Discouragement is not an emotion with which I am very familiar, but over the past several weeks I have felt it acutely. My sadness has been induced by the steady drip of ministerial sex scandals and the destruction they have wrought. In fact, I have found myself not wanting to check social media, dreading to learn about the next scandal. Most prominently, the Ashley Madison expose has shaken church after church, ministry after ministry, and family after family. And, as Russell Moore has … [Read more...]
Jason Allen: Pastor, guard your heart
Discouragement is not an emotion with which I am very familiar, but over the past several weeks I have felt it acutely. My sadness has been induced by the steady drip of ministerial sex scandals and the destruction they have wrought. In fact, I have found myself not wanting to check social media, dreading to learn about the next scandal. Most prominently, the Ashley Madison expose has shaken church after church, ministry after ministry, and family after family. And, as Russell Moore has … [Read more...]
Support world missions
Many Southern Baptists have heard about the impending reduction of our missionary force by the International Mission Board. After years of unprecedented advancement in numbers, there will be a large reduction of somewhere around 600-800. Our missionary count will be well below 4,000. My heart is saddened to hear the necessity of this move. All of us want the gospel to reach the unengaged peoples of the world. We have open doors that could shut at any time. Now is the time to be ramping up … [Read more...]
The church doesn’t carry a white flag
There’s a straight line that runs through the thinking of many secular journalists and your average person seeking to claim the many-splendored territory known as “the right side of history” – that the church is going to give on gay marriage. It’s just a matter of time, they argue, before the government drops the hammer. When that happens, evangelical churches – including the nation’s largest denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention – will come to heel beneath the steel-toed boot of … [Read more...]
An open letter from IMB President Platt on personnel reductions
Dear SBC Family, By now many of you may have heard that last week, IMB announced a plan to reduce the total number of our personnel (both here and overseas) by 600-800 people over the next six months. Since the moment this announcement was made, we have sought to communicate the details of this decision as clearly as possible to churches, state conventions, and national entities across the SBC (see this article and this FAQ document, in particular). In the middle of it all, though, I … [Read more...]
The four best family-friendly movies of 2015
Each year movie studios save the good stuff (well, comparatively) until the winter season, having bombarded us the first three months with product they have no faith in, then jamming the theaters during summertime with countless cape-wearing crusaders who battle nemeses for 140 minutes. True, the Marvel extravaganzas are all distracting enough, but without their computer-generated magic we’re usually left with weak storylines and colorless portrayals. I keep hoping we’re going to see the … [Read more...]
Broken pencils, burned clothes
“…this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:10 How sad to see a child show up at school in the fall with little to work with and inadequate clothing! How good it feels when we can do something to prevent this from happening. It is heartening to see so many things being done to “help” children succeed in school, but perhaps we should take a closer look at the results of our efforts. Many times I have seen pencils in classrooms that … [Read more...]
One man, one woman for life, same as it ever was
Across town, the annual Gay Pride parade was setting attendance records. The usual assortment of flamboyant costumes swirled around revelers celebrating the previous day’s victory over an ancient institution they’d found confining. One straight couple said they brought their toddlers, Fox and Bear (no kidding), so they could understand both freedom and homosexuality. About five miles down the road, in the little church my mother attends, the Ledbetter clan was gathered with other great … [Read more...]
Building trust as a leader
“Trust me!” Ever hear yourself saying these words to those you lead? We live in a world that is skeptical of trusting anyone. A recent Gallup poll suggested that Americans don’t trust anything, from used car salesmen to Supreme Court justices. The poll also included banks, television news reports, the police, public schools, and just about everything else. Probably for good reasons, 56% of those surveyed don’t trust church leaders either. In 1973, “the church or organized religion” was the … [Read more...]
Marriage, Supreme Court deserves fervent prayer
NASHVILLE (BP) – The Supreme Court will soon decide whether states can legally choose to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. It is a watershed moment in our nation’s history. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has filed briefs with the court; argued in public and in private about why marriage, defined as the union of one man and one woman, matters as a social good; and more than there is space to list here. But beyond all this we as Christians and churches … [Read more...]
Is the SBC in a golden era of theological education?
KANSAS CITY (BP) – Since the Southern Baptist Convention’s founding in 1845, the SBC’s primary – and most unifying – effort has been collaborative missionary efforts. That was our raison d’ê·tre in 1845 and it remains so today. Yet, even during the SBC’s earliest years, theological education was an accompanying concern. Early SBC luminaries such as R.B.C. Howell, W.B. Johnson, Basil Manly Sr., Basil Manly Jr. and, most especially, James P. Boyce called for a common theological institution … [Read more...]
Mohler: Newsweek on the Bible — So Misrepresented It’s a Sin
Newsweek magazine decided to greet the start of 2015 with a massive cover story on the Bible. For decades now, major news magazines have tended to feature cover articles timed for Christmas and Easter, taking an opportunity to consider some major question about Christianity and the modern world. Leading the journalistic pack for years, both TIME andNewsweek dedicated cover article after article, following a rather predictable format. In the main, scholars or leaders from very liberal … [Read more...]