SBC Voices

The SBC Plodder, William Thornton, is at his rabble-rousing best in this one! That claim has been made concerning the February 9th Alabama wedding of two females officiated by the Rev. Dr. Ellin Jimmerson. Rev. Jimmerson is an unpaid staff minister of the Weatherly Heights Baptist Church in Huntsville who describes her staff title, "Minister to the Community," as "an honorific." A progressive Patheos blogger, David R. Henson, allowed her to write of the event on his blog, "edges of faith".  Henson introduces her article: Today it is my honor to host the Rev. Dr. Ellin Jimmerson, the first … [Read more...] about First Southern Baptist minister to perform a same sex marriage (William Thornton)

Social media has been atwitter with discussions and even arguments about the true color of this dress. Scientific discussions have been offered as to why some people see a blue and black dress and others see a white and tan dress. I think there might be a few other explanations that have been ignored heretofore. My curiosity was piqued by a tweet I read by Dustin Lair. He said, I figured out the dress thing. Bruce Willis was dead the whole time. Now that made sense. It is a spoiler if you haven't watched the movie, but it's been out since 1999, so that is your problem. I began to … [Read more...] about The Mystery of the Dress: Possible Solutions

(This is a revision of a previous post - actually one I've written twice - in 2013 and 2011 - every time you guys in the South get blasted by blizzards, I guess).  I have to admit that my flesh has risen up strongly as I've watched my southern brethren (and sistern) bemoan the terrible weather they are suffering across the south. Here in SUX (yes, that is actually the designation of our local airport in Sioux City - you can look it up!) we've had some bitterly cold temps (it was a balmy 8 below this morning) but we've not had too much snow this year. And the fact is that six to eight … [Read more...] about Living in SUX: You Prepare for What You Expect

On the day we celebrated the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King in 2014, one of our contributors (Todd Benkert) wrote an article celebrating the fact that Dr. King's birthday was "Not Just a Black Holiday" and that all of America should celebrate the work that this man did in bringing racial justice to our land.  It did not take long for the discussion to be diverted to whether Dr. King was orthodox in his biblical beliefs or whether he was a liberal who denied the biblical gospel. This year, Jared Moore posted "A Brief Timeline of the Civil Rights Movement & Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr" … [Read more...] about There Is a Time and a Place…

After the White House gathering on “violent extremism” this past week, our president said again, “The notion that the West is at war with Islam is a lie!” It feels evident to many Americans that a rigid and radical strain of Islam has declared war on us! This war is apparent in the beheadings, bombings, burnings, crucifixions, kidnapping of girls, raping of women, and threats toward Rome and the West. This week it was reported that the Islamic State (IS) is now harvesting and trafficking in human organs; now the beheadings have a financial component. Islamic terror is evident in their … [Read more...] about Knees at the Altar or Boots on the Ground? (by Ron F. Hale)

William Thornton is the inimitable SBC Plodder. "No one goes to the convention anymore," laments some of the brethren who have been around long enough to remember the sardine days where 20,000, 30,000, and 40,000 messengers could pack into a meeting venue. Not quite true. It's just that the crowds are heavily diminished. Here are the past five years: 2010    Orlando          11,070 2011    Phoenix            4,814 2012    New Orleans    7,814 2013    Houston           5,103 2014    Baltimore         5,294 Toss out Orlando, the attendance bump for which we can thank Mickey Mouse. … [Read more...] about Can’t get a crowd at any national SBC event these days? (William Thornton)

“The best defense is a good offense”. That’s what you say when you have a terrible defense. If you’ve got a terrible offense you switch it and say that the best offense is a good defense. Either way, I think Christians have learned this secret when it comes to erecting barricades around those places in our lives that we don’t want to see touched. Think with me about the nature of Scripture. Many of us preachers have made a point from Ephesians 6 that the sword is the only offensive weapon in the list of armor. And I think that’s a valid point. God’s Word, after all, is what Jesus used … [Read more...] about Swording Our Friends

Joel Rainey leads the Engagement Team for Evangelism and Missions at the Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network. He is on the adjunct faculty of two seminaries, and the author of three books. He blogs at Themelios, where this was originally posted. The role of pastors is clear in Scripture: “Equip the saints for the work of the ministry.” (Ephesians 4:12) But unfortunately, some pastors confuse equipping for enablement. Primarily, this is caused by fear on the part of the pastor. Proverbs 29:25 warns us that “the fear of man is a snare." But often, that fear doesn’t look like fear. Sometimes it … [Read more...] about Four Ways Pastors Enable Disfunction in Their Churches (by Joel Rainey)