches, somewhere around 70. Generally, these are churches that can support a full-time pastor and most of the opportunities for being THE pastor (senior pastor, lead pastor, etc.) are in churches of this size. There are tens of thousands of SBC churches in this range and below. Many of them … [Read more...] about Can these average sized and below SBC churches survive?

An Update on #SBC23 in New Orleans

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We just finished up the inaugural meeting of the newly renamed Local Encouragement Team (LET) (formerly known as the Local Arrangement Committee) for the #SBC23 meeting taking place here in New Orleans on June 11-14, 2023. I just thought I'd share some behind-the-scenes stuff in case any of our readers might be interested (and because Luke Holmes suggested I should). The first two wonderfully encouraging meetings were hosted by our friends at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. What a great partner to our churches who’ve already shot out of the gate strong and are working hard to … [Read more...] about An Update on #SBC23 in New Orleans

I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This

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I was chatting with the guys about our mutual enemy COVID and what is happening with it across the nation. My doctor says it is an ever-present reality now, and isn't going away. My anecdotal evidence tells me that it is not yet time to hang the "Mission Accomplished" banner. There may be some new variations ready to throw curve balls at us. Several of us in that group either have COVID or have had it recently, and at least three of us are members of the "long COVID" club, one you never want to join. After you recover from the acute symptoms of the disease, annoying effects linger, like … [Read more...] about I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This

Considering Church Signs!

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A friend gave me a coffee table book about church signs. I thought I might share some that caught my attention. Inspirational For Hope—Worship with Us; We Have a Real One Be a Fountain, Not a Drain There’s a Mighty Go in Gospel The Mind Grows by Taking in, But the Heart Grows by Giving Out God Grades on the Cross, Not the Curve If God Had a Refrigerator, Your Picture Would Be on It Clever Come Inside for Free Faith Lift God Wants Full Custody, Not Just a Weekend Visit Psalms Read Here Visitors Welcome—Members Expected God: Let’s Meet at My House … [Read more...] about Considering Church Signs!

A Pastor, A Christian Counselor, and an LBGTQ+ Affirming Advocate Come Upon a Hurting Survivor…

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Trigger warning: sexual abuse A woman was journeying and fell among a youth pastor. He groomed her, making her feel special for one of the first times in her life. Eventually the special attention moved into sexual touch that culminated in intercourse. It was confusing to the young woman when he soon discarded her and then threatened her not to tell. Did he not love her? Was she not actually special? When all was said and done she felt stripped, beaten down, and left half dead. One day when she was a bit older, through a pastoral counseling session, she told some of her story. The pastor … [Read more...] about A Pastor, A Christian Counselor, and an LBGTQ+ Affirming Advocate Come Upon a Hurting Survivor…

Rick Warren, BFM2K Article 6, Women in Ministry, and the Future of the Southern Baptist Convention (Wm Dwight McKissic, Sr)

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I am not sure of the final outcome of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) exploration to disfellowship Rick Warren for affirming women in ministry within biblical and BFM2K parameters without compromising male leadership. However, I am believing that history will remember Warren as a reformer having elevated the status of women in SBC life to be aligned with Scripture. The SBC may choose to make him a martyr, and that will be to the detriment of the health of the Convention. A discussion evolving around the role of women in ministry the parameters of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 … [Read more...] about Rick Warren, BFM2K Article 6, Women in Ministry, and the Future of the Southern Baptist Convention (Wm Dwight McKissic, Sr)

I am liberating myself from my redneck pick-up truck

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Here in Georgia there are pick-up trucks and there are redneck pick-up trucks. I have driven one of the latter for a decade or so. You can drive a sparkling new Ford King Ranch, maybe $80-90,000 truck and turn it into a redneck truck if you fly a Confederate Flag. If you spend that much on a truck just to cruise around, you could fly an "I'm an idiot with too much money" flag. If you have a gun rack and a bunch of deer stickers on the back window, you got yourself a redneck truck no matter what kind or how new it is. Your humble hacker and plodder blogger came by his redneck pick-up … [Read more...] about I am liberating myself from my redneck pick-up truck

Substance is Worth It: Creating A Set List that is Above Reproach (by Quint Adkins)

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The year was 2015. I just finished stringing up an old acoustic guitar I found in our church office with the hopes of learning to play so I could be on our church worship team. I had unknowingly ordered the wrong strings, but I put them on anyway. No sooner was the last string installed than I ran to my computer and looked up the chords and a tutorial on how to play “Lead Me to the Cross” by Hillsong. You see, I grew up in the "Passion era" which means that some of the most influential songs in my young Christian life couldn’t have been found in the ’56, ’75 or ’91 Baptist hymnals, but on the … [Read more...] about Substance is Worth It: Creating A Set List that is Above Reproach (by Quint Adkins)

What it was Like to Serve on the Committee on Nominations

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For those who are interested I have written up a walkthrough of my experience on this year’s Committee on Nominations. It’s a little long but there are some things here that you might find interesting. I know I sure learned a lot in this process. I must say this was nothing like I assumed it would be. When I was asked by Robin Purdy and Criseida Gomez (Louisiana’s two members on the Committee on Committees) to serve alongside Larry Johnson as the 2 representatives from Louisiana on the Committee on Nominations (NomCom) I was excited and considered it an honor. I figured it would be a … [Read more...] about What it was Like to Serve on the Committee on Nominations