SBC Voices

While all eyes seem fixed on the EC meeting next week, a significant step in addressing sexual abuse in the SBC took place this morning at the ERLC trustee meeting. In June, a motion was made at the SBC annual meeting calling for an “audit and assessment of sexual abuse within the SBC.” That motion was referred to the ERLC whose trustees met in Nashville this week. The executive committee of the ERLC (not to be confused with the SBC Executive Committee) recommended to the full board both a statement of support in response to the motion and initial funding and first steps in implementing the … [Read more...] about ERLC Trustees Initiate an Assessment of Sexual Abuse in the SBC

I received a secret transcript of a meeting that took place in the other realm, a meeting of the Intergenerational Heroes of Freedom. They met to tell their stories of heroism during their often too brief stays here on earth. There were freedom fighters and those who resisted tyrants from all over the globe and throughout time. Many of them still bore the marks of their torture. The first to speak was a Polish woman who described how she fought to the death in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II. Refusing to flee to safety, she stood with her compatriots against the German army and … [Read more...] about The Minutes of the First Meeting of the Intergenerational Heroes of Freedom

My parents hadn't met when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. I was in first grade when the teacher gathered us around in our reading circle to tell us that President Kennedy had been shot and did not grasp the historical import of the moment. I was watching when Reagan was shot and went outside my Florida home to peruse the weird cloud in the sky caused by the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle.  All of these were major moments in our modern history. None of them compare to the shock and awe that gripped us the day America came under attack - September 11, 2001. It is hard to … [Read more...] about Twenty Years Since THE Day

For those who don’t know me personally but randomly find me on social media, I often get the question: "What does your social media name mean? Pray Or Die!” Some people understand immediately and others find it to be a little harsh without a complete understanding. In 2006 when I was a college student in the Atlanta University Center that consist historically black colleges such as Clark-Atlanta University, Morehouse, Morris Brown, Spelman and The Interdenominational Theological Center I was invited to church by a peer. This service was different. This service was a prayer service. It … [Read more...] about “Pray Or Die!” an Urgent Call to Prayer Dallas, Ft. Worth and the State of Texas (by Erik Vance)

I recently read a story about a baptism, a young girl who was the eighth generation of her family in that one church. That's a lot of 'begats.' Most people wouldn't be able to come up with names for eight generations of their family. Eight generations back from my grandchildren would reach to my great-great-great grandparents. Having spent fifty years researching family genealogy, I can list that far back from memory which would include some direct ancestors born in the late eighteenth century and quite a few Civil War veterans. Most people have a real life and deal with live folks. I … [Read more...] about The eighth generation church member and pastors’ suspicion of multi-generation church families

An amazing thing has happened in Texas and at the Supreme Court in the last 24 hours. Texas passed a law that prohibited abortion after 6 weeks, when a heartbeat is heard. (NOTE: I am not an expert on the law or on these laws, so I am representing them the best I can - this is in no way legal analysis). Laws against partial-birth abortion have been passed and other limitations on abortion have become state law and then been struck down in the courts or by SCOTUS. Last night, our new conservative court let this restriction stand. The Texas law, which may face a series of challenges, is now … [Read more...] about This Is Why the SBC Resolution on Abortion HAD to Be Amended

An update from Religion News Service. Dan Darling is a gentle man of God who advocates for godly conversation and a biblical regard for one another as fellow image-bearers. He has written excellent books on online conversation and how we can better reflect Christ in them. In his conversations with others, he lives that out. Dan recently left the ERLC to become Senior Vice President of Communications for the National Religious Broadcasters Association. Dan published an article at USA Today by the title, "Why, as a Christian and an American, I got the COVID Vaccine." On August 2, Dan … [Read more...] about Have We Lost Our Minds?

This according to longtime convention attorney, Jim Guenther, and is the estimate for ascending liability lawsuits where someone has a problem in a local SBC-affiliated church and sues the Executive Committee or SBC. There has never been a successful lawsuit of this type. Yes, I understand that the current matter is gravely serious and involves deplorable and heinous sins. My hope and prayer is for the SATF to do their work efficiently and sensibly and come to the end by helping the SBC and its churches in the matters involved. You can read what Guenther says about ascending liability … [Read more...] about SBC’s record is 50-0 in lawsuits