SBC Voices

Dr. David W. Manner is the Director of Worship and Administration at the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists. He blogs at http://kncsb.org/blogs/dmanner. You can follow him on Twitter:  @dwmanner.  Charles Dickens told the story of an orphaned nine-year-old boy Oliver Twist.  Oliver and scores of other orphans toiled in the miserable existence of a workhouse.  The boys worked long hours subsisting on three paltry meals of gruel, a watery food substance of unknown character offering little nutritional value.  On one occasion, the boys drew lots to determine who would represent them … [Read more...] about Please Sir, I Want Some More: Is Symbolism in the Ordinances Enough? (by David Manner)

There is no doubt that the slippery slope argument is abused and has earned its position as a logical fallacy. Politicians use the argument to create fear and loathing against the policies they oppose. "If we allow this, the whole world will fall apart." Because the argument is often abused, it tends to be discounted whenever it is used. "That is just a slippery slope argument." It must be invalid. But, folks, sometimes the slope really is slippery. Sometimes, a relatively small step can lead us over the edge and send us sliding down a dangerus slope. I have lived in Iowa for 31 of my 55 … [Read more...] about The Marriage Debates: Sometimes, the Slope Really Is Slippery!

Editor: Rob Freshour is the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of South Lyon, Michigan. I am going to risk some stuff today with this article.  I am going to risk my reputation.  I am going to risk your opinion of pastors and of me as a pastor.  In fact, I am going to risk the safe ground for a higher ground, a more adventurous and more fulfilling ground, to be sure, but also a less-charted and more dangerous ground. Who are your heroes, and why?  My dad liked John Wayne.  I favor the same archetype in James Bond or Clint Eastwood.  My sons look up to Jack Bauer or Chuck Norris.  We … [Read more...] about The Great Risk (by Rob Freshour)

...You know, those days you can remember where you were and what you were doing. ...Those days that are forever burned in your mind and heart. I was having a pastor's fellowship meeting in my home that was to start around 9 AM (CDT). I was ready and so I thought I'd turn on the TV and watch something until my friends arrived. It must have been 8:03, because just as the TV came on, and as the announcers were talking about the plane that flew into the North Tower, a plane flew into the South Tower and a fireball erupted. There could be no doubt at that moment that America was under attack. … [Read more...] about It Was One of Those Days…

We may have had this discussion around here, but I think it's time to crack it open again. One thing about the Southern Convention of Great Commission Baptists is that, from a denominational perspective, we have no education requirements for our ministers. We have no central standard for ordination, and even our statement of faith is optional for those serving in churches. (I know to be NAMB/IMB/Lifeway you have to agree. Not sure about Guidestone.) This is the reality, and it's connected to our belief in local church autonomy. After all, the seminaries and boards exist to serve the … [Read more...] about Self-Education Help

 Joe Blackmon attends an SBC church in Tennessee.  He blogs at Hear God Speak.  You can follow him on Twitter @joe_blackmon_72 “It’s for your own good.” Did your mother ever tell you that? Mine did on a few occasions—usually when I had some medicine I didn’t want to take or perhaps when I had started an activity (tee ball) that I didn’t want to finish. Now that I look back, I’m thankful that she, well for lack of a better word, forced me to do what it was she was telling me to do. While it may have been unpleasant at the time, it was for my good as I can clearly recognize now. As Christians, … [Read more...] about II Peter 3:15a The Four Imperatives of a Forward Looking Faith Part II (by Joe Blackmon)

I preached on this text the other evening: Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. (1 Peter 3:7 ESV) It’s sad that for many our first response to this text is to be chaffed because Peter refers to the woman as the “weaker vessel”.  And in some ways I understand that because guys can be jerks and use texts like this one to promote their insecure theology.  Yet if we aren’t careful we’ll neuter the beauty of this text … [Read more...] about One Reason Your Prayers May Be Hindered

Monday is a bad day for me. I am trying to recover each week from the "Southern Hills Marathon" - my normal Sunday Study/Preaching schedule. I'm no spring chicken anymore and it leaves me exhausted. I usually start my day with a long list of things I want to do, then tend to squander the day reading blog posts and sometimes writing them. That's what I've been doing this morning. Lo and behold, there was some good stuff up there. I would recommend Bart Barber's insightful post asking whether Catholicism is actually a monotheistic religion. Well worth reading. Ed Stetzer (I'm guessing most … [Read more...] about The Dangers of Theology

I get annoyed sometimes watching sports - and not just because my teams usually lose. I get annoyed with fans and with announcers and even with participants. I think I have discovered a solution: the PDC. A Paintball Discipline Crew will attend all American sporting events, armed with paintball guns, to deliver discipline when needed. This is a badly overdue thing. Here are some circumstances when such a crew could be helpful. 1) Every time someone at a golf tournament yells, "Get in the hole" immediately after a shot, the PDC will descend on him and pepper him with 50 to 100 tiny balls … [Read more...] about The Sports World Needs PDC (Paintball Discipline Crews)