SBC Voices

Dr. David W. Manner is the Associate Executive Director for the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists. He blogs at  http://kncsb.org/blogs/dmanner . You can follow him on Twitter:  @dwmanner.  Most potential homebuyers decide whether or not to check out the interior of a house or take it seriously as a home prospect for their family based on its curb appeal…how it looks from the street. Statistics show that a positive curb appeal brings more people through the front door and gives them a healthy first impression. Conversely, poor curb appeal excludes certain people from looking … [Read more...] about 10 Ways the Evangelical Church Has Lost Its Curb Appeal (by David Manner)

I understand the angst that some feel about the love that many Christians have for Israel. I get it. We need to balance our perspective. God loves Palestinians as much as he loves Americans or Israelis. Jesus died for all. Standing with Israel does not mean that we ought to support or defend every action of the Israeli government or the Israeli army. As Christians, our concern is pastoral and evangelistic in the Middle East conflict, not just political. Again, I get it. It is a legitimate criticism that some (especially in my own eschatological camp) have gone overboard in the … [Read more...] about Is the Pendulum Swinging Too Far? Christians, Israel and the Middle East Conflict

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