I have shared quite a bit about the fantastic, life-sustaining fellowship I experienced with pastors from other churches and other denominations in Cedar Rapids. Because of the grace God gave in our fellowship, we ended up engaging in several citywide ministries, most of which were also blessed. But one such attempt led me to a […]
Creating a Culture of Transparency in the SBC By Disclosing Executive Pay
Component Two: Making Our Values Transparent: We must also work toward the creation of a new and healthy culture within the Southern Baptist Convention. If we are to grow together and work together in faithfulness to the command of Christ, we must establish a culture of trust, transparency, and truth among all Southern Baptists. . […]
Brick Walls, Picket Fences (3): Building Brick Walls – Doctrine That Must Divide!
In the 1930’s an ominous power was rising in Europe. Adolph Hitler was consolidating his power and preparing his campaign to devour Europe and eliminate the Jewish People. Great Britain’s prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, tried everything he could to avoid war. He coddled and appeased Hitler, trying to make peace with an evil man. As […]
Why I love serving in established churches…
Not long ago a blogger who had faced some difficult times in his ministry wrote: “I would rather be a missionary in the most dangerous, anti-Christian place in the world than try to revitalize an existing, traditional Southern Baptist church.” Though I don’t personally know that blogger, I have friends who share his sentiment and […]
Al Mohler and the Southern Seminary Singers: “The Twelve Days of Christmas”
(I have no idea where this came from, and for the record, Al Mohler had nothing to do with it, but it made me laugh).
FYI: About Commenting and Moderation
Being named editor of SBC Voices was a birthday present for me (September 13). It is a great privilege. I enjoy writing and interacting with people and this has been exciting. However, there is one aspect of this that is no fun at all. It is moderating comments. We have some pretty “lively” exchanges on […]
My Three Churches: The Church in the New Testament
A few days ago, Mike Bergman asked the question, “What is a Church?” His post and the good discussion that followed put me in mind of a post I did some time ago at sbcIMPACT. I thought it might be good to update and repost that article. For a couple of years, when Baptist Identity […]
“Grinch Alert” – The Battle for Christmas Gets Just Plain Silly
Even good people can sometimes do some bewildering things. I have no axe to grind with either Dr. Robert Jeffress or the people of First Baptist Church of Dallas. But I’m going to go out on a limb and say that their foray into the “War on Christmas” was not a good idea. They created […]
A Narnian Fundamentalist Reviews “Voyage of the Dawn Treader”
I visited Narnia often in my youth, and I had spent many years in Middle Earth before it became part of popular American culture. I love these books. In fact, they pretty much ruined me for fiction. Every time I’d read a book, I’d think, “That’s okay, but its not Narnia or Middle Earth.” I […]
What is a Church?
In my church we recently had a conversation that is part of what I see as a larger and worrisome attitude in the church at large (at least here in America). It’s the attitude that exalts the individual over the corporate body in our faith—the attitude that emphasizes a personal relationship with Jesus over and […]
Radically Redefining Transparency in the SBC: Part 2
Containing updates and revisions to interact with Dave Miller’s post, “Combating the Culture of Secrecy in the SBC: Trust the People!” this post was originally published at FromLaw2Grace on July 19, 2010. Transparency and openness, whether in government or in a religious organization like the Southern Baptist Convention, is a principle which almost everyone agrees with […]
Help Me! The People I Agree with Are Being Ridiculous!
Please note: I started this blog post with the idea it would go on my blog and be, well, read by about 3 people. Then I was honored with a request to put something up over here. In the interest of not making you wait for me to write perfectly, you’ll get what I’ve got. […]