SBC Voices

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)

Those who take the Bible as the authoritative, inerrant Word of God are caught between a rock and a hard place: The Rock:    Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. Proverbs 13:24 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him. Proverbs 22:15 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol. Proverbs 23:13-14 The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to … [Read more...] about Spanking, Abuse and Modern Families

In the discussions this week of the pastor's housing allowance there was a constant refrain of criticism of pastors who make too much money. William has raised this from time to time because some highly paid pastors have used the housing allowance to provide multi-million dollar homes and to even try to buy vacation homes with the housing allowance. This kind of thing causes problems for all of us. But as I read the comments I found myself wondering - how much is too much to pay a preacher? Most Southern Baptist pastors labor in churches that struggle to pay a living wage, so when … [Read more...] about How (Much) to Pay the Preacher

Jerry Corbaley blogs at "Think the Thoughts?" Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment…Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience… Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Romans 13:1, 2, 5, … [Read more...] about The President, Angry Mobs and We (Jerry Corbaley)

He's ba-ack! The William, the SBC Plodder, is sharing his insights with us once again. One of the eyebrow raisers about David Platt's selection as the new president of the International Mission Board was the fact that his church gave a considerable amount ($100,000) directly to the SBC Executive Committee Cooperative Program Allocation Budget. In doing so his church bypassed the Alabama Baptist State Convention which would have lopped off more than half of that amount. The usual routine is for a church to send their CP gifts to their state convention which keeps most of the money (varies … [Read more...] about Cooperative Program gifts that bypass state conventions (William Thornton)

William is the SBC Plodder. If you run across a general news report on the minister's housing allowance you should conclude that something is going on that might not be good. As long as we fly under the news radar with our Sacred Clergy Tax Break, that wonderful tax benefit by which we clergy may exclude tens of thousands of dollars from income taxes, we may relax. But, if its in the news it is likely because of (a) a legitimate but immensely compensated minister is excluding hundreds of thousands of income from taxes and living in a multi-million dollar mansion, or (b) we are in the courts … [Read more...] about Our Sacred Housing Allowance winds its way through the courts (William Thornton)

Did you hear the latest news? There are 11 missing planes in the Middle East that will likely be used in a 9/11 style terrorist attack. Tupac Shakur, thought to be dead, has been in hiding and recently resurfaced Casey Anthony, the woman acquitted by the courts (though convicted by public opinion) of killing her daughter, is now pregnant with twins and is going to have her own reality show soon. An Ohio church built a ridiculous youth center with all the games young people could want in hopes of being the coolest hangout in town. The coming winter is going to break all records in … [Read more...] about Let’s Stop the Stupid! Dealing with Viral News Hoaxes