SBC Voices

Haggai leveled an accusation against the people of God, that their priorities were out of order. They were more concerned about their own comfort and ease than they were about building the House of God. Several times, he called them to, "Give careful thought to your ways." Stop what you are doing and think about it, he demanded. Where is your life life headed? Are you on the right path? I think we have lost, by and large, the concept of self-reflection and repentance in much of  the modern church. I had two conversations recently that brought this issue to my attention. First, I … [Read more...] about The Lost Art of Self-Reflection and Repentance

Alan blogs at Downshore Drift, where this article was originally published. We are witnesses to history. Before our eyes, the Civil Religion of America that consisted of "God and Country" is being dismantled piece by piece. One might blame liberal activists as they go after cultural institutions that Christians have depended upon to bolster morality and the idea that America is a Christian nation. But, is that the right place to look?  Al Mohler thinks so.  Yesterday, he addressed the Boy Scouts for changing their policy of forbidding Gay Scouts and Scoutmasters to participate in their … [Read more...] about Al Mohler, the Boy Scouts, and the Great Unraveling (by Alan Cross)

During the Eighteenth Century, in the opening years of the French Revolution, an action was taken that has since faded in history compared to the rest of the chaos that followed after it. Looking to eliminate the abuses in the system of religion at the time, the new governing forces confiscated the lands of the state church of France. Why? To give them to the people and to stop the government-empowerment of a religion that many of the new leaders felt was out-dated, backwards, and destructive for society. If you do not know how the French Revolution turned out, you might want to take … [Read more...] about A Post of Personal Paranoia

Bill blogs at "Broken and Undone." where this was originally published. I read a good article yesterday by David Jones over at The Gospel Coalition blog.  The article offered a biblical look at the issue of Cremation or Burial.  If interested, you can read it here. I do not intend to get into that discussion in this post, but would be interested in hearing your thoughts on that article in the comments section. What I would like to give attention to is Jones’ comment in his conclusion.  He said, “…within the Christian tradition funerals aren’t simply ways of disposing of dead bodies, … [Read more...] about The Glory of Funerals (by Bill Gernenz)

Andy Hynes is a PhD candidate at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. Follow him @ABHYNES on Twitter. This is a question I continue to have concerning the plethora of extremely young children being led by parents or church staff to “ask Jesus into their heart,” or “make a decision to follow Jesus.”  To be honest, what young child that is raised in a “Christian” home and church environment wouldn’t say yeah, “I want to do that?” The problem does not lie in the decision making of the child but the overeager, self-reliant parents and pastoral staff. Infants have historically been … [Read more...] about Paedo Baptists: Is the SBC Abandoning a Doctrinal Cornerstone? (by Andy Hynes)

Heretics usually fall into the role. Seldom does a man wake up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee, read the morning newspaper, put on his clothes, and then stare himself in the mirror and say “Today, thou shall become a heretic”. Heretics usually start by staring in the mirror and saying, “Today, thou shall be a difference maker”. Consider Sabellius. Sabellius became what is now known as a modalist. They were very concerned with maintaining the truth that God is one. They also wanted to maintain that Christ was fully God. Sabellius emphasized these two truths to the neglect of another … [Read more...] about 7 Steps to Becoming a Heretic

This past Sunday Night, I preached from Genesis 3:1-7 and addressed the idea of our having an active enemy. (For those of you with insomnia, audio is here.) However, in prepping for that sermon, I happened to read the rest of the chapter. You know, in the interest of context. Getting to the end of the chapter, something became clearer to me than it has been before. Let me walk you to that point: Often, especially here on this blog, we lament the current state of affairs. We have fussed and fumed across the miles about: 1. The inability of Southern Baptists to get along with each … [Read more...] about Expecting Easy in the Land of the Curse

One positive sign, as of this writing, there were 3179 dislikes on YouTube and only 138 likes. To treat the death of 55 million pre-born babies as fodder for this kind of humor is reprehensible. … [Read more...] about Just When You Think the Death Culture Can’t Sink Any Lower…

One of my closest ministry friends called me this week and asked me for advice about pre-marital counseling. What approach did I take? What materials did I use? Could I recommend books? Let me share a secret with you: After 31 years of doing weddings, I still feel like I stink (substitute the semi-inappropriate word that is more accurate) at pre-marital counseling. In my own humble but correct opinion, I am a Jedi master at funerals. I am okay at helping a couple plan, prepare and perform a wedding ceremony. But premarital counseling is a real struggle. It all started with one of my … [Read more...] about Forum: Tell Me About Your Pre-Marital Counseling