SBC Voices

We pick up with entity reports again this morning. Again, I try to reproduce the words of the speakers in summary and am not providing commentary of my own (unless my choice of their words can be seen as commentary in itself).  SWBTS: Paige Patterson. Dr. Patterson told a long story about how he recently transferred the Chair of Evangelism to Dr. Matt Queen. He has been called to create a stronger emphasis on evangelism in and through the seminary. It has had a huge effect and faculty and staff are out leading students in personal evangelism and witnessing throughout the community. … [Read more...] about SBC ExComm Plenary Session Day Two

I have to say that I was pretty impressed with the tone and the content of the Plenary Session. The focus was on Christ and on our work together. I learned more from this meeting in hearing the entity heads speak this way than I have from the conventions that I have been to. I left edified and encouraged about the direction of the SBC and the work of the entities. Below is my best representation of what was reported. I do not give commentary here, but try to reproduce the words of the speakers. Lots of good information here, in my opinion. After introduction of new trustees and recognition … [Read more...] about SBC ExComm Plenary Session One

I am attending the September trustee meeting of the Executive Committee in Nashville today and tomorrow. My reason for coming was to make a case before the Communications Workgroup concering the motion that I submitted at the SBC in Balitmore which stated: "In light of the upcoming 20th anniversary of Southern Baptist Convention's 1995 Resolution on Racial Reconciliation, I move that the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in Baltimore, MD, June 10-11, 2014, authorize the president of the Southern Baptist Convention to form a task force to bring a report to the Southern Baptist … [Read more...] about How Can Southern Baptists Increase Ethnic Leadership Throughout the Convention? SBC ExComm Trustee Meeting Day One: Consideration of Motion on Racial Reconciliation Report

(This post was written by a friend of mine. He feels it necessary to keep his identity a secret, because he works in a Christian organization that might react punitively if it found out that one of its personnel struggled with this kind of issue. It is sad to me that such is the case, but I appreciate my friend for sharing this.)  I remember the first time I fell. My immature heart failed to recognize the abyss into which it stumbled; no one spoke of depression in the early 80's, especially not in our highly-conservative Baptist circle.  I retain a vague impression of blurry faces and … [Read more...] about Despair, Interrupted (Anonymous)

Ken Hamrick blogs at SBC Open Forum.  Instead of arguing for or against the scientific evidence, or arguing the merits of possible exegetical ways to reconcile Scripture with a billions-of-years chronology, I propose that---for the sake of argument---we eliminate the evidence question all together. We can do this by accepting all the scientific claims at face value, and still insisting on a recent supernatural creation out of nothing. In other words, we would not posit a young earth, but an old earth that was recently created by divine fiat. When God creates out of nothing, He is not limited … [Read more...] about Helping Old-Earth Creationists Face the Supernatural Question (Ken Hamrick)

Pull up a chair, wipe the sweat off your forearms so you don't stick to the furniture, and listen to me whine for a while.  Vent.  Whatever. We've recently transferred from one job to another.  To be honest, I welcomed it.  We've long believed that God had something else for us, a new way to use us and the skills we've added over the years.  We remained committed to the last role, but possessed a deep conviction that He had something different planned for our future.  The new job, while still in international missions, does not in the smallest way resemble my last one, and I'm fine with … [Read more...] about It’s Not the Heat, It’s the Calling

To put it mildly, as a group my circle of Christian friends lists to the right.  In their views, Palin is a political goddess, lazy people use Welfare, Ferguson wasn't about race.  And Senator Ted Cruz is a rock star. On September 10, at the In Defense of Christians meeting in Washington, D.C., Cruz addressed the horrors of ISIS and the persecution of religious minorities.  At least, he attempted to do so; his comments elicited boos and jeers, and he left the stage without finishing.  To my right-leaning Facebook friends, the crowd's treatment of Cruz reflected a liberal, CNN-driven, … [Read more...] about Where Ted Cruz’s Christian Supporters Get It Wrong

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 last week.   "Duck Dynasty star on Muslims: 'Convert them or kill them,'" read the headline of Jonathan Merritt's social media post last week.  The post contained a link to a Religion News Service articledescribing Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson's recent appearance with FOX News host Sean Hannity, in which the two discussed how the US and others should … [Read more...] about It Takes One to Know One: Evangelical Media and the Plague of Adolescent Discourse (Joel Rainey)