I was feeling rowdy this morning, so I left a comment over on this helpful post by Ed Stetzer. Then I realized that blog is a little boring and wanted to set you commenting animals loose. Besides, I think they just deleted my comment anyway! That kind of controlled discussion always raises my blood pressure. He was listing the factors that might keep younger leaders away from the SBC annual meetings. Here's what I said. Thanks for the helpful post and I see myself in a few of your reasons. Here are two more that you can't say: 6. The brand value of SBC is beyond zero and now far into … [Read more...] about Facts & Feelings from Orlando: What Stetzer Can’t Say
Does the SBC Protect & Enable Child Abusers?
The firestorm from yesterday really needs it's own post. Here is a little direction for your ranting: The 2007 SBC Resolution ON PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM ABUSE was a good start, but this only came about after critics went after our denomination. It raised awareness, but is anyone more safe because of it? Most SBC churches are still in denial and think it could never happen to them. All SBC churches are independent, but that doesn't absolve denominational leaders from their role as leaders. They do have influence to make things better. We should talk about failure to use that influence … [Read more...] about Does the SBC Protect & Enable Child Abusers?
When Prayer is Propaganda
I was driving my kids to school this morning when the news segment came on K-LOVE. Usually it's cut and paste from Associated Press, but today they ran a story asking for prayer against the website WikiLeaks. According to them, Christians should join together to ask God to intervene against this “radical” news source. They cited the upcoming release of more documents about the war in Afganistan saying this could be dangerous for the US military and civilian informants. Here's my problem. This approach to journalism turns prayer into a tool for controlling public opinion. Never mind if … [Read more...] about When Prayer is Propaganda
The Pastor’s Family and Church Involvement…
One of the scariest things for me as a young person in ministry is the issues related to a pastor (or staff member, etc.) and his family's involvement in the life of the local church. I've known quite a few different situations and I often wonder what the best approach is for a pastor and his family. Some I would outright reject and but even the ones I consider often raise difficult questions in my mind. Probably some of these relate to parenting philosophy in general, but I'm thinking about the pastor's family specifically. One of the biggest tensions perhaps is finding that balance … [Read more...] about The Pastor’s Family and Church Involvement…
Contra Svoboda: Answering Matt Svoboda’s Arguments for Amillennialism
In recent days, Matt Svoboda has posted two essays at this site explaining why he has adopted Amillennialism and the problems he has with premillennialism. I was away at a speaking engagement and did not have either the time or the internet access to engage the discussion. So, I thought that I would write a response to Matt’s post and deal point-by-point with his assertions about premillennialism. Matt and I harass each other a lot about eschatology. Frankly, I think he is jealous of me! Neither of us believes that these issues are fundamental to our faith. We agree that those who love … [Read more...] about Contra Svoboda: Answering Matt Svoboda’s Arguments for Amillennialism
Interview with Trevin Wax
Trevin Wax, a rising voice in the SBC, is a brother in Christ and has been helpful to me as of late as I learn the ropes of potentially publishing a book. Further showing his unselfish character, he was gracious enough to allow me to ask him a few questions about the SBC without hesitation. His blog, Kingdom People, is one of the most read Christian blogs on the internet today and his book, Holy Subversion, has been acclaimed by J.I. Packer, Al Mohler, Ed Stetzer, and Russell Moore. I first interviewed him on my blog and it was a great blessing and I pray that this will be for the SBC … [Read more...] about Interview with Trevin Wax
Paige Patterson’s Decision to Speak Alongside Glenn Beck
There has been a large outcry at Jerry Falwell, Jr.'s decision to allow the controversial, Mormon Glenn Beck speak at Liberty University's 2010 Commencement. What hasn't gotten near as much publicity is the fact that Paige Patterson chose to speak on the same stage with Beck. I remember a major uproar over John Piper inviting Rick Warren to Desiring God 2010, but maybe that was a different situation in people's eyes than the Liberty Commencement. I think this is possibly a bigger deal considering the major theological differences between Baptists and Mormons. By major I mean that Mormons are … [Read more...] about Paige Patterson’s Decision to Speak Alongside Glenn Beck
Hiring Pastors: Is It Working?
In typical SBC life, when a church looks for a new pastor you go through the process of establishing a committee, collecting resumes, sorting through the resumes for a handful that have potential, then: ask questions, call references, listen to sermons on CDs or DVDs (or tapes, if we still know what those are), set up meetings, narrow it down to one resume, bring him in “in view of a call,” have a pot luck, Q&A, he preaches, church votes… maybe it’s not all in that order or maybe there’s a piece added or removed but that’s the general gist. (And particularly this is on my mind b/c I’m … [Read more...] about Hiring Pastors: Is It Working?
What I Learned from John Wesley
As I have mentioned briefly in the past, I worked as a Methodist youth pastor for a little over year and embraced Wesleyan theology for about a year before that. After much study and deliberation, I am now a charismatic, 5-point Calvinist Baptist. Quite the shift in theology, but I did retain some Wesleyan influence that I cannot refute or dismiss: Holiness - Though it is wrong to say that a Biblical understanding Eternal Security is a license to sin, it has been abused and excused by its adherents for centuries. Wesley would say that we should be holy partially because we could lose our … [Read more...] about What I Learned from John Wesley
Joe Thorn on Procrastination
Here are some excerpts from a post by Pastor Joe Thorn. It is a great post and I hope you to head over to his blog to read the rest! For years I was a serious procrastinator. In fact, I think I could have gone pro (if that sort of thing paid). So I did what a lot of college students do, putting off assignments until the last minute. But I would justify myself by calling it “time management” and pointing to a solid grade. Of course this was not limited to writing papers in college. It was something that was true of my life in general. On a few occasions and in a couple different contexts I … [Read more...] about Joe Thorn on Procrastination