Republicans consistently run for office as pro-life candidates. The party’s opposition to abortion is in its national plank that outlines the GOP’s positions on issues. This makes the recent behavior of the Missouri Senate so puzzling, if not downright inexcusable. Here is what has happened: First, a federal judge issued a ruling that invited an expansion of abortion clinics in Missouri (currently only one – in St. Louis – exists). Then the St. Louis City Council passed an outrageous … [Read more...]
How do we explain wars to children?
“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” – Matthew 24:6 It is somewhat of a dilemma to explain wars to children. We don’t want to make them worry or be frightened. There is a tendency to just ignore the subject, but sooner or later children will ask questions and they need answers. One of the problems is that adults, themselves, don’t always understand the reason for war. We can’t … [Read more...]
The Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the 16th column in a year-long series leading up to the 500th anniversary of the 16th-century Reformation on Oct. 31, 2017. As early as 1519, Martin Luther called for the gathering of a general council to reform the church, rebuffing the Roman church’s claim that only the pope could convene a valid council. A decade later, no council had been called. And in 1529 Thomas More, defending the Roman church, complained that Luther appealed to a general council merely … [Read more...]
The Book of Jude: Can apostates be Christians?
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the eighth in a series of excerpts from the new MBC resource, “The Last Apologist: A Commentary on Jude for Defenders of the Christian Faith,” available at mobaptist.org/apologetics. Of all the terms Jude uses to describe false teachers – dangerous reefs, waterless clouds, and wild waves of the sea, to name a few – he stops short of calling them apostates. Yet that is what they are. A closer look at the New Testament’s sparing use of this term may prove helpful, … [Read more...]
Truth deletes fear every time
Password anxiety. I’m pretty sure that’s a thing. You’re compelled to choose seven characters, un-guessable, throw in some capital letters, add the name of a dead pet, sprinkle in a few lower-case letters, include some numeric representation, and, on the whole, the password should eventually grow and evolve into an even better password. Essentially, it should ultimately be able to beat up all the other passwords—make them run crying from the yard. Anytime I have to choose a new password, … [Read more...]
The good of Southern Baptist polity: SBC messengers condemn Alt-right white supremacy
By now most of you have probably heard about the confusion which occurred with relation to the Alt-right resolution at this year’s Southern Baptist Convention in Phoenix. Allow me to share the non-media, unbiased version of what happened. An African American Baptist pastor from Austin, Texas, asked from the floor to have his resolution condemning the alt-right movement accepted and presented to the whole convention for approval. The Alt-right movement is a loosely organized group of people, … [Read more...]
Foster care, pro-life bills reflect compassion
These are potentially good days for Missouri’s children and pregnant moms who need assistance. Gov. Eric Greitens recently signed a bill into law that will safeguard children across the state, especially those in foster care. Known as Senate Bill 160, sponsored by Reps. Diane Franklin (R-Camdenton) and Cloris Brown (R-St. Louis) along with Sen. David Sater (R-Cassville), the new law is designed to ensure the protection of children from human traffickers, making the act of sex trafficking … [Read more...]
When you need a transitional pastor
Throughout the years, I’ve had the opportunity to serve on staff and as pastor of some great churches. Since God’s call has led me to state convention service, I’ve had the honor of serving 12 churches as transitional (interim) pastor. With rare exception, throughout the life of a church, pastoral leadership has a way of changing for multiple reasons, and when it occurs it is a great time for assisting church leaders with the process of change. One of my colleagues in the role of state … [Read more...]
Resolutions: Heart of Southern Baptists in brief
I first attended the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in 1982, early in the days of the Conservative Resurgence. The next few years saw some of our best-attended and most contentious meetings. In those days, news media from everywhere descended on our meeting sites, trying to figure out who we are and what we’re doing. They mostly failed; we are notoriously hard to understand. Then and now, the aspect of convention business most comprehensible to non-Baptist observers is the … [Read more...]
Contagious missions
One of my first memories of missions was when I was only 3 and my dad went with a short-term mission team to Guatemala in March 1978 following a massive earthquake there. My dad was part of our church’s second team who went to help Guatemalans after that tragedy. The first team worked alongside our Foreign Mission Board (now the IMB) missionaries to rebuild Damascus Baptist Church in Guatemala City. The second team went to the village of Santo Domingo Xenaco outside Guatemala City to … [Read more...]
Catholic renewal, reaction to reform
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the 15th column in a year-long series leading up to the 500th anniversary of the 16th-century Reformation on Oct. 31, 2017. In our fascination with the theological debates of the Reformation period, we often forget how much turned during this era on the mundane, political events that had very little direct connection with theological or spiritual matters. Take, for example, the Battle of Pamplona of May 20, 1521. The battle itself had nothing to do with religion … [Read more...]
‘Share Jesus without freaking out’
Reid, Alvin L. Sharing Jesus Without Freaking Out. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2017. 144 pages. $16.99. Most people who attend church at least once a month believe they have a personal responsibility to share their faith, but few actually do. A recent survey from Lifeway found that almost half of churchgoers have never shared their faith or invited someone to church, and 61 percent have not done so in the last six months. In a question asking respondents to rank attributes of growing … [Read more...]
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