SBC Voices

Recently a young man in my church asked the question: is it okay for Christians to have doubt?  One well meaning lady told him that Christians shouldn’t experience doubt and he just needed to be more spiritual.  That answer left both he and I unsatisfied. Let’s face it—most if not all Christians, whether we want to admit it or not, experience moments where we identify very much with Thomas and you might as well dub us as “Doubting” Mike or Suzanne or Ichabod!  But what do we do with our doubt? Before anything else, we must remember to not glorify doubt.  In one seminary class, we were … [Read more...] about What do we do about doubt?

I have been guilty of telling many other people why they need Jesus, instead of sharing why I need Jesus.  I know sometimes it makes me come across as a "holier than, better than and more righteous than" sort of individual.  I don't want that.  I want to share with you, my friends, brothers and sister why I need Jesus. I am a sinner.  You all knew that.  I have some sins that I struggle with more than others.  I have the sin of pride, I try to study and learn and go, and as a result I often have a pride issue.  I am not quick to admit when I am wrong, I don't react well to criticism, even … [Read more...] about Why I Need Jesus

I always love reading William Thornton, the SBC Plodder.  But this time, he is just flat meddling!  Seriously, we pastors love our housing allowances, don't we?  Thanks for the knowledge, William. Lest we forget when we complain about the government – we are on the receiving end of a pretty significant tax loophole, the minister’s housing allowance. So far, President Obama hasn’t railed against it or labeled it ‘clergy welfare.’ I am unaware of any legitimate justification for this tax break, but then who said tax policy in this country had to be legitimate, sensible, or fair? Recent news … [Read more...] about Our Sacred Tax Break: The Minister’s Housing Allowance (by William Thornton)

I paid the slightest attention to the Casey Anthony murder trial in Florida.  Evidently, now, if you look up "dysfunctional family" on Wikipedia, the Anthony family photo pops up - what a mess.  I was aware the case had gone to the jury, but yesterday I checked my Facebook and saw anguished cries of pain at the injustice in Florida.  I checked Fox News and sure enough, Casey Anthony beat the rap.  She is legally not guilty of killing her child. Evidently, twelve jurors sat through hours and hours of testimony.  They were not allowed to watch the breathless 24/7 coverage of this trial and … [Read more...] about A Nation of Experts Renders a Verdict!

The disciples frantically shuffle through all their belongings hoping to find some bread.  “I thought Andrew was bringing the bread”, remarks a beleaguered Thomas.  “No, it was Thaddaeus”, Andrew responds.  Back and forth they go only to find one measly loaf of bread. Then their greatest fear is realized.  Jesus says, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” “GREAT! The Master knows.  Our foolish act of forgetting bread has been exposed.  And now Jesus, speaking in parables like he always does, is rebuking us for being so dense.  We are going to starve … [Read more...] about Jesus Has More Power Than My Lack of Bread

Alan Cross has been one of my favorite bloggers for years - insightful and incisive.  He writes at Downshore Drift.  We are glad to have one of his posts here at Voices. I walked into the massive building with my young children and was immediately overwhelmed and similarly impressed. We were visiting a megachurch on a weekend that I was away from home and we brought our children to the childcare center.  Behind the long desk was a bank of closed-circuit televisions that broadcast the goings on in each classroom. We gave our children over to the smiling people behind the desk and they gave us … [Read more...] about How Is Technology & Megachurch Altering Our Understanding of the Gospel? (by Alan Cross)

This is an IMB worker's response to  Anthony Russo's post "Should Christians Express Their Political Views?" For starters, I am uninterested in re-hashing the various points made during Mr. Russo's post, as well as those presented during the discussion.  Others have done an excellent job in raising perspectives that apply to the situation.  Instead, I would like to present a different view of the subject; this requires us to leave the North American environment and even the current year. Consider situations where Christians or the church have wed themselves to a particular political, … [Read more...] about Should Christians Express Their Political Views: A Response to Anthony Russo

A few days ago I was listening to a Christian radio station.  During one of the breaks between songs the DJ read something about building relationships with people.  One of the things he mentioned was that people are by nature selfish.  Therefore, if we want to build a good relationship with them then we need to appeal to their desires and interests; we must center the conversation around them.  He continued reading the list naming several good qualities as long as vices and how we must respond to them.  At the very end he said by doing these things we will have influenced them for … [Read more...] about Monday’s Ministry Musing: Appealing to Selfishness

In keeping with my commitment to the BIFF movement, I would like to address the issue of patriotism and Christian worship - certainly a hot-button issue here at SBC Voices.  A few days ago, we published an article by David Brumbelow which defended the validity of including patriotic aspects to Christian worship.   Then, yesterday, Mark Lamprecht published a response to David's article at Here I Blog.  It is not my intent to grade either articles, to pick a winner or to even enter a pony in the race.  What I would like to do is try to state what I see as areas of agreement - points of unity in … [Read more...] about A BIFF Perspective on Patriotism and Worship: On What Can We Agree?