SBC Voices

It’s about Jesus and the Bible.  I think that’s enough said on that one. It’s theologically deep.  Southern Baptists are a broad group.  You won’t have any curriculum produced by anyone that represents the broad spectrum of theology.  This is why the BF&M2000 is a “wide tent” in many areas.  To present every side is overkill, to present a general gloss is shallow.  This stretches us to ponder... It draws from a variety of sources throughout the church and church history.  There’s a Simpson’s episode where the Simpsons end up in heaven…a heaven that is divided into different parts … [Read more...] about 7 Reasons Why I Am Enthusiastically Using the Gospel Project

It is no secret that I am weary of the incessant and petty bickering about Calvinism that has marked so much of the SBC's discussion, and has been the driving force on blogs. Frankly, that is all that some people want to talk about. But maybe that is only because that is all we've given them to talk about. We have a big God and a big Bible and there are lots of interesting topics to write about. Ecclesiology. Ministry strategies. Missions. Engaging culture. There are a lot of things that we could talk about that are more important than the kerfuffle that has marked us.  Honestly, I never … [Read more...] about I Need Your Help – Contributions Needed (Articles, not Money!)

Editor: I read this post at Trevin's site and thought it was brilliant. Trevin was gracious enough to offer it to me to repost here.  I am grateful for that. Enjoy! There is never a dull moment when the Wax family gets together. We are all opinionated, loud, and passionate. Just ask our spouses. Or our kids. We have never been the kind of family who gets together at holidays and birthdays and wastes time with chitchat. Polite conversation is boring. So we tend to focus on subjects you’re not supposed to discuss in polite company. Politics and theology dominate. Sometimes, when I see … [Read more...] about Denominations Ought to Be More Like Family (by Trevin Wax)

As I have been in and around churches, I have served in several capacities, I found that churches often struggle with balance. Some are great at outreach and stink at discipleship. Some are great at ministry, but the worship is lacking. Some have great Sunday School but no real community ministry. Some how powerful preaching but lack ministry to members. Balance is a hard thing to accomplish, and often I see it as a result of the pastor's personality and style. The pastor leads, the flock follows. Pastors, leaders and teachers need to develop a TEAM approach. First, a church must be … [Read more...] about Church should be a TEAM activity

Some years ago, I was invited to speak at a statewide conference for pastors of mission churches. Northbrook Baptist in Cedar Rapids nearly quadrupled in size within a few years, so I was asked to share what we had done that others could do to grow as we had.  I was to share the methods and strategies we employed so that Iowa mission pastors could see what was working and imitate it at their churches. Such a Baptist thing to do, right? I found the entire premise of the conference somewhat silly – whatever was happening at Northbrook was a unique work of God that could not and should not be … [Read more...] about Failing in the Center of God’s Will

Owen Strachan had an interesting post last week in which he reflected on another article on the prevalence of boasting in modern social media. I won't repeat it, but I would recommend it if you haven't already read it. He talks about the danger of letting social media become a tool for self-promotion and braggadocio. It is certainly a struggle to walk that fine line. I've noticed something that bothers me. Maybe I'm just being crotchety in my advancing old age. But I've noticed that same kind of struggle in our promotion of our churches in social media. It seems to me that we walk a … [Read more...] about The Fine Line between Praising and Bragging

When is the last time someone called you gentle? If you are anything like me, it may have been a while. Most men, a good number of women and most leaders (regardless of gender) are often less than gentle. There is a honor and dignity for being hard, harsh and forceful. There doesn't seem to be a lot of respect for being gentle. Unfortunately, the church has taken a cue from the world on this one, and gentleness goes out the window. There are some overwhelming problems with this tendency. First, I think it's forgotten that gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit.  That means when we are not … [Read more...] about Are You A Teddy Bear?

Jared Moore has written previously on this site of the need for moral self-control.  If I understand him correctly, he rails against (for example) those who would blame women and their attire for causing men to think lusty thoughts.  Mr. Moore argues that personal purity means controlling our actions, urges, thoughts, and desires regardless of the images we see or opportunities we have. I think he is absolutely correct. Personal purity is not saying, "Hey, I'm working hard over here to be good, so could you take your clothes or your movies or your books and go elsewhere?  I really don't … [Read more...] about Even God Walks Away

Saw this over at Denny Burk's site, then followed it to Youtube. Would ESPN intentionally cut away from a Tebow-related discussion because it got too "religious?" I'm guessing this is just a glitch, but it is a very suspiciously-timed one!   … [Read more...] about Did Skip Bayless get Censored for Talking about Tebow’s Faith?