SBC Voices

We love our drama.  We love putting other people down and raising ourselves up—it is a part of our sick, corrupt, twisted, and less-than-human (the way God created us, at least) nature. I talked to an ex-student of mine.  She told me about all the soap-opera like events going on at the school ranging from personal conflict to extreme favoritism.  She said it was better when I was in the administration there and I need to come back.  I smiled and shook my head and said, “People complained about the exact same stuff when I was there.”  It’s the same ol’ song and dance with the cards shuffled … [Read more...] about It’s My Party (I can cry if I want to…)

Yes, that's right, I love the SBC. I am a 34 year old Associate Pastor in Iowa, surrounded by people who either marginally like, don't care or just flat out dislike the Convention. I have been part of the SBC since 9 month before I was born, but it's not cause my parents were die hards. Before I was born, my dad wasn't a church goer and my mom never drove. Closest church to the house was an SBC church. By the time I was born, my dad was saved and Baptized and serving in the church. I got involved young, serving on youth counsel, doing different types of ministry in the youth … [Read more...] about Why I love the SBC

A pastor will typically spend hours studying over a text to preach it on a Sunday morning.  He wrestles through the difficult parts of the text.  There is much sweat and labor that goes into preparing a message.  Often times God will preach the sermon to our own hearts before we preach it to others. I think the best sermons that I have preached have been the ones that have rocked my heart and soul before I even stand in the pulpit.  When I feel the weight of a text and see the beauty of the gospel therein it causes me to be very passionate about the sermon I am getting ready to preach.  I … [Read more...] about Monday’s Ministry Musing: The Necessity of Harnessing Excitement

This is a follow-up to some of the discussion in my Something Old, Something New post.  I posited that my position on the relationship between Israel and the Church does not lend to a pre-tribulation rapture.  This brought up the common notion of the tribulation being the wrath of God poured out upon the earth.  This, of course, is a main tenant of dispensational pre-tribulation theology (and the other day I even watched a rerun of Adrian Rogers preaching that tribulation is God’s wrath, talk about timing). I grew up in a church that assumed dispensationalism, and matured in a church that … [Read more...] about What is the Great Tribulation?

Biblical scholar and theological genius Harold Camping has demonstrated with devastating exegetical precision that the Rapture will occur on May 21, 2011, followed by five months of judgment on earth with the end of the world occurring on October 21, 2011.  You can read the tract here, but the logic is brilliant beyond disputation. I would like to help you interpret some of this information and make some decisions to prepare for what lies ahead. 1)  There seems to be no reason to keep your bank accounts or other assets.  Money will mean nothing when the judgment comes.  I have designated … [Read more...] about Judgment Will Fall in Two Weeks!

I spent a week at the Exponential Conference, a church planting conference in Orlando FL. It pushed me and challenged me in ways I had never considered. One of the things I came away with is a quote from Alan Hirsch, he said "the church doesn't innovate". The more I think about that, the more i think it's true. Think about it, we have only had one part of the service change much, that's the music and it's caused huge divisions. We call it the "worship wars" over organs vs guitars. One change and we take sides, arm ourselves and begin the warfare. While the rest of the world speeds to … [Read more...] about Why the brick and mortar church is doomed

Throughout the entire story of redemptive history, the children of Abraham were, are, and always shall be the only and singular chosen people of God. The Bible starts with a rapid succession of events spanning from creation to sometime after the flood.  While in the first two chapters everything is good and very good, from chapters 3 to 11 the main event seems to be the extent of sin’s corruption.  During this time God did not so much work through a people but through families—the family of Adam, the family of Noah, and the family of Terah in particular.  In fact, as the story of the flood … [Read more...] about Something Old, Something New (a theological discussion on the relationship between Israel and the church, and why it matters)

God saves a wide variety of people from a wide variety of backgrounds.  He then places in us his Holy Spirit to guide us in the process of becoming like Christ and preparing us for eternal glory.  One day, all who have truly repented of their sins and trusted Jesus as Savior and Lord will be completely like Jesus. In the meantime, we are different.  We start at different places and grow at different paces.  We are headed toward the amazing eternal unity of the saints.  In the meantime, we disagree.  We disagree about the so-called “doctrines of grace.”   Some of us like big churches, some … [Read more...] about Putting a Splint on a SPLINTERED SBC!

I have read and heard about Rick Warren as much as most of you have. I have read the Purpose Drive Life, The Purpose Driven Church, done The 40 Days of Purpose, see Celebrate Recovery, I have Rick Warren's Bible Study Methods and we use the 101-401 material. I am familiar with Rick Warren, and I had my opinions about him. I read all about the PEACE plan, I even met his Director for International Initiatives in Seminary. He was working to eradicate malaria in Rwanda. How'd you like to have that on your resume. In all this, I heard the critics and I agreed with some of what they said. … [Read more...] about How Rick Warren changed my opinion of Rick Warren