SBC Voices

“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” John Donne Let me tell you about my preacher friend, Edwin.  He’s been struggling personally since his wife left him.  He made some mistakes along the way, I suppose.  Allegations.  Investigations.  … [Read more...] about Christian Islands, Part 1

Do you believe in signs? Just as we are getting ready to head to NOLA for the SBC, at which the "Great Commission Baptist" moniker will be on the docket, an amazing event has taken place. ABC has cancelled that piece of putrid filth known as "GCB", or "Good Christian Belles" or whatever it used to be! Could this be a sign from above, a sort of imprimatur on the name-change? After all, several people argued that the presence of the GCB show should prevent us from using Great Commission Baptists as our moniker.  So, is this not a clear message that we should adopt the name?  Am I … [Read more...] about You Make the Call: Proof We Should Adopt “GCB”?

It is raging.  I've been travelling so much and only keeping up with  blogging by phone, but I've seen the Steve Gaines video all over the internet. Bart Barber has posted the two videos I copied  below and gave an interesting analysis of the topic, comparing the Sinner's Prayer to a wedding vow - both can  be either a real commitment or just the recitation of empty words. I thought this might be a good Sunday discussion here at Voices.  So, here are two divergent youtube videos - one by David Platt and one by Steve Gaines. Now, here is Steve Gaines.   Here's my two … [Read more...] about The “Ask Jesus into Your Heart” Debate

Editor: Ken Hamrick blogs at "Biblical Realist" and lives in Ohio.  I appreciate Ken' submission of this post.  I fully agree that we have to realize the dangers of splintering and polarization.   The quiet majority is being ignored whenever the more vocal proponents of either extreme frame the argument with the assumption that there is no valid, substantial and established middle path. As Southern Baptists, we have never been fully Calvinist or Arminian. If we had been fully Calvinist, we would have been "Reformed Baptist," with a heavy emphasis on covenants, Calvinism and creedal standards. … [Read more...] about Our Enemy is Neither Calvinism nor Arminianism, but Polarization (By Ken Hamrick)

There are blogs I love and other blogs I don't really like. Maybe you care about my opinions, perhaps you don't. But I spent a lot of time on the road recently.  Blogging is way to big a part of my life and takes up way too much of my limited brain capacity, so I spent some time ruminating on what I liked and disliked about blogs. So, here's what I came up with. 1) I love blogs that have variety and interest; I don't like narrow-focus blogs. I'm not a big fan of blogging crusades - it gets old real quick. I am amazed at the ability of some people to chew the same meat forever. When a … [Read more...] about Blogs I Like; Blogs I…Well…Not So Much!

1.  President Obama has betrayed the Bible and the Black Church with his endorsement of same-sex marriage. The Bible is crystal clear on this subject, and the Black Church strongly opposes same-sex marriage. His endorsement is an inadvertent attack on the Christian Faith. America is now a candidate for the same judgment received by Sodom and Gomorrah. This was a sad, sad day and a very bad decision, by our beloved President. The moral impact of this day and decision is equal to the military impact of AL-Queda when they attacked the Twin Towers on 911. Today’s announcement is a moral earthquake … [Read more...] about A RESPONSE TO PRESIDENT OBAMA’S DECISION TO ENDORSE SAME-SEX MARRIAGES (By Wm. Dwight McKissic, Sr.)

Editor: When I read about Richard Land's recent meeting and his apology, my first thought was to wonder what Pastor Dwight McKissic thought about it.  I was thrilled that he offered this post with his reflections for our consideration.  Thank you, Dwight! God said, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14) It was my contention that Dr. Richard Land needed to publicly apologize—own and disown his words –as it … [Read more...] about HEALING THE “LAND”: AN APOLOGY I CAN FULLY ACCEPT (By Wm. Dwight McKissic, Sr.)

I've heard the mantra for at least a decade now: "Southern Baptists are known more for the things we are AGAINST than the things we are FOR!" It's a pretty decent applause line for a sermon. I've probably used it myself somewhere along the way. But I'm beginning to rethink the logic behind it, for reasons I will explain. Frankly, I'm not sure we can solve this problem ourselves because the perception others have of us is actually the factor driving the concern. This places us at the mercy of those who have never proven merciful to us in the past. The problem is not so much our position as … [Read more...] about Why I’m FOR Being AGAINST

I am hesitant to call myself a Theologian, it sounds a little arrogant, so I am going to let you judge whether or not I deserve that title.  I am not sure how one gets the qualifications.  That is not the point of my blog, so you can drop a quick comment, but let's not focus on what the qualifications of theologian are. You probably know that I call myself a Wovenist, I have written some blogs about it and shared it in some comments.  Dave Miller's recent blog got me thinking more and more about it.  The reason I call it Woven Theology is because it's the weaving of man's responsibility and … [Read more...] about Meditations of a Woven Theologian