SBC Voices

This article is a reflection on "Southern Baptist Identity: An Evangelical Denomination Faces the Future," edited by David S. Dockery. This post is based on the Introduction, "Southern Baptists in the 21st Century," also by David Dockery. The introduction to this series appeared yesterday. How important is your rear-view mirror? It is an important aid in driving, but you cannot make progress through busy streets if all you do is stare behind you! I've known a few Baptists who are trying to steer toward the future by gazing only in their rear-view mirrors! Every problem we face has … [Read more...] about Southern Baptist Identity: Southern Baptists in the 21st Century

I carried on with prayer and Bible study, but the children's ministry took the night off. Some of the leaders stayed home and did some evangelistic stuff in neighborhoods. We had our "Fall Festival" last weekend. I was out of town and haven't heard how things went. Sounds like a lot of churches had Halloween parties (though the word never appears - its all Fall Festival or Harvest Night or whatever cover we use). Those draw big numbers but are they evangelistically effective? Let's talk about it … [Read more...] about How Did Your Church Handle Halloween?

Several years ago, in the "Wild West" days of Baptist blogging, I read a comment made by a prominent blogger, the pastor of a large church, disdaining the viewpoints of several others bloggers who pastored much smaller churches.  Because their churches were smaller than his, their opinions evidently carried less weight than his did. It was strange to see those words on the screen, but they represent a prevalent opinion in the Baptist world - that numbers are an obvious measure of God's blessings. We Baptists tend to be a "bigger is better" bunch. Our denomination is dominated by those who have … [Read more...] about Can We Measure God’s Pleasure? Examining Baptists’ Passion for Numbers

I find myself reading through Judges 19 this morning and my heart absolutely breaking.  The story is one of the inhospitality and wickedness of the men of Gibeah.  Just as in the story of Sodom the men of the city desire to have sexual relations with a male visitor of the city.  Instead of allowing them to devour his guest, the Levite, the hospitable sojourner throws out the Levites concubine and “they knew her and abused her all night until the morning”. The story ends with dead concubine grasping at the threshold of her masters door.  Actually, though her life ends there her story does … [Read more...] about Where is Jesus in Judges 19?

America has now become a “Culture of the Moral Negative.” I am not talking about “negativity,” the bogie man of the new age.   Actually, I am convinced negativity can be honorable.  Of God’s ten laws, eight of them are stated in the negative.  “Thou shalt not.”  That is an 80% negativity rate - from God.  Flawed human beings need limits to inhibit our sinful behavior. But that is another topic. I am talking about the kind of negative we used to get when cameras had something called film inside.   On the photographic negative, everything was reversed; dark colors appear as light and light … [Read more...] about The Culture of the Moral Negative

At various times, when they are not busy pushing one side of a political agenda or another, one of our local TV stations will feature a segment on the news about "Does It Work?" They'll pick an item that is currently popular (read that as "Being featured in infomercials on the competing network") or being talked about on social media and buy one. Then they'll try it out, on camera, and tell you if it works or not. This is not quite the same as the "Will it Blend?" guy, though he's more fun. For us as Southern Baptists, we are going through a portion of our "Does it work?" cycle. Most local … [Read more...] about Does It Work?

I offer the following email exchange that will clarify Dr. Richard Land’s views on Mormonism and my response: First message from Sam Dahl: Dr. McKissic, just wanted to send you a quick FYI about Dr. Land’s position on Mormonism. Here are a few quotes from the article linked below that he wrote for The Christian Post that might give some clarity. When the theologically uninitiated hear this answer (that Mormonism is a cult) they immediately think “Branch Davidians” or “Jim Jones,” and there is a cognitive disconnect. When most people hear Mormonism described as a “cult” they think, … [Read more...] about An Open Apology to Dr. Land for Unintentionally Misrepresenting His Views on Mormonism by Wm. Dwight McKissic, Sr.

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 congregations can answer affirmatively when asked if their worship welcomes those not like them…all are welcome if or when they come.  Where the conflict arises is when a congregation changes its culture in order to be intentionally welcoming to those not like them.  Welcoming worship loves my neighbor as I love myself even if my neighbor is not always lovely. Welcome is passive.  … [Read more...] about Is Your Worship Welcoming to Those Not Like You? (by Dr. David Manner)