Among the SBC Voices writers and editors, I believe I am the only one who does not know Ed Litton personally. I've never met him. I did not attend any of his pre-convention meet-and-greets. Until about a year ago, he was someone that I had never heard of. After reflection, he got my vote for SBC president because I thought he was the right guy for the task and because I thought he had the right message for our times. I still believe those two thing are true. All SBCers who eat and drink SBC politics are fully informed, some fully and sinfully engaged, about the news that Litton preached … [Read more...] about Certainly, I fully support our SBC president Ed Litton
3 Commitments for Leading Your Church to Address Sexual Abuse
Last week at #SBC21, messengers sent a clear message that we want our denomination to address the issue of sexual abuse and stand with survivors. As many survivors have pointed out, our decisions made at the annual meeting must be followed up by meaningful action or what we said is just words. Coming home, most messengers have little impact in what will happen at the denominational level with our committees, trustee boards, and entities. But you DO have the opportunity to take meaningful action at YOUR church. This post is meant to give you a starting point for you to address the issue of … [Read more...] about 3 Commitments for Leading Your Church to Address Sexual Abuse
Leadership: Learning the Army’s 3 M’s
One of the most powerful lessons I’ve learned in leadership involves standing in a chow line with other officers waiting for our enlisted soldiers to get their food. The reason we stood in line rather than going ahead of our soldiers directly related to the 3 M’s of leadership taught to us in our officer basic courses. Our cadre taught us to lead with these three priorities: my mission, my men, myself. If you think about it, these 3 M’s apply to leading as a Christ follower as well. Whatever your role in the Kingdom, applying the 3 M’s to your leadership will help you develop more … [Read more...] about Leadership: Learning the Army’s 3 M’s
We are a convention of pundits and analysts…but I’m not buying that the election looked closer than it really was
Ed Litton won the SBC presidential election by a total of 556 votes out of 13,112 total votes counted. That's pretty close. I read that it wasn't really close, that there are reasons to conclude that the margin of victory, less than three percent, didn't represent the level of support that the CBN candidate had. I'm not buying that. After asking people I knew who were involved in SBC politics what they thought would be the outcome of the election, I can't recall a single one feeling confident about making a prediction. Now that the votes have been counted everyone is an … [Read more...] about We are a convention of pundits and analysts…but I’m not buying that the election looked closer than it really was
Decidedly low tech but high confidence SBC voting and counting
So, my millennial techno savvy friends who don't write checks, who use Venmo, order groceries online and Prime every purchase. You are in charge of the SBC Annual Meeting. How would you manage voting? There are some rules in place: Only registered messengers may vote. Votes may be made only by those present in the hall. No proxy voting allowed. This years SBCAM had 15,726 registered messengers, largest in a quarter century. Each was given a bundle of paper ballots when they registered. A number of votes were made by marking ballots. So far, no one has complained about the … [Read more...] about Decidedly low tech but high confidence SBC voting and counting
An Infant of The Conservative Resurgence (by Jonathan Raffini)
I turned 40 this past year in the midst of a global pandemic, which we all know was a real challenge, but it also meant I survived a 40th birthday hoopla due to COVID. Turning 40 in 2020 also means I was an infant during the needed Conservative Resurgence of the 1980’s. My uncle was a student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in the early 1980’s, going so far as to start a small group with friends his final year called “Seminarians for Biblical Inerrancy. When talking to my uncle as I prayed and pondered where God was leading me to attend seminary, he told me to be thankful that … [Read more...] about An Infant of The Conservative Resurgence (by Jonathan Raffini)
A Call to Unity (by Greg Davidson)
I love Southern Baptists. They are some of the most compassionate, forgiving, and understanding people on the face of the earth. I love the fact that there are so many that hate injustice. I like others have felt the cruel tentacles of injustice. I grew up in the Jim Crow south. My dad was a transplanted Bostonian Jew who would not tell anyone that he was Jewish because he knew he would suffer from discrimination as he lived and worked in the Jim Crow South. My mother was an executive with a master’s degree in a company that paid her inequitably, because she was a woman, at a time when we … [Read more...] about A Call to Unity (by Greg Davidson)
Historian Nathan Finn on SBC Fundamentalism, Then and Now
Twitter thread this morning from Nathan Finn, Baptist historian and Dean at North Greenville University in South Carolina. I thought this was worth compiling here for future reference and ease of access: https://twitter.com/nathanafinn/status/1407684504727080967 My dissertation was titled “The Development of Baptist Fundamentalism in the South, 1940-1980.” As a church historian and committed Southern Baptist, I thought I’d share some thoughts on our history and the current tensions within the SBC. 1/ I define fundamentalism as militant conservative dissent against progressive trends … [Read more...] about Historian Nathan Finn on SBC Fundamentalism, Then and Now
Why the Loss for an SBC Splinter Group Was Greater Than Just a Few Hundred Votes (by Michael Linton)
I know there is concern about the rise of Populist* Fundamentalism in the SBC and the push of a certain group to gain power. While this isn't going to be an exhaustive list, and I could be wrong in my optimism, I believe the tide is pretty obviously away from that group. It is also important for me to say this: I am a fundamentalist in the classic sense. I subscribe to the 5 fundamentals: the deity of Jesus the Virgin Birth penal-sub atonement the bodily resurrection biblical inerrancy So how was the agenda of the populist fundamentalist group repudiated? First, their … [Read more...] about Why the Loss for an SBC Splinter Group Was Greater Than Just a Few Hundred Votes (by Michael Linton)
So, you couldn’t get to a mic at SBC21?
Please, grow up and let's not hear so much whining. It's not a good look. Over the years dissenting groups have made plans to stack the mics with those friendly to their cause. It's part of what you get when you have a democratic mass meeting like our Annual Meeting. I don't particularly like this but I don't know of a better system than the one we use. But, what if you are really keen on a motion or resolution and feel compelled to speak to the assembly? Here's one way to do it. The best thing, perhaps the only good thing about Central Time, is that there is daylight very early. As an … [Read more...] about So, you couldn’t get to a mic at SBC21?