SBC Voices

The magician says, “Pick a number—any number," before identifying it and astonishing the crowd. Like the Cooperative Program itself, the trick is simple, marvelous and works like magic, but only if someone bravely decisive truly does pick a number, and lately, any Southern Baptist doing so has drawn heavy rounds of not so friendly fire. When it comes to Cooperative Program funding, Southern Baptists need a little magic. The average church percentage of budget receipts forwarded through our Cooperative Program channels has decreased from over 10% twenty years ago to about 5.6% today. Our … [Read more...] about Pick a Number and Fix the Cooperative Program, Part One of Three

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers As we recently viewed the first five ecumenical councils from a distance, I want to take a closer look at some influential men from that time. The men that lived during the time of the Council of Nicaea through the late 400’s are referred to as the Nicene and Post-Nicene Church Fathers. These men maintained the consistency of doctrine that was set in place at the council in 325. As I have discussed before, we ought to view them through the lens of God’s sovereignty. Each one contributed to the church a thought or work that added mightily. This list will not be … [Read more...] about Do you know these men??

I read an article today by Matt Boswell from Redemption Church, called, "10 Things Pastors Hate to Admit Publicly." I had two distinctive reactions when I read the post. Wow! How did he get inside my head? No Way! It shouldn't be this way when you are privileged to serve Jesus Christ as a leader of the church. Is this kind of insecurity, frustration, anger and even dismay a necessary part of ministry? Boswell makes 10 points. I'm not going to copy the entire post here - not sure what the ethics of that are, but it annoys me when I see articles from Voices copied in toto on other … [Read more...] about Pastors and Discontent: Should It Really Be Like This?

“Lord, we pray that you put a hedge of protection around this family.” I’ve had something similar prayed over me before. And I really appreciate it. But I have a confession to make. The phrase “hedge of protection” makes me laugh. You see, I’m a child of the 80’s and 90’s. When I hear the word hedge I don’t think of a row of thorn bushes–I think of Sonic the Hedgehog. So what I hear when someone prays for a hedge of protection is a group of angry hedgehogs watching out for me like my own personal line of attack dogs. That is one reason, to my knowledge, I’ve never once prayed a hedge of … [Read more...] about Why I Don’t Typically Pray For a Hedge of Protection

How would you respond if asked, “What does Dr. Pepper taste like?” It’s hard to answer, because Dr. Pepper’s taste is the result of a blend, a marvelous blend mind you, of 23 flavors. And while the blend of flavors for this “DP” is outright amazing, there is another “DP” whose blend of flavors is downright stressing. I’m talking about what I like to call the “Deacon-Pastor,” a completely fabricated term, but a totally realistic thing, although it shouldn’t be. You’re probably asking, “What is a Deacon-Pastor?” A “Deacon-Pastor” is an unbiblical hybrid position that merges the biblical … [Read more...] about THE UNBIBLICAL CALLING OF THE PASTOR

Dr. Eric Hankins is the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Oxford, Mississippi. He is the author of the much-discussed Traditionalist Statement and was central to the Calvinism Task Force appointed by Dr. Page, which reported at the Houston Annual Meeting. Part 1 can be found here.  In my first post responding to Nathan Finn’s essay on the Traditional Statement (TS) in the Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry, I addressed the things with which I agree. This post will focus on what I consider to be perhaps the most significant area of difference for further discussion. Again, Nathan … [Read more...] about Response to Dr. Nathan Finn, Part 2: Who Can Respond? (by Dr. Eric Hankins)

Recently, I was reading through some of my old posts here, especially those right after I assumed the official position of Chief Mugwump of SBC Voices on September 13, 2010 (my birthday!). My philosophy and commenting policies have gone through quite a bit of (shield your ears) evolution over that time. I've never completely figured out how to corral this herd and have sometimes let things go too far and have perhaps at times come down too quickly and too harshly. In my defense, I'd only suggest you try this job (you can have my salary too) for a week and see how you handle it. I was very … [Read more...] about A Word about SBC Voices: Why Did You Post That? Why Do You Let HIM Comment?

Apparently, if I were a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle I would be Raphael. Yep, you guessed it, I got sucked into one of those ridiculous quizzes on Facebook that I’m certain is some form of a ponzi scheme. Thankfully, I was able to restrain myself and not take the quiz which would have identified which Golden Girl I am. Though now as I write this my curiosity is growing… I just lost. I’m Sophia–that’s which Golden Girl I am. At least I think. Truth be told, I didn’t understand half the questions. So maybe I’m really closer to Bea Arthur. Why in the world is my Facebook feed filled with … [Read more...] about Why I Care Which Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle I Am