SBC Voices

I believe that voting is an issue of freedom of conscience - falling under Romans 14-15. Each of us must decide under the Lordship of Christ how to vote. There have been a lot of bullying efforts by supporters on both sides, but in my experience, some in the GOP and passionate Trump have mastered this art recently. "No true Christian would vote..." If you have decided to vote for Trump, fine. You do not need to convince me if you are convinced in your own mind. I am turned off by those who present Trump as "God's man" and refuse to admit his faults and failings, but I understand those … [Read more...] about A Question: Am I Biblically Obligated to Vote?

As I mentioned in the previous post (on Baptist Confessions of Faith) the administration at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary asked me to write an essay on Baptist confessions and distinctives. For Voices, I divided the essay into two parts: one on Baptist confessions of faith and one on Baptist distinctives. You can find the previous post in this series here. In a university course on world religions, the unit on Christianity would note that Christianity can be divided into three main branches: Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestants. For its part, Protestantism can be … [Read more...] about Baptist Distinctives (by Dr. Mark Terry)

No, not the Babylon Bee but an actual petition site that calls for a "forensic audit of NAMB & Lifeway." Let's ruminate a bit here, first, on the idea of an anonymous site calling for transparency. Who set up the site? Who funded it? Who is behind it? Who wrote the petition? Seems absurd for a secret group to toss out a petition like this calling for, of all things, transparency. Second, the call is not for transparency. It is for an audit. The petition is not just for an ordinary audit or for NAMB and LifeWay to be more open about their spending but a forensic audit. I'm neither CPA … [Read more...] about Anonymous site calls for SBC transparency

I am grateful for the $5,000,000 scholarship commitment named in honor of Garland Offfutt, the first African American graduate of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. It certainly represents fruit worthy of repentance. It speaks to the past and to the future. Hats off to Dr. Mohler and the trustee board for this historic decision that is a step toward healing. It remains my deep conviction that there is a moral inconsistency with the orthodox Christian Faith that cannot reconcile the celebration and honoring of men stealers and child abusers with the inerrant and infallible Word of … [Read more...] about Conversation with Dr. Mohler Addressing Concerns

Here in the Peach State which is not even one of the swing or battleground states this election is like no other in some ways. We've got the candidate from Q-Anon, or that's what her opponents say. We've got the Hezbollah candidate, or at least that's what a friend from the middle east said when he saw the candidate's signs. Seems the guy owns a very successful gun store and has a silhouette of an AR-15 or some similar menacing weapon. Second amendment guy, I guess. And then we've got the candidate who brags about being "to the right of Atilla the Hun (he who "slew monks and maidens in … [Read more...] about An election like no other…or, so we’re told.

If you were raised by someone normal, you have my condolences. My dad, Lew Miller, was one of the pioneer Southern Baptist pastors in the state of Iowa. At one point, Immanuel Baptist Church in Cedar Rapids gave about 70% of the Cooperative Program money in the state. We left Immanuel to go to Taichung, Taiwan, as Foreign Mission Board missionaries for one term. Dad pastored an English language church near CCK Air Force base in Taichung and we saw what amounted to a revival at that base. The Vietnam war ended and the base shut down. During the most tense times at the tail end of the Keith … [Read more...] about Weird Dads Are the Best Dads

The administration of Mid-America Baptist Seminary asked me to write an essay on Baptist confessions of faith and Baptist distinctives. You can find the entire essay here: The discussion of Baptist distinctives must wait for an explanation of Baptist confessions. This is because Baptist distinctives are derived from Baptist confessions, which are based on the Scriptures. Some denominations write creeds, but Baptists do not develop creeds. Instead, they write confessions of faith. The late William R. Estep, a long-time professor of church history at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, explains … [Read more...] about An Explanation of Baptist Confessions of Faith

It's called The COOPERATIVE Program, not the Cooperative Program CAFETERIA. Necessary background reading  (not that anyone actually reads relevant articles): Alaska Baptists vote to withhold CP funds, this is a thorough article by George Schroeder, associate VP at the SBC Executive Committee. If you think Schroeder's piece is biased then show me how. Quotes from both sides. Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, said the action taken by Alaska’s state convention “is a unilateral breach of a 95-year system as our most trusted funding mechanism,” and added: “The … [Read more...] about How Alaska Baptists would destroy the Cooperative Program and blame it on NAMB

The three most important offerings for Southern Baptists are the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions and the Cooperative Program. How are these faring in the age of COVID? The numbers are in. Here's how we're doing. Lottie Moon Christmas Offering total exceeds goal at $159.9M The total is the second highest in history. It's $4.5 million over what IMB budgeted and $2.6 million more than was given last year. Great news here! Although some churches give to Lottie year round, most churches still … [Read more...] about Lottie, Annie, and the CP: Good news, bad news