SBC Voices

I'm not black, but I am a lot of other things. All of them influence my reaction to the death of Eric Garner: I am a Christian: That means I'm someone proclaiming the message of peace on earth and good will toward men. These events must trouble me, because they are moving us away from that end. And as I write, I want to write things that will move us toward peace on earth and good will toward men. I am a Baptist: For much of our history and in much of the world today (and dare I say perhaps again in our near future?), Baptists have suffered under an adverse relationship with the civil … [Read more...] about I’m Not Black, But…

Pastor Dwight McKissic blogs at "Wm. Dwight McKissic, Sr: A New Blog for a Pneuma Time."  Our nation is ill-at-ease. The number one item purchased on Black Friday was guns. Ebola, ISIS and terrorism are threatening us from afar. Questionable and controversial Grand Jury decisions have erupted into civil unrest within. Race-relations; family life; definition of a family; church attendance; economic wellbeing; and optimism about our collective future are all undergoing serious revisions, doubts and uncertainty daily. It seems as if foundations are crumbling. Land marks are being removed. … [Read more...] about Russell Moore, The Gospel of the Kingdom and Eric Garner (by William Dwight McKissic, Sr)

William Thornton is the SBC Plodder.  I'm a numbers guy and find these numbers about pastors to be interesting: 1 in 4 One in four pastors acknowledge that they have struggled with a mental illness such as depression. Since this is a self-reported statistic (LifeWay Research asked pastors, 1000 of them by a telephone survey earlier this year), it is not at all surprising that, anonymously, one in four pastors would report such a struggle. I'm guessing that some of the other three in four lied by not admitting some level of struggle with a mental illness such as depression. Any pastors … [Read more...] about SBC Pastors and mental illness…by the numbers (by William Thornton)

Luke 12:16-20 tells the story of a rich man with a great crop.  He makes plans to build bigger barns and be merry, not knowing he wouldn't survive the night.  I think the Church in the United States, and probably Western Europe as well, is like this man.  There was a foundation of Biblical teachings and this country was a Christian nation, founded by Christians escaping persecution from the Church of England.  Christian traditions and values were American traditions and values, the two became intertwined.  It was part of church culture, it was part of American culture.  Then the times … [Read more...] about Realities of a Post Christian America

Here are some links I promised to provide. In a strange way, I am believing God to bring healing and unity out of what appears to be division and doubt at the moment. I sense God is up to something. And I am on the tip-toe of anticipation about what God is going to do in the days to come. BLACK-ON-BLACK VIOLENCE: PASTOR VODDIE BAUCHAM’S ASSAULT ON BLACK PEOPLE http://drewgihart.com/2014 /12/01/black-on-black-violence-pastor-voddie-bauchams-assault-on-black-people-by-austin-channing-brown-christena-cleveland-drew-hart-and-efrem-smith/ A BLACK MAN IS KILLED IN THE U.S. EVERY 28 HOURS … [Read more...] about Important Links Concerning Ferguson (from Wm Dwight McKissic, Sr)

I’ve been reading through Jeremiah during my quiet times. It’s tearing me up. “Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see! Where have you not been ravished? By the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers…” (Jeremiah 3:2) Ouch. There isn’t a single place in all the land that you haven’t defiled with your harlotry. Not one square inch. And then she has the audacity to do this: For they have turned their back to me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they say, ‘Arise and save us!’ (Jeremiah 2:27) A woman has just finished giving herself to a man that is not her husband and … [Read more...] about Why Jeremiah Has Been Rocking My Soul

Last November I went to Senegal—one trip in a series by which our church is trying to take the gospel to an Unengaged, Unreached People Group. While living among our people group, we stay in tents that we pitch in the Community Center. This building houses the offices of the rural community's President, Vice-President, and Secretary. A "rural community" in Senegal is something like a township in some US states, and they elect officers. God has blessed us with a good relationship with the President and the Vice-President of the rural community. The President is a believer, and on that very trip … [Read more...] about My Own Miracle Story

Among the more interesting books I've recently read is Miracles by Eric Metaxas. Together with several members from my church, I recently heard Metaxas at an event at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and purchased a copy of the book (which he graciously autographed). I finished it a couple of days ago. Few books have both thrilled and puzzled me as much as this one. The overall design of the book is deductive-inductive. The first few chapters propose an deductive case for the possibility of the miraculous. From the current state of theoretical physics and from the philosophical … [Read more...] about A Case for the Miraculous?