SBC Voices

I have been attending a Southern Baptist church since nine months before I was born.  I have never been a member of a church that was not Southern Baptist, nor attended a non-SBC church on a regular basis.  I am a Southern Baptist preacher's kid, and my parents served as SBC missionaries for one term while I was growing up.  I was educated at an SBC-affiliated college and graduated from Southwestern Seminary. I am pretty much Baptist born and Baptist bred.  And I have always assumed that I would serve out my years as a pastor of a Southern Baptist church. That is still my hope and goal.  I … [Read more...] about Toward Forging a New SBC Majority

Once upon a time, a young man named Sam Clark went off to college. While there, he met a young lady named Betty and they were soon married. By the generous grace of God, Sam and Betty Clark had many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, generation after generation of offspring and their numbers continued to grow. As their numbers increased, their geographic spread grew greater and soon you could find members of the Clark family all over the world. With so many people in the family of Sam and Betty Clark, it comes as no surprise that they didn’t all agree on everything. But one … [Read more...] about The (Almost) True Story of the Clark Family (by Chris Roberts)

Before anyone asks, I live where "Mind your grammar" means "Obey the Ma of your Pa" so leave me alone on the "ain't." :) Back in 2009, I heard of a nifty little effort to get Southern Baptists from across the board to digitally sign on to a call for us to re-examine our denominational structures in an effort to stop the embarrassing problem of more missionaries than we have money. I read through the statements given, took them at face value, and then gladly attached my name to the call for a Great Commission Resurgence in the Southern Baptist Convention. The following summer, I even voted … [Read more...] about Why I Ain’t Signing Anything Anymore

The problem in the SBC is not primarily theological.  I believe our theological issues and discussions mask a deeper spiritual problem, a heart problem that is demonstrated in abundance as we speak to one another. We all say we can live together and walk in unity, united around the BF&M, our sound and simple doctrinal statement to which all involved in this debate subscribe. Dr. Mohler, in his recent response to the traditionalist document, pointed out that we should be glad we are discussing something like the theology of salvation.  We are not arguing over whether the Bible is true or … [Read more...] about STOP IT! A Plea for Grownup Conversation in the SBC

However, the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing."  (2Sa 24:24 NAS) A few weeks ago, I attended a conference where I was one of the speakers.  At the end of the meeting, an old friend came up and stood by my side as he extolled my wonderful character and devotion to mission work.  As usual, he came to the issue of sacrifice.  “Jeremy and his family have sacrificed all in order to serve the Lord as missionaries.  They have set aside so many of their own wants in order to go … [Read more...] about Past Tense Sacrifice, Present Tense Service

Drew Wales blogs at SBC Heritage Last week, a document was released that generated so much traffic websites crashed. I disagree with many points in the document and I have seen some very well crafted responses to the errors and misrepresentations contained in the document. Eric Hankins’ document does not get to the heart of what it means to be a “traditional” Southern Baptist. The theological position in the document is nothing new so there was little concern on my part with positions brought forward, but I am concerned with the divisive nature of the document.  Here is why I disagree with … [Read more...] about The Traditional Southern Baptist (by Drew Wales)

I’ll need to know where to go to forfeit my man card once I reveal this confession.  Last winter my wife introduced me to a new series on ABC called Once Upon a Time.  I don’t merely endure this show.  I actually look forward to it coming on and my wife and I have made it a Sunday evening tradition.  Fellas, as soon as your laughter and disdain dies down a little try to stomach this video: I would have liked to have gotten a little better quality video without editing but this was the best that I could find.  The main thing for you to take away from this is what Rumpelstiltskin about … [Read more...] about Magic Always Comes with a Price: The Conservative Resurgence and Calvinism

Pelagianism teaches that Adam was merely a bad example whose sin brought injury to himself and no one else. In this view, everyone born after Adam is the same as Adam was before the fall. This heresy is a denial of the doctrine of original sin. It is expressly rebuked in Article Two of A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God's Plan of Salvation: We affirm that, because of the fall of Adam, every person inherits a nature and environment inclined toward sin and that every person who is capable of moral action will sin.  Semi-Pelagianism is a milder form of the … [Read more...] about I Am NOT a Semi-Pelagianist