I watched about five minutes of one of those prosperity gospel television preachers the other day. The cameras panned through the audience focusing on head-nodders, note-takers, and Amen-shouters. The preacher man was spitting nothing but straight heresy and these people were eating it up. This led me ton wonder, how in the world these people were swallowing this false teaching. Then he started talking a bit about Jesus and I got it. He was parroting gospel talk all the while allowing these congregants to keep their Americanized Asherah poles. In other words these preachers had a form of … [Read more...] about One Reason You Might Swallow False Teaching
A Baptist’s Bookshelf: Thomas Schreiner’s Hebrews Commentary
A Baptist minister’s bookshelf is sacred. It bears the weight of centuries of thought from people of all different backgrounds and faith traditions. A Baptist minister often relies on the recommendations of others when deciding what books to add to his library. That’s why I’ve decided to do periodic book reviews of new titles I’ve added to my library from the standpoint of being a Baptist in the SBC. Broadman and Holman, the publishing house of the SBC, recently released the first volume in a planned 40-volume commentary series called Biblical Theology for Christian Proclamation. I was able … [Read more...] about A Baptist’s Bookshelf: Thomas Schreiner’s Hebrews Commentary
A ‘Culture of Grace’
I was reading an article recently detailing the fall of a megachurch pastor. In the midst of it, the author made the point not to ascribe one man’s sins to the group. In other words, big church doesn’t equal big ego. The author pointed out another megachurch pastored by a man of humility and grace. The author said, one of the reasons for the pastor’s success without egotism was that he worked to create a “culture of grace.” Then the article moved on. The phrase struck me, though. After all, egos (inflated or wounded) are not found only in large churches, nor are they only found among … [Read more...] about A ‘Culture of Grace’
A Sad Day in the History of Black Baptist at American Baptist College (William Dwight McKissic, Sr.)
A SAD DAY IN THE HISTORY OF BLACK BAPTISTS AT AMERICAN BAPTIST COLLEGE What President Harris, Bishop Flunder, and “Prophetess” Jezebel Have In Common By William Dwight McKissic, SR. “20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. 21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.” (Revelation 2:20-21 KJV) An incredible, unprecedented, and thus far un-repented of, event took placed … [Read more...] about A Sad Day in the History of Black Baptist at American Baptist College (William Dwight McKissic, Sr.)
Prayer Guide From the Lord’s Prayer
Often we have certain passages of Scripture that we return to often due to our love for them and their value to us at specific times of our lives. The Sermon on the Mount and within that the Lord’s Prayer are passages that I return to often. Preaching for three months from Matthew 6:5-15 caused me to give more time to considering the structure of prayer and how most praying should sound: simply, with depth, specifically, freely, orderly and with confidence in our God and Father. In light of this, I have written a prayer guide for our church and wanted to post it on here for anyone who may … [Read more...] about Prayer Guide From the Lord’s Prayer
FYI: I’ll Be Blogging (and Tweeting) the Racial Reconciliation Conference
I'm going to be at the ERLC Racial Reconciliation Conference on Thursday and Friday. I plan to post regularly during the event. I know Bart will be there and he may want to put some things up, but I've not asked him about it. I'm not sure if any of our other regulars will be there. I won't exactly be live blogging it, but I'll be doing a lot of tweeting and writing summary articles. If you are interested and don't follow me on twitter, it's @davemiller7 - I'm not exactly a twitter powerhouse, but I'll be pretty active this weekend. … [Read more...] about FYI: I’ll Be Blogging (and Tweeting) the Racial Reconciliation Conference
The Greatest Danger from ISIS (by Bill MacKinnon)
"Bill Mac" is a frequent commenter here. I asked my men’s bible study group the following question: “What is the greatest danger ISIS poses to Christians?” As you might expect, I received answers about possible attacks, forced conversions, the spread of Islam, the persecution of Christians, etc. They pointed out the systematic destruction of Christians, their churches, and their artifacts in the Middle East. I reminded them that in our long history, Christianity has only been strengthened by persecution. I asked them to think deeper. I wanted them to think, specifically, about what danger … [Read more...] about The Greatest Danger from ISIS (by Bill MacKinnon)
Reality on the ground in the Middle East
Recent posts and comments here on the reality on the ground in the Middle East have been somewhat informative though, to me, generally discouraging. Most of us share some level of concern for the appalling, senseless, and shocking violence committed by radical groups in the area. Although we receive steady streams of news, videos, and reports of shocking events, such things are far removed from the United States. I do not question either the Christian commitment of my friends here nor their compassion for human suffering anywhere. I do speculate, however, that none of us here are directly … [Read more...] about Reality on the ground in the Middle East
When the Ministry Hits the Fan, Your Family Better Come First (Dean Stewart)
I asked Dean to respond earlier, and he did - here it is. Dean Stewart pastors Vaiden Baptist Church and blogs at pastordeanstewart.com. Earlier Dave Miller wrote a post that as a minister your family cannot always come first. My feathers were not ruffled by Dave’s post and I agree with most of what he says. I disagree with his thesis, “If family is always going to come first, then you should pick another line of work. If you insist on always putting FAMILY FIRST you cannot be an effective servant of God! Pastoral ministry is NOT for you.” My disagreement is twofold with Dave. First of … [Read more...] about When the Ministry Hits the Fan, Your Family Better Come First (Dean Stewart)
The Hardest Part of Ministry (This one is for Brent Hobbs)
Yesterday morning I started writing a post and suddenly I looked at the word counter at the bottom of the screen and it registered just over 3000 words. Brent Hobbs gave me a hard time about my tome, so I'm going to add in a short one today. Just one main point. On February 1, 1982, I went to work full-time as a pastor and I have been employed every single day since. I've had some great moments as a pastor and I've sat with a newspaper reading the classifieds trying to find a job to feed my family so I could resign and run away. I've overflowed with joy and I've walked through the valley of … [Read more...] about The Hardest Part of Ministry (This one is for Brent Hobbs)