SBC Voices

The ??? Baptist Convention: Considering Bryant Wright’s Task Force Recommendation

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I thought that Bryant Wright did a great job leading the SBC last year in Phoenix.  Now, he is at the top of my buddy list again for appointing a task force to study the issue of changing the name of the SBC.  I've been through this debate before and I have made my views clear - that our regional name is an unnecessary hindrance to SBC growth outside of the deep south.  I would love to see the name change happen, but I doubt that it will anytime soon. Bart Barber has written a very different look at this, one that I understand but believe misses several points.  You can read Bart's opinion … [Read more...] about The ??? Baptist Convention: Considering Bryant Wright’s Task Force Recommendation

The Simple Beauty and Complex Challenges of Discipleship

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So many churches seem to strive for some sort of identity—something they can hang their hats on and say “this is who we are and this is what we offer.”  We use different monikers: seeker-sensitive, reformed, traditional, contemporary, family-based… we use different models of “doing church”… and we employ all sorts of purpose statements, some which are short and pithy while others require some sort of advanced degree in biblical linguistics to even begin to know what they say. Yet Jesus wrapped up the whole purpose and identity of the church in a simple statement: “All authority in heaven … [Read more...] about The Simple Beauty and Complex Challenges of Discipleship

Young, Restless, and Newtonian

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Recently, I have been blocking off a little more time to work on a book I hope to write on John Newton.  I believe Newton to be a great model of a pastor-theologian that provides a wonderful pattern of effective soul-care and evangelical Calvinism. One particular area that I feel we “Young, Restless, and Reformed” can learn from Newton is in the way he held his Calvinism, and how he debate it—or rather how he did not debate it. In June of 1772 he published a letter On the Doctrines of Election and Final Perseverance (you can read that here).  Shortly thereafter a Methodist preacher by … [Read more...] about Young, Restless, and Newtonian

Did Homosexuality Exist in Biblical Times?

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I read this article by a former SBC pastor and was greatly disturbed by his exegesis and thought process. I like his spirit of grace and humility toward the LGBT community, but this is just insulting to Scripture: [T]he concept of homosexuality was unknown for centuries after the Bible writers lived. It was not until the 19th century that the word “homosexual” was used for the first time. That being the case, the Bible writers could not have written about homosexual people or anything they did. Read his full argument here. Thoughts? … [Read more...] about Did Homosexuality Exist in Biblical Times?

Open Thread: Who’s Your Early Favorite for the 2012 Election?

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This is really dangerous and I may regret it and just trash the whole thing. But someone asked me the other day what I thought of a candidate.  I don't pay much attention.  As an Iowan, I will see and hear more than I want of the Republican candidates in the months between now and the caucuses in February.  But right now, I don't know what to think of any of them. What do you think?  I know there are some Obamaites out there and you probably feel excluded, but the Democratic nominee is not a big surprise, unless someone jumps into the Dem race.  But the Rep side is wide open and most of … [Read more...] about Open Thread: Who’s Your Early Favorite for the 2012 Election?

Discussions of Calvinism on SBC Voices

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I'm really tired of it.  That weariness has been growing over time and now I have reached the point where I think  I need to make some changes in the way we approach the subject of Calvinism here. This is not a rebuke of one article or one author, but of the whole tone and tenor of discussions not only here but also throughout the SBC blogosphere. Observing the discussion here the last couple of days just crystallized things in my mind. As the editor of SBC Voices, I have the authority to make some changes and I intend to attempt to do that. For what its worth, here's how I feel. I am … [Read more...] about Discussions of Calvinism on SBC Voices

The Crazy Uncle of the Evangelical Family Strikes Again

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Pat Robertson can easily be characterized as a loose cannon. He frequently says things apparently without thinking them through for biblical truthfulness or even common sense. Many of them are essentially harmless and easily ignored. Some of them however beg for a response. In that way, Pat is kind of like the "crazy uncle" that you probably wished didn't belong to your family because he always seems to find a way to embarrass you at the family reunion or in some public setting. Compound this tendency with a whole segment of his show that encourages him to "shoot from the hip" every episode … [Read more...] about The Crazy Uncle of the Evangelical Family Strikes Again

False Teacher Said What?

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Words fail...   So maybe God's Word will suffice: For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 2 Timothy 4:3-4   … [Read more...] about False Teacher Said What?

This is No Place for Cowards

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I carry the past that each day I chose One step to another . . . now everyone knows. It isn't the past I would have wanted to claim But it is my past . . .  it is mine just the same. I wonder sometimes about all of this Can there be no exchanging what was for what is? Will there be no will be because of what's done? Will yesterday's darkness eclipse today's sun? Is forgiveness a mystery, a want too far-flung? Is healing a melody not to be sung? Is change just a hold-out, dangled just past the grasp? Is grace to be rationed . . . with some of us passed? No mystery, no silence, … [Read more...] about This is No Place for Cowards