This morning, we’ll celebrate our December graduation at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. This is our smaller of two annual commencements, but we’ll still graduate around 130 students today. The vast majority of them are Southern Baptists who are currently serving in paid vocational ministry, are presently looking for paid church staff positions, or are preparing to be domestic church planters or foreign missionaries. I hope you’ll pray for those who are transitioning to their next … [Read More]
Q&A 8: Why Are So Many Men So Immature?
10.4.2011
Question: What do you think stands as the main contributing factor in why many men today seem to be less mature than the generations of old? What do you feel are the spiritual applications?
Reply: (by Danny Akin and Alvin Reid): This is an excellent question and one that is quite relevant and extremely important for our times. When we see beer commercials mocking the immaturity of young men in our culture, we know that we … [Read More]
The Southern Baptist Convention—Name that Denomination
By now you’ve probably read that SBC president Bryant Wright has appointed a task force to study the possibility of changing the name of the Southern Baptist Convention. Wright’s announcement has elicited a number of responses, ranging from elation to despair. Besides differing opinions about the possible name change itself, there is an ongoing debate about whether or not Wright’s task force violates Southern Baptist polity, the stated will of engaged Southern Baptists, or both. I … [Read More]
How One Baptist Denomination Addressed Their Name Change (Because of Their Church Planting Focus)
Southern Baptists are talking about a name change. The stated reason: to help church planting. Much research needs to be done, and a task force is in place to ask the right questions. Yet, perhaps two helpful questions are: has anyone had this question before and what did they do?
The Baptist General Convention is a conservative, evangelical denomination with, for a point of reference, well-known pastors like Leith Anderson and John Piper. (For more context, … [Read More]
Should the SBC change its name?
As we all know, an important announcement was made by SBC president Bryant Wright at the latest Executive Committee meeting in Nashville. Wright proposed that the SBC should explore the possibility of changing the denomination’s 166-year-old name. You can see a list of the exploratory task force members here. This has profound implications for the way we carry out Kingdom work in the United States and around the globe.
The stated reason was the belief that the name might hinder … [Read More]
The Gospel and Baptist Identity Series
Over at my personal blog, Christian Thought & Tradition, I recently concluded a nine-part series titled The Gospel and Baptist Identity. In that series, I attempted to offer a constructive proposal about what I think is a healthy way to articulate Baptist identity in the early years of the twenty-first century. I received some helpful feedback, for which I’m very thankful. This is an expansion of what I’ve been teaching my Southeastern Seminary students for … [Read More]
The Sword of the Lord…and of John R Rice
John R. Rice was, arguably, the leading voice of Fundamentalism in the 20th century. At its peak in the early 1970’s, his weekly paper, The Sword of the Lord, boasted a circulation of over 130,000. Back in those days, as a young Southern Baptist disturbed by the direction of the Convention, I read the Sword faithfully. Articles such as “Southern Baptists–Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing,” “Death in the Pot at Furman University,” and “Liberalism at Southern Seminary … [Read More]
John Stott (1921-2011): Model Missional Pastor-Theologian
Yesterday, John Stott died at the age of ninety. Stott was one of a handful of men who helped bring about an evangelical renaissance in North America and the British Isles during the middle years of the twentieth century. Of that generation of giants, Billy Graham and J. I. Packer are the only two who haven’t yet departed to be with their Lord.
Numerous tributes have already been written about Stott; no doubt many more will … [Read More]
Rob Bell, meet Clark Pinnock
I just finished reading Rob Bell’s Love Wins. In short, Bell makes the case for a post-mortem opportunity for those who didn’t receive the Gospel during their earthly lives. His gift at turning a phrase helps to hide the weaknesses of his arguments. Take for example his handling of our Lord’s denunciation of the cities of Capernaum in Matt 10 (”It will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for you”). Bell interprets Jesus to be teaching that there … [Read More]
Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism
In October 2009, Union University hosted a conference titled Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism. The conference was held in conjunction with the four hundredth anniversary of the Baptists. It also revisited an oft-asked question: what is the relationship between Southern Baptists and American evangelicals? You can listen to the conference audio at Union’s website.
For those who are interested, the proceedings of that conference are also now in print. Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and … [Read More]
