SBC Voices

The results are in. The Southern Baptist Convention has declined once again in membership and baptisms. Even while we gained churches—thanks to our emphasis on church planting—we haven’t seen that result in baptisms or added membership. In response to this news I continue hearing the phrase “revival”. Some are saying that the only thing that will turn the tide is a heaven-sent revival. As a response to these declining numbers, and the maladies of our cultural climate, many are meeting and praying that the Lord would again pour out His Spirit upon our land. I’m all for that. In fact … [Read more...] about Revival and SBC Decline

We Americans are infatuated with sex.  Perhaps not as much as our European cousins, but it nevertheless captures so much of the American fancy.  Just look at the magazine covers of any checkout aisle.  "32 Sex Moves that Will Blow His Mind."  Watch a few commercials.  Do most folks even realize that GoDaddy.com is a web host?  From their commercials, one could easily come to the conclusion that they are a porn site.  Search the internet.  On second thought, please don't search the internet because things we can't even imagine will be pulled up.  We live in a sex-saturated society. Undoubtedly … [Read more...] about Sex in the Ditch

I remember watching a documentary some years ago on the life of Paul Wight, a seven foot, four hundred and forty one pound wrestler for the WWE. You might know him better by his stage name, "The Big Show." The documentary detailed how, during his sophomore year in college, Wight was diagnosed with acromegaly, a condition that causes abnormally large growth. In Wight's case, the doctors discovered that he had a tumor on his pituitary gland that produced excess growth hormones, causing him to be much taller, stronger, and just plain bigger than everyone else. (This is not unlike Andre the … [Read more...] about Why Your Vibrant Church Might be a Dying Church

As pastors with extensive theological education, forgiveness is hard to do even though we can preach a sermon on it.   When we are devastated by the destructive actions of others we need a daily prayer strategy to help us with our struggle to forgive.  Here is a prayer for you as you offer your prayers to God to overcome your feelings of frustration, anger and hurt. How to Do This Prayer Practice We all are victims of life situations that aren’t fair and sometimes these situations can nearly ruin our lives.  Our feelings of being wronged may last for years afterwards.  I was deeply betrayed … [Read more...] about Praying for Daily Struggles with Forgiveness

Joel Rainey is the Director of Missions at Mid-Maryland Baptist Association, an adjunct professor at Capital Bible Seminary and blogs at Themelios (Twitter - @joelrainey).  This week, I'm teaching a doctoral seminar atSoutheastern Baptist Theological Seminary on current issues affecting the church.  Western evangelicalism faces an increasing number of challenges when it comes to engaging its surrounding culture in a way that is both faithful to Jesus, and fruitful within our current environment.  And sometimes, we find ourselves at cross-purposes with one another regarding an … [Read more...] about Theology Thursday: Our Approach to Scripture, and to Culture (by Joel Rainey)

William Thornton is the SBC Plodder. Occasionally, I run across an assertion or a statistic that stops me cold. Here is one that did just that: "Fear of change is one of the reasons one in four congregations will close during the next 15 years..." Let me digest this: Twenty-five percent of American congregations will not be present fifteen years hence?Jeff Brumley of Associated Baptist Press has an interesting article on the future of churches, Experts seek balance between optimism and pessimism in future of congregations, in which he quotes Bill Wilson, founder of The Center for Healthy … [Read more...] about Will one in four SBC churches be closed by 2030? (from William Thornton)

Are you gearing up for growth?  Brothers and sisters, we are heading into the fall of the year, which is a prime time for church growth.  I’m so excited to see what God is going to do! Perhaps you’ve not thought about it in this way, but there are at least five different types of church growth.  One type is “biological growth,” which I like to call “baby growth.”  It’s when the physical church family grows through the birth of children or adoption.  Now don't think that I'm going all Presbyterian on you here.  While these children are not part of the Kingdom of God or the New Covenant until … [Read more...] about Gearing Up for Growth