A Cry for Understanding The day started like any other. As I reviewed about a dozen messages sent me overnight, one message stood out, it was from Hong Kong. My friend wrote, If Jesus is good, why does he not just come and help Hong Kong right now? The private message, sent me through a China-based social media app known as Wechat, was from someone I know well. While living in China, I had worked with this person. I consider this person a friend, who I trust. I know this person to be a Christian. Upon reading the message, I knew my friend, who is normally cool under pressure, was … [Read more...] about It’s Complicated: Hong Kong and the Church – Part 1 (Shawn Powers)
Cooperative Program off to best start since Mark Sanford fake-hiked the Appalachian Trail
I can easily top the headlines that Baptist Press uses. Use any headline you like but it's good news that the venerable Cooperative Program is off to its best start in a decade. CP giving off to best start in a decade sayeth Baptist Press. The numbers are up over a million dollars over the same period (two months) last year. The amount given, though, is a bit under what is budgeted. Designated giving, mostly Lottie and Annie, is up over 27%. Not sure what accounts for that but it's good news. It would be good to set a Lottie Moon record this year. _________________ Mark … [Read more...] about Cooperative Program off to best start since Mark Sanford fake-hiked the Appalachian Trail
Pray for Tom Ascol
Eleven years ago this week Tom Ascol asked people to pray for me. Today I'm returning the favor. Will you please pray for Tom, who collapsed during yesterday's worship service and fell unconscious? Today https://founders.org/ 2008 https://tomascol.com/pray-for-bart-barber/ … [Read more...] about Pray for Tom Ascol
Week in Review: It’s all about Bowls
It’s time for the week in review. Is this the third? Or maybe it’s two. What happened this week in Southern Baptist life? There was no fussing, no cussing, no strife. Paige Patterson authored a letter, That doesn’t make him look any better. Maybe he thought no one would see How he questioned Luter’s views of inerrancy. But now there’s another stain on his legacy.. Someone should have taught him about brevity.. My daughter had to bury her fish at sea. I should’ve broke the news to her better, Maybe in a card, a tweet, or a letter. Then there’s the … [Read more...] about Week in Review: It’s all about Bowls
Re-Thinking Our Lottie Moon Giving (Dr. Steve Horn)
Some years ago, our church hosted an International Mission Board speaker to speak to us about his work and the importance of giving to that year’s offering. As I introduced him, I challenged our church to erase whatever we thought we were going to give and be receptive to hearing from God. At the very end of his talk, our missionary speaker made a startling statement that should cause all of us to rethink our giving. The missionary told about being in a meeting with about 220 other missionary families. In this gathering, the missionaries themselves were asked to make a sacrificial gift to … [Read more...] about Re-Thinking Our Lottie Moon Giving (Dr. Steve Horn)
Answer: Dee Parsons, because she has much greater power than the SBC Credentials Committee
Question: Who should I contact if I were or knew of a victim of abuse in an SBC church or at the hands of a minister serving in an SBC church and wanted something done? It's not that I don't support the idea that offending churches should be more often and rapidly excluded from "membership" in the Southern Baptist Convention. It's just that the Credentials Committee is extremely limited in what they can do. Their ultimate action would be to recommend to the SBC Executive Committee as a whole that a certain church "in friendly cooperation" with the Southern Baptist Convention be … [Read more...] about Answer: Dee Parsons, because she has much greater power than the SBC Credentials Committee
Response to Released Paige Patterson Letter
On December 4th my local New Orleans Baptist Association of Churches (NOBA) published a response to a letter that has been publicly released 7 years after its original recipient received it. Whether or not you are inclined to think the recent leak was appropriate, the letter itself is a commentary on how many people have viewed our African American brothers and sisters over the years. As always, I am so thankful for an association of churches who will speak up for brothers and sisters who have been belittled, maligned or otherwise marginalized. It is a privilege to serve with and among … [Read more...] about Response to Released Paige Patterson Letter
The Credentials Committee: A Call for Patience (Susan Codone & Megan Lively)
The Southern Baptist Convention seems to have been frozen in time for a few decades, entrenched in doctrinal disagreements, ongoing concerns of sexual and spiritual abuse, and so focused on operational autonomy that renders it unable to police itself. For good reason, a small army has risen to protest the harm this torpor has generated. Their voices are both valid and valuable. There is a tipping point, though, at which genuine advocacy slips into routine outrage, especially regarding a large and lumbering religious system that has managed to ride by most cultural reforms on the backs … [Read more...] about The Credentials Committee: A Call for Patience (Susan Codone & Megan Lively)
What Does Autonomy Mean for the SBC?
In the past months, writers and commenters here at Voices have used the word autonomy often. The word basically means “self-ruled.” For example, some nations have regions that are semi-autonomous, meaning the region has a measure of independence. What does this word mean in the context of the Southern Baptist Convention and its churches? To answer this question, I consulted the Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists. I assumed it would include an article on church autonomy, but to my surprise, it did not. I did find an article entitled “Authority of the Southern Baptist Convention.” Here is an … [Read more...] about What Does Autonomy Mean for the SBC?
The enhanced Credentials Committee: observations and questions
Baptist Press reported yesterday about the SBC Credentials Committee's establishment of an "online submission portal for reports of a church's alleged departure from Southern Baptist polity, doctrine or practice." I want to be optimistic and supportive of the effort. It's a difficult task. Good people are involved with the best motives and highest concern for these things. My observations are not criticisms. I'm reading the stuff for the first time and relaying what strikes me about it. A few observations: It should be remembered that this is about CHURCHES, not INDIVIDUALS. The … [Read more...] about The enhanced Credentials Committee: observations and questions