“You seem really stressed out and intense, lately”, my wife graciously pointed out to me. “No! I’m not intense”, I said, rather intensely. It wasn’t until a few days later that grace broke through and I was able to see that for a good month or so I had been running furiously on a performance treadmill. I was functionally denying the gospel and bowing to an idol of control and self-sufficiency. I was doing what Paul Tripp says is like putting a hand in front of my face: “Imagine that you have placed your hand, with fingers narrowly separated, in front of your face. When you … [Read more...] about Seeing Life Through My Fingers
Border Crossings: The SBC of the 21st Century by Douglas E. Baker
Most mornings in midtown Nashville find quiet streets and sidewalks filled with runners, dog walkers, and the occasional bicyclist. Vanderbilt University casts a long shadow over this community and shapes its culture into something that feels more like a Northern urban enclave rather than a neighborhood surrounded by "Southern" charm. Nashville is ground zero for the country music industry and the crown jewel of the "Bible belt," with the headquarters for various Christian denominations (such as the Southern Baptist Convention) and numerous religious publishing empires (such asLifeWay) dotting … [Read more...] about Border Crossings: The SBC of the 21st Century by Douglas E. Baker
BIFF: Baptists in Full Fellowship
I think it is time I start my own group. Several years ago there was an Association of Convictional Baptists. I tried without much luck to start the Association of Corpulent Baptists. A couple of years ago, Les Puryear organized the Majority Initiative, an attempt to promote the role of small churches in our increasingly megachurch dominated convention. But I think we need a new one now, one that addresses the needs of the current convention, one that is in serious danger of fracturing and becoming increasingly irrelevant and ineffective. I am calling it "BIFF: Baptists in Full … [Read more...] about BIFF: Baptists in Full Fellowship
The Lights Are On, Is Anyone Home?
For most of the last century, we have had an open door policy to the church. Specifically, we open the doors and people come in. We call it the "y'all come" method. For centuries, we have told people what time our services start, as assume at some point they will realize they need to be in church. We put things in the yellow pages, in the newspaper and on the internet and hope that some lost person will one day wake up and think "I should go to church". The problem is, this isn't working as well as it use too. We see that in Europe, people don't even think about church on Sunday. In … [Read more...] about The Lights Are On, Is Anyone Home?
SBC Voices Convention Coverage
I am going to be among the 70 or 80 people who will be at the convention next week. I plan to be posting regularly on the Voices website - perspectives, reports, reports on reports, sports scores, fashion tips for Baptist Preachers, pictures of bloggers outside their mother's basement - all sorts of things. And, I have also joined the Twitter generation and will be shooting off a tweet now again, if you would like to follow me. My twitter account is: davemiller7 I currently have 3 people following me. I'm hoping to get up over a dozen by convention time! When I reach over 35 … [Read more...] about SBC Voices Convention Coverage
The Christian and Self-Awareness
One of the “side benefits” (if I can use that term) of being a Christian is the awareness of self that it brings. John Calvin understood this. He begins his “Institutes of the Christian Religion” making the two-part point that, “in the first place, no man can survey himself without forthwith turning his thoughts towards the God in whom he lives and moves… On the other hand, it is evident that man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he has previously contemplated the face of God, and come down after such contemplation to look into himself.” Our aim in becoming a disciple of Jesus … [Read more...] about The Christian and Self-Awareness
A Church-less Gospel?
Trevin Wax wrote a recent piece about the proper place of church in the story of the Gospel. This certainly touches on a broader issue that we see a lot of places from George Barna all the way down to the person we see in worship once in a blue moon: the sad issue of defining the Gospel and Gospel living without the inclusion of the local church. I recently looked through a study some of my church members completed in the past about Gospel-centered living. One man told me, “I really like that study.” After looking through it I replied, “I don’t.” That’s not to say there wasn’t good … [Read more...] about A Church-less Gospel?
Building Bridges on a Lonely Trail
"It is finished." Can there be more satisfying words? Said in quiet resolve as a father steps back from a swing set in the yard, an artist scoots back from a painting, a writer pushes away from a keyboard, a seamstress sews the final seam, a final test is taken, or a silent prayer is lifted. When we sense completion, we spread our arms like a blessing, then rest our hands on our hips to take the moment in before life moves on. Life moves on? I thought we were finished. I thought about these things as I chopped and sawed my way through thick brush and dead trees, spiders scattering … [Read more...] about Building Bridges on a Lonely Trail
Is God Mad at America?
On April 27, a massive tornado cut a more than 80-mile swath through the heart of Alabama at a cost of hundreds of lives and untold damage. Before we had a chance to catch our collective breath, an EF5 tornado pretty much leveled Joplin, MO on May 22. Just last week, as I was touring the streets of Boston with my family, an ominous storm system came through, eventually dropping a tornado on Springfield that killed four people. (Stunning video of that storm is available online.) Right now, Sioux City, Iowa is awaiting almost inevitable destruction from well-over 500 year flood levels that … [Read more...] about Is God Mad at America?
Do pastors care for the church with a fatherly love?
A bit back I wrote a post on congregationalism, and within it stated of pastors: They are elders, in part, because they are trustworthy men of character who have proven themselves good managers through the care of their families and can therefore care for the church in a loving, fatherly way. In the comment stream there was an objection that the love of a pastor should be seen as the brotherly/sisterly love of equals as opposed to a fatherly love, since such a “fatherly” position is reserved for God alone. Though the passage was not referenced, in my mind behind such objection would be … [Read more...] about Do pastors care for the church with a fatherly love?