SBC Voices

65 Reasons Why I Love The Southern Baptist Convention – Really!

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On a blog like this, we tend to be self-critical to a fault. But behind all our talk about making the SBC better is an unspoken assumption - we still love our denomination and especially its people. So, this post is my attempt at penance for all the nasty things I've every thought about being the SBC. Feel free to add to the list in the comments, just be nice or I'll ban you for life. Why I Love The SBC The Gospel always has, and always will be the main thing. We can point fingers at ourselves. We are not afraid to offer public repentance. We trust the … [Read more...] about 65 Reasons Why I Love The Southern Baptist Convention – Really!

Internal SBC Memo Revealed

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This morning we received a leaked email that must be revealed. It appears to be the communication between two senior level leaders inside our convention. After confirming the authenticity of this memo, we have decided to post it here in full. The names have been edited to avoid lawsuits. Update: It turns out this memo was in truth a work of fiction by a certain Trevin Wax. The content of the memo has no connection with anything real in any sense of the word real. Rest assured, good readers, that we will be more careful with our editorial integrity in the future. My dearest W------- Though … [Read more...] about Internal SBC Memo Revealed

2009 Blog Madness: What does it all mean?

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When a ball game becomes a blowout in the first half, the conversation shifts to more punditry than play-by-play. So, I thought I would share a few things I've learned about SBC blogs from this contest. What does blog madness tell us about SBC bloggers? We like books. Almost everyone played along for a mere $313 prize. We don't take ourselves too seriously. Most of the comments and stumping were good natured. We like competition and numbers. It's not that others like statistics less, but we are the denomination of the ACP, CP splits and LifeWay research. We like cooperation. Maybe … [Read more...] about 2009 Blog Madness: What does it all mean?

CONFESSIONS OF A PASTOR’S WIFE

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From God's Call to God's Sanctification: It's not easy being me. It made no sense. I'd been born-again all of 8 months. I sat in an auditorium in Ridgecrest, North Carolina listening to Bertha Smith challenge us all to pray for the Lord to bring forth laborers for His harvest. That tiny gray-haired lady charged us to pray that people hear and heed the call to missions, to ministry, to evangelism. She exhorted us with Isaiah's words: "Here am I, send me". I prayed for others. I asked God to call men to ministry. Then I heard a voice say, "You." I'm hearing things. Bertha Smith must … [Read more...] about CONFESSIONS OF A PASTOR’S WIFE

2009 SBC Voices BLOG MADNESS: Final

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After 2 weeks of intense competition, the field is down to four. At stake is bragging rights and a $313 gift card to Westminster Books via email. This prize was donated by my children’s ministry website (check out my Vacation Bible School articles)and earned via the Westminster blog partners. Blog Madness ended Monday 6 April 2009 - scroll down to see final results or just read the "see who won" post. 2009 Blog Madness Final Four Internetmonk.com (Michael Spencer) Round 1 Votes: 633 Round 2 Votes: 593 Original Seeding: 1 Technorati Authority: 753 Church Matters (9Marks … [Read more...] about 2009 SBC Voices BLOG MADNESS: Final

An Unconventional Convention

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I have been following the InternetMonk's recent posts about the Southern Baptist Convention with interest.  I can identify with some of the themes that he is talking about and some of the issues, and I think some of the solutions are already in our midst as well.  I would like to give you some insight from the edges of SBC life in the north. I grew up in the heart of the SBC in western Arkansas.  It was in a Baptist Student Union at Westark Community College that I met my wife and was called by God to service in ministry.  I served as a youth pastor in several small churches in northwest … [Read more...] about An Unconventional Convention

Death By Nostalgia And The SBC

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I've heard from several readers who are just discovering that iMonk is a long time (and current) Southern Baptist. Even more are surprised that he is making a solid run in our SBC blog contest. So, if you need just one more post to prove his credentials as an SBC blogger, I think he just published it.  Avoiding Death by Nostalgia: My Denomination (The SBC) Today “Death by Nostalgia” is wishing the world was like it was in the 1970’s and we could just assume that we were right .  .  .  We’ve become functionally unevangelistic in many places because our past methodologies- door to door … [Read more...] about Death By Nostalgia And The SBC

Kummer Is Untouchable

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I've volunteered over at iMonk's cave for a blog dialogue called Evangelical Untouchables. The first response is up about explaining the Gospel. Please go read my response and add any criticism or appreciation you can muster. I won't be able to follow comments all the comments over there, so you might want to leave them on this post too. Our first question: “If you had only two paragraphs to express the Gospel to an audience of secular twenty-somethings who don’t go to church, what would you say? Then tell us how you are promoting it in your church. Since I had only two paragraphs, I just … [Read more...] about Kummer Is Untouchable

2009 SBC Voices BLOG MADNESS: Round #2

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This round has closed - go vote in the 2009 final. The first round had all the drama I expected - but it's time to move on to round two. Below are the top four blogs from each division. Everyone who made it has a fresh start. The winner of each bracket will advance to the final four. If your blog is out, why not throw your social media muscle behind the next underdog story? East Division: SBC Blog Madness 2009 internetmonk.com Round One Votes: 633 Original Seeding: 1 Technorati Authority: 754 JDGreear.com Round One Votes: 389 Original Seeding: 6 Technorati Authority: … [Read more...] about 2009 SBC Voices BLOG MADNESS: Round #2