The GCR has always been about energizing and mobilizing Southern Baptists to get the gospel to the unreached peoples of the world and the underserved regions of North America, and to do so as effectively and efficiently as possible. Nothing more and nothing less is the goal and agenda of this movement. If something stands in the way or hinders this then it needs to change or be set aside as unhelpful and unnecessary to … [Read More]
Former SBC Leader McCall Says NAMB Is Obsolete
And he said it a couple of years before all the recent chatter about the future of NAMB. Check out this story in today’s edition of Associated Baptist Press.
The College Student’s Dilemma: Should I Get Involved in my Church or a Campus Ministry?
The below is an article I’m working on in response to a question a lot of our college students have… we have several campus ministries represented at our church: Campus Outreach, Intervarsity, Baptist Campus Ministries, Campus Crusade for Christ, etc…we love and support them all… Many students live with a dilemma as I explain below. I’d love your response to this. This is a work in progress:
I want to try and answer the question of … [Read More]
Worship and Ecclesial Purity
This is the second in a five-part series on a theological framework for worship. I began with a post on theological integrity. This week we focus on ecclesial purity. My former students will note that I’ve changed the nomenclature for this part of the framework to be more all-inclusive of matters related to worship as the people of God.
“Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord,” the psalmist asks, and, “Who shall stand in … [Read More]
One suburban family’s story of escaping the American dream for the Gospel dream
The following is by a man in my church, Curtis Alan. Curtis is now the international church planting pastor at the Summit Church.
My family and I returned just a few short months ago from serving as church planters in a majority Muslim context. The location we served in had been severely devastated by the 2004 tsunami. Since being back, I’ve had more than one person ask me what we most feared while over there. Was … [Read More]
Myth #5: The GCR is actually a grand Calvinist plot to infiltrate the SBC and gain control or at least greater influence in the Convention.
This may be my favorite of all the myths. The wild imaginations that have produced it are a wonder to behold. I mean, you have to stay up late and work really hard to come up with something like this. These brothers ought to write science fiction or mystery novels! There are millions for the making. Now, what are the facts?
First, the “Axioms Message” has only one passing and playful reference to Calvinism. The point … [Read More]
Open Letter from Ronnie Floyd
Note: You will find below an email letter sent out by Dr. Ronnie Floyd, chairman of the GCR Task Force. It expresses so well his heart, mine, and all the members of the Task Force. Let me encourage you to: 1)read it and 2)pray for our work in the days ahead. We truly have an awesome, indeed an impossible, assignment that will only be accomplished through the prayers of God’s people who intercede for us … [Read More]
I am OK with not Understanding Everything
Recently I memorized Psalm 131, and it has been of GREAT comfort to me.
PSALM 131
1 O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, hope in the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore.
There are … [Read More]
Becoming the Great Commission Church
The Northwest Baptist Association in Oklahoma is sponsoring a conference titled “Becoming the Great Commission Church” on November 2. Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church in Woodward is the host church. The speakers include Alvin Reid, Anthony Jordan, and yours truly. The schedule for the conference is as follows:
Nathan Finn: Getting the Gospel Right
9:00 AM
Alvin Reid: Getting the Gospel Out
10:00 AM
Anthony Jordan: The Gospel and Cooperation
11:00 AM
Lunch at the host church
Panel Discussion: Moderated by Doug Baker
1:00 PM
Nathan … [Read More]
Myth #4: The goal of the Great Commission Task Force is to dismantle if not destroy the Cooperative Program as we know it today.
Recently a Baptist Press article lamented that, “Some leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention tell us that the CP is dead or is no longer effective or efficient, or needs to be redefined. Simply stated, these leaders tell us the CP doesn’t work; it’s a relic of the past; it’s the old way; it’s a program, and programs are an anathema; and that CP is all about old denominational loyalty.” Then just a few days … [Read More]
