SBC Voices

I was very critical, in an article yesterday, of a Baptist church that refused to perform the wedding of a black couple in their church. Some have been critical of the pastor, Dr. Stan Weatherford for his actions. I have not bashed him for two reasons. First, I know he was faced with a difficult choice. He probably wishes he made a different one.  But there is a second reason.  I once walked in his shoes. It was nearly 25 years ago and I was a young preacher. I look back on my own actions with less than complete satisfaction.  I hope I would do differently now. If you have pastored in a racist … [Read more...] about A Story of My Own Failure in a Racial Challenge

The Clarion-Ledger newspaper of Jackson, MS, is running an article today detailing overt racism at a church that is evidently affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, according to the Mississippi Baptist Convention's church directory and on the SBCnet church search. There is nothing on their website that identifies the church as Southern Baptist (thank God).  However, they are listed on both the SBC and MBC websites as part of us and the stain of their racism is on all of us until we do something about it. I would encourage you to follow the link above and read the story before you … [Read more...] about Shameful, Public Racism in an SBC Church: A Test Case for Racial Reconciliation?

It was an easy task.  At least it should have been. Yet, if you ask my wife why our garbage disposal leaks she can quickly point the finger to the time that I took the whole thing apart, breaking the seals, and everything to “fix it”.  No need for a professional or an expert.  I’m a husband AND I’ve stayed at a Holiday Inn.   Even though I have no idea how a garbage disposal works I’m pretty certain that its not a big deal and I’ll figure it out as I go along.  After all how hard can it really be to get my garbage disposal to stop sounding like a pterodactyl giving birth? Had it been … [Read more...] about Grace for the Little Things

Todd Littleton blogs at The Edge of the Inside. He wrote a four part series reflecting on the 2012 SBC Annual Meeting through the lens of offering his first ever motion on the floor of the SBC and its demise as Ruled Out of Order. While the nexus of his thoughts turn on a singular incident, Todd finds it illustrative for what ails us. Rather than post these in series form, Todd offers them as stand alone posts. His first post on the subject ran here at Voices and Part 2 here. Maybe what he offers is a Minority Report or as his chosen website title indicates, a perspective from the Edge. I … [Read more...] about Needed: Conviction Above Procedure

A few years ago, I preached a sermon with this title. Lately, I have been thinking more about this. I have been reading a lot of blogs discussing what is wrong with the modern church and what we can do to fix it, and I think one of the problems that is the most troubling is the phenomena of inoculated Christians. Let me explain what I mean by the term so we have something to work with. The type of inoculation I am speaking of is a reference to the process of "immunizing" against a more serious threat. The dictionary definition is something like this: to introduce immunologically active … [Read more...] about Innoculated Christianity

By now, most of us are familiar with the overall situation that has occurred at Penn State University. To sum up, a sexual predator was found out, covered up, and enabled across quite a few years. This was done in an effort to protect the overall reputation of the institution and of specific individuals related to the school. Money, power, and entertainment were also a factor. Now that has all unraveled and legacies have been tarnished, one criminal is headed to prison, additional trials await, and the school and community are a wreck. Added to all of this has come the next blow: the NCAA, … [Read more...] about Outdone by the World