SBC Voices

This post was orginally published on Howell's blog, From Law to Grace. Yes Man: a person who agrees with everything that is said; especially: one who endorses or supports without criticism every opinion or proposal of an associate or superior (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) Throughout recorded history, we have always had "yes men" (and women too), those people who simply refused to ask any questions -- much less the hard questions -- of those in leadership.  Given our human nature, that is completely understandable.  After all, who wants to be seen as "difficult" or "divisive?" Those who … [Read more...] about The Proliferation of “Yes Men” in the SBC!

Recently I was in a meeting of sorts with a variety of individuals from different walks of life.  As we tried to talk about the church, the same topic continued to come up.  People talked about how they started going to church and they stopped doing all the stuff they use to do that was bad.  There is a pretty constant list of those behaviors that are not acceptable that we give up in the Christian church, but I wonder as I spend more and more time focusing on discipleship, does behavior modification equate to life transformation?  I am not so sure. Let's look at the list of behaviors that … [Read more...] about Life Transformation vs Behavior Modification

I was listening a few days ago to a radio show that featured an interview with a college basketball coach.  His team had recently pulled off a few surprising victories.  The interviewer acknowledged a good amount of their successes and then asked the coach his thoughts on the games.  The coach, without skipping a beat, threw out a cranky, “we didn’t rebound well”. This is not an anomaly.  I have heard interviews like this numerous times in all my years of following sports.  I even had coaches like this in high school.  No matter how well you play there is always something that can be a … [Read more...] about The Church Should Be Less Like Angry Coaches

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: What Did Jesus Say?

SBC Voices is what I call a blue-collar blog.  We do not have the star power of some of the other active SBC blogs.  We are more of a discussion forum on Baptist issues.  Most of the prominent Baptist blogs focus on the ideas and opinions of one man.  They are good blogs, well worth reading.  But we are a little different.  You come to SBC Voices to talk about the issues you read about on other blogs.  We are a place for average Baptists to have a voice about what is going on in the SBC. At least, that is the goal. For years, we have done something called "Blog Madness" in March.  It's a … [Read more...] about Blue-Collar Blog Madness Coming Soon

I want to share a true story with you. The names have been omitted, except mine, because it's my story and I want to tell it that way. Once upon a time in a good ole SBC legacy state, there was a church. A church with "Together We Build" envelopes in the pews, WMU Circles, a day care, a youth group and grumpy old deacons. The grumpy old deacons were the guardians of everything in that church. There was one, in particular, who knew how to play the politics and play them well. He manipulated the operations of the nominating committee. He forced out youth ministers like a Steinbrenner. He … [Read more...] about SBC Politics and Mixed Emotions

Comrade Brady loses.  Premiere Belichick is defeated. The world, for a few brief moments, is a place of joy … [Read more...] about Once Again, Communism is Defeated!

I'd really like to watch a football game tonight.  Well, I'd like to watch the New York Giants beat the New England Communists, anyway. But I will be taping the game. We have church on Sunday night.  I know a lot of you no longer have Sunday Night services and I've wondered if they are going the way of the dodo bird, the mastodon and Training Union.  But we still have a service every Sunday night.  Sunday night is not a biblical mandate and those who don't have one are not sinning, but it is part of our regular weeking schedule. And I just can't bring myself to cancel the service or … [Read more...] about Brontosaurus Baptist Church: We Are Having Church Tonight

Green Lake Conference Center is gorgeous. Speaking at the Minnesota/Wisconsin pastors/wives retreat has been fun (for me at least). The people are wonderful. Internet and phone service not so great. Hope everyone is behaving. Contributors, take charge if needed but play nice. Someone keep an eye on CB Scott. … [Read more...] about Stranded at Green Lake.

I am excited about what might happen at this month's Executive Committee meeting.  I've been advocating for a name change for some time, so your decision to name this task force and study the issue, thought it has been controversial, was welcome to me. I have no doubt that you will have dealt with these issues thoughtfully and honorably as a task force.  Some of the best minds (and strongest personalities) we have in the SBC are in that group.   You chose well! I'm not going to try to tell you what name you should recommend. That is the part of this whole thing I've never been able to … [Read more...] about An Open Letter to Bryant Wright and the Name-Change Task Force