SBC Voices

One of the more interesting areas of missions growth in recent years is the influx of volunteers to assist in the international missions efforts.  Volunteers have always been around, but the rise of the mega-church has precipitated a parallel increase in the number of people heading to the field on their own dimes. The phrase “mixed blessing” comes to mind.  On one hand, volunteers bring new skill sets and boundless enthusiasm for the task and can help break established missionaries out of a long-view rut.  On the other, volunteers sometimes bring their agendas, ethnocentrism, and ignorance … [Read more...] about A Letter To Missions Volunteers

Does God wound thy spirit, does he make it sick, and dost thou seek to unlawful means for help?  Dost thou go to thy company, to music, to good cheer, to relieve thee?  Oh this provokes God against thee!…those that in trouble of conscience seek for carnal helps, by their vain tampering only render their condition worse.  (Jeremiah Burroughs commenting on Hosea 5:14) There is an assumption that Burroughs is making here that some of our readers may not be willing to agree with.  Namely, Burroughs assumes (as I do) that God is sovereign and everything that happens comes from His hand—whether it … [Read more...] about Turning “Helps” Into Idolatry

Written on behalf of someone I know.... Even though I attended church until I was 16, I didn’t really know the Christmas story.  I was clueless about prophecies and fulfillments, about Herod’s political intrigues, about the communicative appearances of angels for Mary, Joseph, and Zechariah.  Imperial decrees regarding taxation and census meant nothing to me; the role of the shepherds in the Christmas story was a mystery.  When I left the church halfway through high school, I had no idea Christ was the Incarnation, the image of the invisible God. This had nothing to do with the doctrine … [Read more...] about Deafness, Language, Assumptions, and Judges 2:10

The Bible is an interesting book.  It is one story authored over thousands of years that tells us the history of redemption by God in Christ.  It is the wisdom and guidance of God, a love story for sinful human beings; inspired, infallible and inerrant.  The Bible is all of that. And it is also, at times, very confusing.  Admit it.  There are a lot of passages I just don't understand.  There are things God does that boggle my senses and  truths taught in the Bible that blow my mind. And to cap it all off, there are verses that seem to line up on both sides of most issues.  You know it's … [Read more...] about Understanding Antinomy: A Key to Peace in the Calvinism Debate?

Dr. Albert Mohler is to be credited for promoting a helpful theological grid which assigns to each doctrine a level of importance for Christian faith and practice. While his theological triage framework is conceptually sound, one cannot help but wonder about the convenience with which he somewhat avoids the placement of Calvinism. In the above article, for example, no specific mention is made of soteriology, unless one interprets it as among "any number of issues related to the interpretation of difficult texts," a classification rendering it in the relatively unimportant third-tier category, … [Read more...] about Will Calvinism Shed A Tier?

NOTE: I have just released a book which compiles (and edits and expands) these posts. It is called "Disqualified? What the Bible Says about Divorce, Remarriage and Ministry."   It is available on Amazon.com. The Kindle version will be released in the next couple of days - not sure what the hold-up is there. This book reviews the biblical evidence on divorce and remarriage, beginning with the cornerstone in the Old Testament - the twin principles of God's intent of marriage as a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman and the understanding of the brokenness caused by sin. It then lays the … [Read more...] about Divorce, Remarriage and Ministry: A Summary of Biblical Teachings on Divorce

I was listening to Francis Chan, and he made an interesting statement.  If you started a church today and you had no knowledge of a church, never been to a church and never seen a church, all you had was the New Testament, what would your church look like?  That got me thinking, what would a New Testament church look like?  How would we behave?  What would we do?  How would we meet?  Where would we meet and how often?  Is what we have today really a New Testament church? In the New Testament, how many people came and just sat and left?  How many were not radically changed?  In today's … [Read more...] about Church, Are We Doing This Right?

Until I get to visit my grandson. Then I realize how little it really matters. I'll get back to it when I get back to it. … [Read more...] about Blogging seems important….

There is a phrase that I use quite frequently in my preaching, writing, and praying before services.  In some form or fashion I often say that the Christian life is a quest to enjoy what Christ has already purchased.  I doubt that the phrase is original with me (so little is original with me—that’s why I say that).  However, I thought it may be wise to show where I get this notion from Scripture. Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians with two really long run-on sentences (v3-14 and 15-23).  In 1:3-14 Paul outlines the “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” that are ours in … [Read more...] about Enjoying What Christ Purchased