I do not deal with comments nearly as much as I used to, for several reasons – some noble and others not so much. In the “not so much” category, I find myself tiring of answering the same questions and responding to the same criticisms over and over again. So, I am putting together a […]
Prayers for IMB August 5, 2019
Well, it has been a couple of weeks, but such is the life of a pastor. Here are a couple of IMB prayer requests from Africa today. Thanks for praying and for the rest of the IMB prayer requests from Africa today, go to ://Beautifulfeetten15.wordpress.com Niamey City—Pray that the IMB workers in Niamey City will […]
It’s Friday, Sunday’s Coming: In Memory of Karen Scott
Friday, August 2, 2019, a friend of mine, one I had never met in real life but had grown to love through online contacts, found out what S.M. Lockridge meant when he said, “Sunday’s Coming.” It is a bit weird, but many of my best friends are people that I met through blogging. One of […]
In the span of 15 months implosions of both Traditionalists and Calvinists
My first writings here on SBC Voices was a matched pair of articles on Calvinists in the SBC: What I like about Calvinists and Why I’m wary of Calvinists. Those were in the summer of 2011 and, as I recall, each had hundreds of comments. What made me wary then was (1) Calvinists can be, […]
Failing by Faith: Verses We Baptists Don’t REALLY Believe
I have been preaching a long series on Sunday mornings on the Holy Spirit and am currently going through 1 Corinthians 12. As a part of my Sunday message on verses 4-6, I ended up in Hebrews 11, don’t ask me how. I took my people through a favorite section of the “Hall of Faith” […]
Impactful Reads: Death in the City
Death in the City by Francis Schaeffer is one of the most impactful books that I have read (in fact, I’ve read through it three times now). The title might sound a bit head-scratching. It is based on a series of lectures by Schaeffer in the late 1960s derived form the biblical books of Jeremiah, […]
“We don’t have a pastor, just a preacher”
With that succinct sentence a church member issued a severe indictment of the man who was their pastor and preacher. I’d heard it before. The line is a standard complaint of some church members who aren’t enamored with their current pastor. I may signify something more serious, that members have arrived at the conclusion that […]
Letter to white evangelicals: decision time (Erich Bridges)
RICHMOND, Va.—Dear white evangelicals: It’s decision time. You can’t pretend any longer that President Trump is not a racist. Evidence to the contrary is overwhelming. Any number of examples going back years should have tipped you off. Like when Trump launched his political career by falsely claiming that Barack Obama wasn’t born in America. Or […]
Finally, a formal statement about the Founder’s debacle
Tom Ascol has a statement, here. Here’s a word not in the statement: “apologize” Here’s another word not in the statement: “sorry” Here’s a word, used once, in the statement: “regret” We regret the pain and confusion we caused by this unwise alignment of image and idea. Not exactly a profile in courage or confession […]
Are you feeling the call to Hawaii?
Did you know that the SBC website has church job listings throughout the country? Some of those vacancies could use a little extra advertising, so I’ve taken it upon myself to highlight one every once in a while (with a little humor mixed in). The last vacancy announcement was located in a sportsman’s paradise. This […]
The Art of Pastoral Honesty (Adam Wyatt)
No matter where you pastor, you will have to navigate through difficult issues. A smaller church or a rural church can sometimes be more difficult because the difficult issues are much more entrenched in the church culture. If a pastor is going to navigate the issues and steer the church toward positive Gospel-centered change it […]
Who Is Adequate for Ministry?
I believe all of us who serve in ministry feel inadequate from time to time. I surely do. Sometimes I reflect on the Apostle Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 2:16b—“And who is sufficient for these things?” Clearly, Paul felt a sense of inadequacy in regard to the responsibilities he bore. We would all join Paul […]