What is the most often sung Christmas hymn in North America? Here’s a hint: it was never meant to be a Christmas song. Well, if you said “Joy to the World” you are correct. But even a casual glance at this favorite reveals much more of a Second Coming theme than it does a Christmas theme. Yet it is one of the world’s favorite Christmas songs of all time. If the question is “what makes it so great?” the answer may be found in two genius craftsmen: Isaac Watts and Lowell Mason. “Joy to the … [Read more...]
Christmas feels, Christmas fills
That Christmas feeling. All year long. Because Christmas movies. All. Year. Long. I have a high threshold for these things. I watch them all. So when Christmas rolls around for real, I get excited. Christmas movies—at Christmas! I’ve seen enough of them to know that to experience the season well, you have to fill it with the proper Christmas components. Christmas cookie-baking (spoiler alert: the secret ingredient is love), decorating the tree while singing loud carols (possibly falling … [Read more...]
A Statistical Analysis of Growth in SBC Congregations by Race and Ethnicity from 1990-2018
Last spring, I commissioned our Great Commissions Relations and Mobilization Team to discover where we were in our SBC congregations by race and ethnicity from 1990-2018. The team consists of Julio Arriola, Peter Yanes, Charles Grant, Ashley Clayton, and team leader, Willie McLaurin. Our Asian American Executive Director, Peter Yanes, was asked to lead this study and secured the needed assistance to accomplish the project. This fall, one of the most informative and encouraging sessions … [Read more...]
Strike the flag to half-mast
Joining thousands in prayer for the International Mission Board’s recognition of its 175-year history has been a joy in 2020. For seventeen and a half decades, Southern Baptists have maintained an uninterrupted witness among the nations, in spite of famine, plagues, domestic and world-wide wars, presidential elections, economic downturns, depressions, recessions, inflation, and civil unrest. This commitment has not come without sacrifice. Strike the flag to half-mast! During the course of … [Read more...]
Christmas at the Hinkle home remembered with gratitude
I left home, in Nashville, Tenn., for the Air Force when I was 23. Other than for two brief years working as a business reporter for The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville, I have been gone from my homeland for the entire time. That would be 43 years (now I have given away my age!). When one lives far from home, it is rare to get home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mom has always insisted on Christmas. So I have made it home for Christmas every year, but one since I left home. Santa … [Read more...]
Staying on the inside track
I already felt a little uneasy about the day. Then I heard myself say to a family member, “Oh, that train wreck has already left the station,” and I realized it might be worse than I thought. It was early so I figured the angsty, disconnected feeling might be because it was still not-enough-coffee o’clock. The fix? Iced coffee! It’s like the polar plunge of beverages. Me: Hey, freezer door dispenser. Could I have four ice cubes, please? Door dispenser: Sure. HOW ABOUT 8,000? The ice … [Read more...]
Will Southern Baptists practice biblical conservatism or acceptable progressivism?
In my reading over this past Thanksgiving weekend, one of the articles that really caught my attention reported how a mainline denomination may soon cease to exist. Over the years, this same denomination has captured media headlines because they have popularized a very progressive theological direction relating to the cultural issues of today. Yet, our Southern Baptist Convention remains a convention of churches that deeply and unashamedly believes in the authority and infallibility of … [Read more...]
A gift for Missouri Baptist pastors
The Missouri Baptist Foundation loves Missouri Baptist pastors. If you add up the years of ministry between our President Dr. Neil Franks and our Ambassadors (Dr. John Marshall and me) we represent over 100 years of pastoral ministry experience. We know the joy of preaching God’s Word and seeing people come to faith in Christ, seeing baptisms, watching people take their next step of faith, and officiating when people say, “I do”. We have lived through the grief of burying beloved friends … [Read more...]
We should acknowledge the goodness of God
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.” (Psalm 105:1) Some have been saying, “Let’s hurry and get 2020 over. It’s been a bad year!” Perhaps we all need to think a little deeper and be realistic about the many blessings we have had in spite of the coronavirus. When George Washington made the first proclamation for a day of Thanksgiving, they had much more than we have to deal with now. A good reason to study history is to help us realize our current blessings. Even in my … [Read more...]
Thankful people
Quick…name a chorus or a hymn dedicated to thanksgiving. Not that easy is it? In fact, outside of a couple of the favorites that are quite old (“Give Thanks,” “We Gather Together,” “My Tribute,” “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come”) I can’t think of many. We know that “thanksgiving” is different from “praise;” however, in our worship time they tend to merge into adoration. This is natural as many of the Psalms that include thanksgiving (which are many) tend to occur inside an “enthronement” … [Read more...]
‘Blessed beyond’
Periodically, someone places a few words in print that strike to the core. Steven Strauch, director of missions for the Laclede County Baptist Association in Lebanon, Mo., is battling for his life against cancer. When I saw these words, I shared with him that it is not unusual for someone facing a life-threatening illness to articulate something incredibly profound. In the context of Thanksgiving, I knew I needed to share these words with Pathway readers, so I asked for, and received, his … [Read more...]
History an essential element of a Christian worldview
“To be ignorant of what happened before you were born is to be ever a child.” – Cicero One of the passions of The Pathway staff is our love for history. Especially the history of Christianity, but also of the world, of America, of the church, of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and the Missouri Baptist Convention. Our love for history is derived from Scripture, since God is the author of history, the Alpha and Omega. I have always been interested in history. A considerable percentage … [Read more...]
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