SBC Voices

Hi all, Today I want to write about a topic that is near and dear to my heart – adoption. Adoption is wonderful in so many aspects. I have had the wonderful privilege to adopt three children (and perhaps more in the future). I want to say a few things about adoption. First, it is a wonderful way to rescue children. I cannot imagine what it is like to not have a home. But every time I look at my children, I see children for whom there was a time when they had no mom or dad. My boys were too small to remember it, and likely my daughter won’t remember it as she grows older either, but it is … [Read more...] about Adoption: It’s For All of Us (by Jim Giffords)

I was blessed to attend a Promisekeepers rally for pastors in Atlanta several years ago.  There were many thousands of pastors and church leaders from all over the country who came to be encouraged and instructed at that rally. I cannot remember a single sermon that was preached that week (though they were powerful and moving) but I can remember one moment – a song that was sung by Steve Green.  He sang a song about tearing down the walls that separate us from one another, about letting the walls of denominational pride, personal ambition, competition and such things fall by the power of God.  … [Read more...] about Picket Fence Ecclesiology: Balancing Local Church and City-Church (Brick Walls and Picket Fences 10)

I have often struggled with the teaching of limited atonement. I understood it in concept, but thought it was a purposeless doctrine. That was true until I read an article that was against the Doctrine of Substitutionary Atonement.  As I began to think about how Substitutionary Atonement works, I began to ponder. Substitutionary Atonement states that Jesus died in my place. When He was on the cross, He bore my sins. By dying, He took the punishment for my sin. He died in my place. He was my substitute, because the punishment He suffered should have been mine. If Substitutionary Atonement … [Read more...] about Does Substitutionary Atonement need Limited Atonement?

In Mark 5 we read of a woman “…who had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.” There were many options for this lady to find healing.  The Talmud lists eleven.  In Lightfoot’s Commentary we are made privy to a few of the more ridiculous ones: “Take of gum Alexandria, of alum, and of crocus hortensis, the weight of a zuzee each; let them be bruised together, and given in wine to the woman that hath an issue of blood. But if this fail, “Take of Persian onions nine … [Read more...] about Sifting Through Donkey Dung

Originally posted at From Law to Grace on Friday, August 5, 2011 After spending Thursday night in the cool-weather environs of Ruidoso, NM, nestled in the Sacramento Mountains, the heat of Alamogordo has perhaps got me in a contrary mood.  With limited time on the internet, I'm just now catching up on some of the latest news in the nation and in our Baptist world at large. I couldn't help but notice a piece at Associated Baptist Press written by Norman Jameson, "NC Association ousts church with woman pastor."  As I read the article, I began to think that some Baptists simply lack that … [Read more...] about Female Pastors & Graceless Responses in Mayberry!

I referenced William's side of this.  Here it is.  You can read both.  Maybe Howell will post here as well.  It's a necessary discussion. Flat Rock Baptist Church in Mount Airy North Carolina was quickly and summarily expelled from the Surry Baptist Association the other day according to [http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/6626/53/]  this APB story from last week. Seems the church had done the unusual, the unthinkable, the unpardonable - they called a female pastor. Tony Cartlege calls it 'courageous, the association calls their kicking out action an attempt to facilitate "restoration to … [Read more...] about No, I wouldn’t vote to expel (by William Thornton)

There is something unseemly about trying to rank blogging, but I've always been a stats guy and so this week I looked at the technorati.com blog "authority" rankings.  I don't really understand them, why rankings go up and down. From time to time we get questions here about why certain blogs are on the "Featured SBC Blogroll" while others are not.  The Technorati rankings are one way of explaining why certain blogs are featured. When I was a coach, I was a little bit of a stats nut - probably too much so.  But its ingrained in my DNA somehow.  So, here is a listing of the Top Southern … [Read more...] about Technorati’s Religion Blog Rankings: How Baptist Blogs Stand

Everyone seems to be getting into this - and so I thought I would follow the crowd.  Here are the blogs that really struck me this week.  Now, I don't read every blog or every blog post.  So, being the blue-collar blog we are, if you have a nomination, put it in the comments.  Since we assume that you read every word of every post we put on here (you do, don't you?) we are not including our own posts. The order is simply the order in which I found the posts. 1) Ed Stetzer "New Research on Global Evangelicalism" Examines a new Pew Research study of Evangelicalism worldwide, with some of … [Read more...] about This Week in Baptist Blogging