SBC Voices

(Dr. Roger D. Duke brings us another excerpt from the writings of  John Bunyan.  Dr. Duke is cowriter with Phil Newton of "Venturing all on God: Piety in the Writings of John Bunyan." This volume is one of in the Profiles in Reformed Spirituality series of Reformation Heritage Press and is slated for publication sometime in 2011.) “WHAT IT IS TO BE OFFERED” A Portion of Mr. Bunyan’s Exposition of 2 Timothy 4:6-8 Taken from PAUL’S DEPARTURE AND CROWN [1] [2] Paul, by saying he was ‘to be offered,’ alludeth to some of the sacrifices that of old were under the law; and thereby signifieth … [Read more...] about What It Is to Be Offered (from John Bunyan’s Writings)

This is the second part of a two-part series on how Hollywood and others limit their potential audiences.  You can read part one, Limiting Your Audience: Janeane Garofalo and Criminal Minds, on Howell's blog, fromlaw2grace.com. You would think that leaders of the first GCR Era Southern Baptist Convention Pastor's Conference -- scheduled to debut in Phoenix this June -- would desire to have the biggest possible audience for this annual event.  Knowing that the southwestern location would itself limit the number of pastors who could attend, one might assume that the Aspire 2011 SBCPC would … [Read more...] about Limiting Your Audience: SBC Pastor’s Conference

35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to … [Read more...] about I Want to Want Jesus THIS Much

I have to admit a small degree of jealousy of David Platt.  I have preached this exact point myself.  But somehow, it just sounds more compelling and powerful coming from him.  Most of you probably read Provocations and Pantings (you should if you don't) and have already viewed this, but I thought that I would copy this over here for those few of you who have not seen it at Timmy Brister's site. Here, David Platt asks a simple question. With all of the Rob Bell discussion that has gone on, do our actions really validate our belief that those without Christ will spend eternity in hell? Is … [Read more...] about Do We Really Believe What We’re Saying? by David Platt

Todd Littleton blogs at "The Edge of the Inside."  There is much to consider here and much to discuss. The Ring of Fire just gave us a tectonic shift punishing Japan with a devastating 8.9 magnitude earthquake. Tsunami waves washed over acres of land, destroying property and killing people.  There will no doubt be someone with an Internet connection firing up the keyboard to announce that Japan suffered judgement for ancestor worship, or some social ill. (Paragraph 7) Quickly the suffering and pain will be marginalized as the train wreck of such wretched projections make the rounds on the … [Read more...] about The Excluded Middle, the Ignored Edge, and The Battle for the Empire in the SBC (by Todd Littleton)

Editor: William Thornton is the SBC Plodder and a keen observer of SBC life.  This is a repost from his site It follows up on the discussion of the previous article he posted here, "SBC Presidents and the Cooperative Program." A 2007 survey yielded the unlikely statistic that 87% of SBC pastors were "generally satisfied" with the Cooperative Program. Come on, 87% of SBC pastors will not agree that the sun rises in the east...but there you have it - SBC pastors happy with the CP. So, why is it dropping like a rock, a trend over three decades long? We may have more mental angst over … [Read more...] about Dropping Like a Rock: The Cooperative Program (by William Thornton)

Over my years in ministry, I have been able to serve in a variety of capacities in the local church and in the association.  I have met a lot of pastors, read a lot of books, visited a lot of blogs and gone to a lot of meetings.  Something occurred to me the other day, that the expectations we have for men in ministry are such that Jesus wouldn't last long in staff at the local church.  I want to toss out three areas in which I think Jesus would have been in trouble. 1.  He didn't respect the elder leadership.  In many churches, for a young guy in his 30s to call out the elders, the leaders … [Read more...] about Could Jesus Be on Staff at Your Church?