SBC Voices

The story I am about to share with you is over two years old.  Of course, you only have my word for it, but I would put my hand on a stack of Bibles or get hooked up to a lie detector and tell you that I have not made up a single word.  I recently had an "experience" I am trying to make sense of and it got me thinking of this story - originally published at sbcIMPACT in June of 2009. I can tell you two things - I still don't know what to think about this, because it doesn't match my theology of the demonic. Secondly, the young man the story is about is now married, studying for the ministry … [Read more...] about An Encounter with the Demonic in America Today

All week long, my car ran great. Here and there, across town and back, up hills and down; no problems. I turned the key, the engine fired and I was on my way. Then, suddenly, on Friday, a terrible thing happened. I was cruising along when it coughed a couple of times, sputtered, harrumphed, and then quit. Nothing. It would turn over, but not fire. I was stranded. Being the master mechanic that I am, I walked around the car and gave all four tires a firm kick. I opened the hood, jiggled a few wires, pulled and twisted stuff and burned my hand on something hot. But no matter what I did, the … [Read more...] about Living the “Car”stian Life – A Modern Allegory

Thom Rainer posted an article last week called "When Great Churches Fail."  It was an intriguing examination of once great churches that had lost their grip an begun to struggle and dwindle.  He identified three key elements that seem to be common elements in these declines. Hubris. The word means pride or excessive self-confidence. Here it refers to church leaders who have seen great days at their churches, and who are convinced that their churches are the models for others to emulate. They talk about the methods they used, instead of the biblical principles and passions behind the methods. … [Read more...] about Rainer, Why Churches Decline, and the Future of the SBC

This morning I read through a really interesting piece by Walt Harrington on George Dubya Bush.  The whole thing is worthy of a read, but this particular sentence stuck out to me: His only remark about Barack Obama was, as I recall it, “No matter who wins, when he hears what I hear every morning, it will change him.” This reminded me of a comment that John Newton made to John Ryland, Jr., wen the latter found himself in the middle of a very difficult controversy.  Here Newton mentioned the benefit of being a minister in the church of England as opposed to a minister in of an Independent … [Read more...] about Bush on Obama, Newton on Baptists, and SBC Name Changes

Christians today seem to find a way to argue and even divide over just about everything, don't we?  There is a growing rift in some churches and between some Christians over the decision that parents make about how to educate their children. Our four children went to Christian schools, public schools, and even homeschooled a little.  We tried it all.  We found a system that worked well for us - the Miller System of Edumacation!  We put our kids in Christian schools through eighth grade to get a solid foundation, then put them into the public schools where there were educational and … [Read more...] about Educating Our Children and Dividing Our Churches?

There is a lot of debate on blogs about how much part patriotism ought to have in worship services. But on this, there can hardly be debate. On 11/11, we can all agree that the freedoms we enjoy were not free, that they have come to us at the expense of the sweat and sacrifice of those who serve this nation as soldiers.  They live in undesirable places and do undesirable things so I can sit in my recliner and write blogs and sermons in comfort. That kind of sacrifice should be remembered and honored daily, not just once a year. Thank you to those of you who wore the uniform and … [Read more...] about Thank You, Veterans

The Biblical call for humility among believers is common, well-known, and needs no citation here.  The implications of humility, though, require some attention. Humility is not saying, "I'm bad, I stink, I'm a loser.  I'll never accomplish anything for Him because I can't."  Statements like this simply assert that the Spirit has bestowed nothing on us and that Christ did not die for us.  There's a technical word for that: heresy.  Oh, and lest you think I am wagging my fingers at others who have behaved shamefully, allow me to add this: To the best of my knowledge, I'm bad.  I stink.  … [Read more...] about The Hardest Part of Humility

"[F]or God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control" 2 Timothy 1:7 I believe that, but I am seeing a spirit of fear in Christians today, and it makes me nervous. It seems like Christians are afraid to stand up for things, we are afraid of the world. We are afraid of the school systems, we are afraid of tricker-treaters, we are afraid of the corporate world, the secular world, we are afraid of those who can kill the body, even though Jesus told us not to be.  We hid ourselves, our kids and we try not to let the world get to us, as we wait for the magical pre-mill … [Read more...] about What Are We So Afraid Of?

I'm not shutting these posts down or anything, but the discussion seems to be winding down to the "gnawing on the bones" phase, so let me do a little post-mortem observation. This is, of course, my opinion, which I hardly need to say you are free to disagree with. 1)  The thirst for discussions of Calvinism is almost unquenchable.  If you look at the statistics here the last 48 hours, you will see that.  I try not to write things just to "stir things up" but if I was going to do that, I'd either write about alcohol or about Calvinism. 2)  I remain convinced that the Calvinism issue is … [Read more...] about Epilogue (at least for now) to our Calvinism Discussions

I have done this post before, but always enjoy the conversation it brings. Here would be my (current) primary, secondary, and tertiary issues: PRIMARY: Trinity Hypostatic Union Christ's Resurrection Christ's Second-Coming Authority and Inerrancy of Scripture The Virgin Birth Subsitutionary Atonement Justification by Faith Alone SECONDARY Calvinism/Arminianism Cessationsim/Continuationism/Charismaticism Believer's/Infant Baptism Women in Ministry Denomination (usually informed by secondary issues within Orthodoxy) TERTIARY Church … [Read more...] about What is Primary? (Round Two)