The Christmas we see in our cards, in our songs, and in our nativity sets, is a sanitized, sentimentalized, safe version of what really happened in Bethlehem. It was beautiful and glorious and powerful – Mary and Joseph yielding to God’s plan, angels announcing the Messiah’s birth, a humble setting as God takes on human […]
Wonderful Counselor
I am turning my attention away from blogging for the next few days. Here is some homiletical content for our readers to ignore! Deism became an immensely popular idea during the 1700s in Colonial America, an idea held among some of our Founding Fathers. They believed that God made the world but that he stepped […]
Brent Hobbs Sings “O Holy Night”
Brent Hobbs is a singer – many of you did not know that. Here is his rendition of the Christmas classic, “O, Holy Night.”
It’s no mystery why pagans celebrate Winter solstice
The winter solstice is today at 5:23 PM EST. Shortest day of the year. Bah! Humbug! If your church even mentions the word “solstice” that would probably put you on the SBC exclusion list. That would be terribly pagan, but many SBC churches these days like to be on the cutting edge of eccelsiastical practice […]
Prophetic or Pastoral?
I’m old enough (as are Dave Miller and William Thornton), to remember the old Baptist Program magazine. The SBC Executive Committee published it for years, and SBC Life replaced it some years ago. Chevis Horne often wrote for the Baptist Program, and he served for many years as the pastor of the FBC of Martinsville, […]
The Migrant Caravan, Christmas, and Ministry at the Border
Through October and November, we heard a great deal about the Migrant Caravan from Central America and its journey through Mexico. Approximately 7000 migrants came from Honduras all the way to Tijuana, Baja California, to present themselves for asylum at the U.S. Border. Like many, I watched this development with interest to see what would […]
Theology Professor Dismissed by Southwest Baptist University to Appeal Firing on Friday
Dr. Clint Bass was dismissed “with cause” from the theology faculty of Southwest Baptist University back in November. According to a petition posted by supporters of Dr. Bass, he will appeal to trustees of the Missouri Baptist college this Friday and ask to be reinstated. According to his dismissal letter and other documents posted along with […]
Cringeworthy funeral moments
I assisted in a funeral Sunday afternoon. That is the occasion when the coats and ties in my closet rejoice that they will see the light of day because otherwise they stay put. The funeral was for a friend and longtime member of the church from which I retired. I joined the current pastor and […]
NAAF President Dr. Marshal L. Ausberry, Sr. Responds to SBTS Report on Slavery & Racism
As President of the National African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptist Convention, I commend Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Mohler’s commissioning the study and releasing the internal report on the history of slavery and racism at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is clear leadership akin to […]
James MacDonald Withdraws from 2019 SBC Pastors’ Conference
SBC Pastors’ Conference President Danny Wood released a statement today announcing that James MacDonald will not be speaking at #SBCPC19. MacDonald had been named as one of the speakers back in October. Recently a World Magazine article about MacDonald and Harvest renewed some earlier concerns and brought new information to light that reflected poorly on […]
Unto Us a Child is Born
In the absence of other content, I thought I’d post a short series I’ve done on Isaiah 9:1-7, focusing on the four names assigned to our Savior in 9:6. Here is the overview of Isaiah 9:1-7. Joy to the world, the Lord has come Let earth receive her King Let every heart prepare Him room […]
Criticism and the SBC: Part 2 – Criticizing in Love
I watched a video recently decrying the feminization of men in the modern church. The speaker valued things like aggression and even anger as masculine and admirable. A while back a blogger wrote an article challenging the “idolatry of unity” – we cherish love and unity to the point where we are afraid to condemn […]