SBC Voices

I’m going to be straight up from the start: this post is as much (if not more) directed at me than at anyone else.  I’m just the average Joe…or, um…Mike (hey, my first name was the most common boy’s name in America for years on end, only recently usurped—you can’t get much more “average” than that!).  I have no fancy letters before or after my name and I pastor an average-sized church in a typical small town.  There are days I wear a plastic smile, there are days I lay awake at night staring at the ceiling and wondering “is this worth it?”, and there are days I just want to take my dog and … [Read more...] about What If?

A week or two ago, I stumbled across an article entitled We Are the JumboTron Generation and it got me to thinking.  The post contends that how we watch sports live has changed, due in part to giant video boards and the media overload we experience at games now.  The JumboTron is a staple of modern professional sports venues and even most of the major college venues as well.  I am sure there are plenty of ritzy high schools that might have them too.  The problem stems from the change that they have inspired in our culture. Before Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, the JumboTron encouraged … [Read more...] about Can a Really Big Screen Hide a Really Big Problem?

In a not-too-distant country, there was a fire department. This department was made up of some volunteers, a few professionals, and few people that didn’t really understand what was going on. All of them, however, had come together because they could see the smoke of fires, feel the heat, and hear the screams of people in danger from the fires that were raging around them. None were compelled to be there, except the compulsion that compassion brought them. For a time, they fought the fires well together. Professional firefighters provided some guidance about the best ways to fight the fire, … [Read more...] about The Fire Department

Read Denny Burk's latest post. He denies the gospel, abandons the biblical gospel, and unmasks himself. … [Read more...] about If You Had Any Doubt about Rob Bell…

"But, add feelings to the list of those things that are now subject to scrutiny by the Islamist lobby in this country.  First actions (South Park).  Then words (Franklin Graham).  Now feelings (Juan Williams).  But, where will it end, especially in regards to Islam?  Your guess is as good as mine.  If CAIR and NPR keep getting their way, most Americans — both conservatives and even a few liberals — may no longer be able to recognize the First Amendment.  Remember, the slippery slope always starts somewhere!"  (From "Slippery Slopes:  Speech, Islam & NPR") We can now add common-sense, … [Read more...] about Mike Huckabee, Radical Islam & Slippery Slopes

There has been a push in recent years to rediscover the Jewish side of Paul.  He was, after all, a Pharisee who trained under Gamaliel, and it turns out that if you start to see his writings from a rabbinic Hebrew mindset they begin to make a lot more sense.  The traditional view on Paul has placed him in a sort of Greek philosophical box and this messes up our understanding of him more so than even his contemporaries dealt with at the time.  This has led to a host of theological presumptions that are so widespread, they aren't even questioned.  We never dream that the words of Peter could … [Read more...] about Learning a Thing or Two from the New Perspective on Paul

(Caison Jones is a contributor at Apologia Appalachia: Theology from Them There Hills.  I thought this article would be a blessing to the readers.  Another one of their writers was the author of the post yesterdaty about the convention name-change.  There is some quality writing being done at their group blog site!) "The trouble is that, nowadays, there are so many who receive the testimony of God only so far as they can satisfactorily account for all the reasons and grounds of His conduct,..." A.W. Pink I've heard this referred to as "Cafeteria Christianity", where we pick and choose only … [Read more...] about Accepting the Hard Things (by Caison Jones)

My kids play this game called "Would You Rather?" produced by Parker Brothers or somebody.  During the game, an individual is presented with two unsavory options.  The general pattern is "Would you rather be 4 feet tall with arms that dragged the ground, or 9 feet tall and unable to touch your toes?"  The other contestants vie to see who can accurately predict the individual's choice. When I was in college we would sit around and do this, thinking of the most horrific options for each other, just as a casual late-night dorm conversation among dateless guys.  Painful experiences, ugly/mean … [Read more...] about Is Tom Elliff the Right Poison?