I really like the way we do Southern Baptist missions. A recent return from the mission field with our MBC partnership nation of Italy was a fresh reminder of “why” we do cooperative missions. Every believer is commissioned to live on mission. Every local church is to be engaged in missions cooperatively and directly. Biblically and practically, working together is a no brainer. On more than one occasion, our team met and interviewed U.S. missionaries who are diligently working to make … [Read more...]
John Yeats: Virtuous words and the court of public opinion
Trevin Wax tells a compelling story about his Romanian father-in-law in “This is Our Time” (B&H, 2017). As a young man, his father-in-law was a Communist advocate. As many others in his national context, he was engaged in the demise of any form of organized faith. Under Communism, religious liberty experienced the boot of ideological expression. We know from non-redacted history of Romania how the Communist Party closed humanitarian ministries, eliminated all Christian education, and … [Read more...]
Reflections and what we must learn
As we gathered in Nashville for the called special meeting of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, it felt more like a wake. The conversations were more like what you would find when the family gathers during a funeral. Never in our Southern Baptist history has anyone resigned the post of president of the Executive Committee because of “a morally inappropriate relationship.” The members who were able to quickly rearrange schedules and form a quorum did so with a … [Read more...]
Tell me about it
Resurrection Sunday is the greatest day for local churches. If I had a wand, I would wish that every church, every Sunday, had a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. As soon as the day was winding down, I sent out an email blast to about 100 pastors, asking them about their day. Several responded: “We baptized 15 people in Shoal Creek today. Air temp: 31 degrees. Heart temp: off the charts!”— John Swadley, Joplin, Forest Park “Baptized a 35-year-old newly married man today. A 30-year-old … [Read more...]
How do you stop a revolving door?
When I approached the revolving door with my luggage, I thought to myself, “This might not be pretty.” The door was spinning at an abnormal rate. And this wasn’t a single-person revolving door. It appeared that each section could host one and 3/4 of a person. How you dealt with 3/4 of a person in a revolving door was not a problem I preferred to solve at the moment. I did calculate that getting in the revolving system was an easier proposition than getting out. That is, getting out with … [Read more...]
The 20/80 rule lives on
During my February trek to Nashville for the SBC Executive Committee meeting, I’m always blessed by the reports from the entity leaders of the SBC. It is thrilling to hear about the advance of the gospel in North America and among the unreached in neglected places of the world. Baptist Press reported an interesting stat. The president of the Executive Committee, Dr. Frank Page, said in his address that “less than 2,000 churches in our convention give 50 percent of all Cooperative Program … [Read more...]
Just two words
Sharon and I have the unique honor of being part of a 5-year-old church plant that is a rooted in the cowboy church culture. I was fascinated to learn from a conference led by pastor Justin Taylor of the Bar-nun Cowboy Church in Tatum, Texas, that in the cowboy church world there are two words that mean everything. Those two words explain the cowboy church theological underpinnings for their unique missiological strategy. Those two words encapsulate the church’s mission statement and its … [Read more...]
Must we choose between preferences?
No kidding. I was reading my half-folded Wall Street Journal. I got to the fold and, subconsciously, I realized my index finger was attempting to scroll the rest of the article up the page. I suppose I am caught in a time warp, preferring to smell ink and read hard copy and at the same time live in an age of digital communications. I can hear the purist for print and/or digital attempting to say, “Choose between the two.” I say not so fast. There is room for both. No need to create a … [Read more...]
Reflections on putting your house in order
Every trip I make with Sharon to Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Hospital, I am reminded how important it is for people to “put their house in order.” This trip in particular seemed to have some really sick people held in the grip of some form of cancer. While we are very grateful for Sharon’s good report, we are reminded how terminal we all are. I hear of too many people with some kind of medical anomaly and it breaks my heart, as I know it does yours. The bodies our Lord created for His … [Read more...]
Standing for the sanctity of life in the SBC
Just a few days ago, I met with a media leader from the Kansas City area to discuss our goals for the organizations we lead. Part of our time together included a tour of the unique building that Missouri Baptists own as part of its missionary strategy. The building is just four blocks from the Missouri State Capitol, which makes it convenient for fulfilling one of the primary roles of a state convention, namely public policy engagement that protects the religious liberties of individuals … [Read more...]
What you may have missed in the Christmas story
My longtime friend from Louisiana, Joe McKeever, crafted a column titled, “10 Things About the Christmas Story You May Have Missed.” I was fascinated at these 10 items, so much so that I began to explore on my own some less obvious things surrounding the first coming of our Lord Jesus. In his panoramic view of that very first Christmas scene, some of the things McKeever observed are: Joseph had no speaking lines Mary was a deep thinker After the angels appeared to the … [Read more...]
Over the top for the top of the world, elsewhere
The promotional materials for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions are out in circulation. This time of year, our Missouri churches often use the materials for promoting a week of prayer for our 3,800 international SBC missionaries, or some churches host a missions event that promotes all levels of missions – international, domestic, state and associational missions. One of the stories in the packet especially caught my interest because of Missouri Baptists’ … [Read more...]
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