In my part of Georgia we’ve been locked down for weeks. The last in-person church service I attended was March 15th. Here are a few things I’ve noticed. You can add yours in a comment. If you think about it, it’s absolutely amazing that the populace has responded quickly and cooperatively to the crisis. Almost […]
There’s a new, independent database for Baptist clergy abusers and alleged abusers
The longtime goal of some abuse victims and their advocates is for the SBC to fund and manage a database of convicted, confessed, and credibly accused clergy abusers. The Executive Committee of the SBC has long declined to take this step. The concrete proposals I have seen call for the Executive Committee to create and […]
The SBC, Pastors, and Partisan Politics: Nailing My Theses on the Wall
I believe that the 2020 presidential election season has the potential to be one of the final nails in the coffin of the SBC. If we continue on our current course we may well see this as the point at which the die was cast and our fate was sealed. (Let me see if I […]
So, Al Mohler will vote for Trump?
Mohler, somewhat long winded, in his own words, here. The Rev. R. Albert Mohler Jr., one of the key leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, plans to vote for President Trump in the fall, a reversal of his position in 2016 when he argued that support of Trump risks destroying evangelicals’ credibility. One of the country’s […]
Our Church: A COVID-19 Update
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how our church was coping with the pandemic and its effects on our church. I thought I would give you an update and invite our readers to share their experiences, also. We have now presented our Sunday morning worship online for four Sundays. We’ve posted our worship […]
Safety and Liberty are Not Mutually Exclusive (Joel Rainey)
Today, I am writing two letters. The first is to our county Sheriff, thanking him and his deputies for stellar service during our Easter “drive-in” services yesterday. Since we held our last “in-person” worship service on March 15, our church had gone almost completely online—live corporate worship at 5 online channels, small groups meeting via […]
Will COVID-19 see 2,500 SBC churches close over the next twelve months?
LifeWay Research director Scott McConnell was interviewed about our current health care crisis where almost every church in the country is not holding physical services. In an article entitled, Empty pews, empty collection baskets, coronavirus hits U.S. church finances he said: “It would not surprise me at all if 5% of churches close over the […]
Silent Saturday (Etta Waller Linton)
On this Silent Saturday, I read the last two chapters in my journey through the New Testament reading plan that I’ve been going through with two close friends. It was fitting, that it was the last two chapters of Matthew—his version of the crucifixion and resurrection. Of course, I don’t think that was a coincidence, […]
Good Friday Reflections
In recent weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about how we deal with suffering as Christians. Those reflections are especially appropriate on Good Friday. We know that suffering is a part of life in a fallen world. The impact of Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden is still being felt today. This world is […]
Change comes hard for Southern Baptists but better come quickly
And I’m one of them. Hardheaded or stubborn might be the words used by my wonderful wife about her wonderful, retired SBC pastor husband. It was less than a month ago that the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Things moved rapidly. Here are a few observations about the past month. Many of these […]
“My God! What are we going to do about this?”
In the dark days of 1942 one of the United States Navy commanders in the Pacific was reported, twice, to have exclaimed, “My God! What are we going to do about this?” in response to critical communications about the war situation in his command area. Such didn’t inspire confidence in his ability to lead and […]
Government Paycheck Protection Plan for your church
I’m not the best person here to explain or opine on this, since I’m not an active pastor and don’t have a payroll to meet. I know that many pastors are considering this. The Payroll Protection Act is a part of the CARES Act, the multi-trillion government response to the COVID-19 crisis. Here’s how Baptist […]