SBC Voices

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?

Blogging plans are always a little bit loose. Something could come up - breaking news, a Baptist scandal, or something. Anything can happen. But barring some huge event, I'm not planning to hang out here at SBC Voices much over the next few days. I'll probably stop in to check on things a time or two. I'll try to get back into the swing of things on Monday. SBC Voices contributors - "Post 'em if you got 'em" rules apply. If you have something you want to post, put it up. Don't step on someone else's post. If there is another post up, make sure it gets 5 or 6 hours before you post yours - … [Read more...] about Have a Happy Thanksgiving – See You Monday

Black Friday was always a Festival for Mammon, a bastion of commercialization and evidence of the crassness and materialism of the American people. The rush when they open the doors at Best Buy was something amazing to see, in those days when I was on dawn bargain patrol. We used to try to get a couple of hours of sleep then head over to the local Best Buy about or so in the morning to get in line for the 6 AM opening melee. Then the opening was moved to 5 AM and we had to pretty much spend the night outside the store. Something changed for me when they they moved the opening up to midnight … [Read more...] about Just Say No – A Suggestion about Black Friday Encroachment

A few years ago I bought Family Tree Maker and a subscription to Ancestry.com. I tracked my ancestors back to Europe (I am a descendent of the Merovingian kings – you should show some respect). The Millers come from Carbon County, Pennsylvania, but I couldn’t find when they emigrated from Germany. The Pratts, my mom’s side, settled in St. Louis in the mid-1800s. One branch of the family came over on the Mayflower and ended up in Piscataway, NJ. It was a fascinating study. What I didn’t find in any of this was a slave owner. There were a couple of branches that lived in Virginia, so you … [Read more...] about Am I Guilty for America’s Racist Past?