SBC Voices

Christmas Preaching: What Do You Do?

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I'm in my Sunday School hour break - recuperating from the 8:30 service and readying for 11:00. I am between series right now (finished Proverbs and didn't want to start something new until after the holidays).  So, I preached a Christmas-themed sermon today. That means I will probably preach 4 Christmas sermons during this year - it's not easy to keep that many sermons fresh and free of sappy sentimentality. I have often said that the reason pastors move from church to church is that they run out of fresh ideas for Christmas. I was at my last church 14 Christmases, and this is my 8th … [Read more...] about Christmas Preaching: What Do You Do?

A Hill On Which To Live

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Earlier this week, it was my pleasure to visit the campus of Southwestern Seminary for the first time in many years. Not certain what to expect, I came away pleasantly surprised and profoundly impressed with the tremendous progress being made at my alma mater. Allow me to highlight just a few areas where God's Hand is clearly at work: New Student Housing: Chad, a student from Georgia who read Scripture in Chapel, was kind enough to take me to dinner and show me the new student housing that is still being constructed in phases. Suffice it to say that the new units are attractive and … [Read more...] about A Hill On Which To Live

3 Reasons I’m Not a Fan of the “I Went to Heaven” Books

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Within the last couple of years I have had an influx of requests from publishers to read and review a host of “I went to heaven” books.  The more popular varieties of these books have often led many within our congregation to ask whether or not I’ve read these books and what I thought. I’ll start out by saying that more than likely I have not read the books.  I’ve maybe skimmed a couple of them.  Before you criticize me, though, for dogging books that I haven’t read please hear me say that you don’t need to read the books to make these statements.  The very presence of the books is the … [Read more...] about 3 Reasons I’m Not a Fan of the “I Went to Heaven” Books

Are We Entering a Post-Cooperative Program Era in SBC Life?

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I am a CP guy. My current church gives 12% to missions through the Cooperative Program and that is the smallest percentage of the 4 churches I have been involved in during my 31 years of ministry. A couple of my churches gave in the neighborhood of 20% and my last church was giving near 15% - I believe in the Cooperative Program! I think it is an amazing and genius idea that has enabled us to fund an unparalleled world missions program. I have fought against tendencies to fix our church's financial problems by cutting missions giving - that is the easy way out, and I am convinced, the wrong … [Read more...] about Are We Entering a Post-Cooperative Program Era in SBC Life?

What I Have Learned from Dwight McKissic about Racial Reconciliation in the SBC

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It can always be a little bit of a minefield for a lily-white Iowa guy like me (not enough sun to even maintain a decent tan!) to talk about racial issues. Years ago, my church and my association in Cedar Rapids were making specific efforts to reach out and fellowship with a predominantly black church in town. We had a wonderful joint service. A representative of our state convention was there and stood to make remarks about the meeting. In the process, he made a statement that made me cringe and evidently gave great offense to the choir from the black church. He was simply trying to say … [Read more...] about What I Have Learned from Dwight McKissic about Racial Reconciliation in the SBC

Why Born-Again Believers Should Boycott the Jamie Foxx Movie “Django Unchained” (by Wm. Dwight McKissic, Sr)

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Wm Dwight McKissic, Sr. is the pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, TX. He blogs at Wm Dwight McKissic, Sr. While watching the Dallas Cowboys versus the Washington Redskins on Thanksgiving Day, I was excited to see the advertisement of the Christmas Day release of a movie featuring Jamie Foxx entitled, “Django Unchained.” I am not a movie-goer. I am a man in love with my wife, and she loves to go to movies. Therefore, from three to six times a year, we make our way to the movies together. One of our favorite times to go together is during the Christmas Holidays. This … [Read more...] about Why Born-Again Believers Should Boycott the Jamie Foxx Movie “Django Unchained” (by Wm. Dwight McKissic, Sr)

Practical Missions: When What You Are Clashes with Where You Are

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An enormous part of cross cultural missions is the examination our worldview and our behaviors.  In order to separate our own cultural understanding from the Bible's message, we're duty-bound to carefully study both the Bible and our own cultural perspectives.  Additionally, we must find ways that our non-biblical cultural views (time, money, family, nature) differ from local views.  We change how we act in the non-essentials of life while holding firmly to what we believe to be true about the Bible. Simple to say, yet not easy to accomplish.  However, since we are changing our thinking and … [Read more...] about Practical Missions: When What You Are Clashes with Where You Are

New wrinkle to the Cooperative Program (by William Thornton)

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William Thornton is the SBC Plodder and always has an interesting take on the happenings in the SBC South Carolina Baptists are doing something that ought to raise at lease a single eyebrow around the Southern Baptist Convention. They are taking a significant portion of their Cooperative Program receipts from the churches and sending it directly to the International Mission Board thereby bypassing the Executive Committee, all of the seminaries, the North American Mission Board, and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. I am unaware of any other state convention taking this … [Read more...] about New wrinkle to the Cooperative Program (by William Thornton)