The 2023 SBC Annual Meeting concluded in New Orleans with much to celebrate and some to consider. Our churches must prioritize figuring out how best to offer hope to the world.
As we approach another annual meeting for the Southern Baptist Convention, we are potentially in for more disagreements and controversies. My contribution is to pray for God’s will to be done in God’s way, and I hope you can join me.
The Southern Baptist Convention is a fellowship of over 47,000 Baptist churches scattered across the United States and its territories. With growing concerns at the national level, it is important for our church to consistently evaluate our ongoing involvement with this group for the sake of the Great Commission.
It is a time of reckoning for the Southern Baptist Convention after the report of the Sexual Abuse Task Force. In light of all that has been done wrong in the past, it is time now to do what is right.
The Advance Leadership Podcast is for leaders by leaders. On this episode, Lee Clamp interviews Travis Agnew about the Distinctive Discipleship process.
We cannot depend upon widespread methods hoping to address the specific needs of everyone. Particular people require distinctive discipleship.
Our church is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention for the sake of fulfilling the Great Commission. With increasing conflicts within the denomination, we must clarify our church’s roles and responsibilities due to this connection.
15,000 messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention commissioned the Executive Committee to conduct a complete, thorough, independent investigation into sexual abuse allegations. If they fail to comply, they leave impassioned ministers of the gospel with very few options.
At the Southern Baptist Convention 2021 Annual Meeting, some things were better than imagined, and some realities were worse than expected. When there’s standing room only in the SBC, I pray for a day when it’s about the most important, unifying issues.
For all the good that the Southern Baptist Convention does, there are those members out there embarrassing the rest of the family. After our victory for biblical inerrancy, I pray we do not lose the battle for ministry integrity.
These are the notes for the opening at the South Carolina Baptist Convention 2019 Annual Meeting. You can watch the video here (around the 40-minute mark). As ministry leaders committed to engaging the culture, we must never rely upon our limited efforts. God is not dependent upon us to get our jobs done to reach this world with the gospel. …
In March 2019, LifeWay Christian Resources executives made the announcement that their stores would all be closed within the year. While the publishing side of the company is doing well, the brick and mortar stores have struggled to stay afloat. Like many other chain and local book stores, LifeWay was losing money and had to make an adjustment. While the …
I had the privilege to serve as the camp pastor at the Fuge Camp at Southern Seminary in Louisville on July 9-13, 2018. Here is the outline of the sermons I preached. Pray these notes drive you to reflect on the truths of God’s Word as it propels us to His mission!
In Star Wars Episode 4, A New Hope, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi uses a Jedi mind trick on a group of stormtroopers to protect the safety of this ragtag group of heroes. As he waves his hand upon the investigative soldiers seeking to identify if the robots in the back seat are the ones on the most-wanted list of the Empire, he changes their mind with the iconic phrase:
“These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”
The stormtroopers are forced to believe him and they continue on to safety.
Sometimes, I wish I could wave my hand around and get people to think differently. Especially, when it comes to ministry. Let me explain.
It is true that in any arena of life, people have the capacity to position themselves intentionally or inwardly hope that they will rise to a certain platform. While we wish that was untrue in relation to ministry, it unfortunately exists there as well.
As a pastor, I see the attempts around me and notice the trends inside me to advance our personal agendas. But as someone who teaches the truth for a vocation, obviously, I should beyond such trivial pursuits. When I teach from the Bible, I should be able to come from a grounds of moral and leadership superiority and yet I often discover that quite the opposite is true.
Sometimes the religious leaders are the problem.
My denomination is caught in a divisive moment at a critical time.
In recent months scandals and controversies have swirled around certain pastors, presidents, and professors within the Southern Baptist Convention. While some controversies have been front-page catastrophes and others have been suspiciously quiet departures, it appears as if someone is cleaning house. Some claim that institutions are cowering before cultural pressure and others claim this to be a day of divine reckoning.
Maybe you have heard of Lottie Moon. She is famous in Southern Baptist circles for a missionary offering that bears her name. She spent close to 40 years serving as a missionary in China. In her last years in China, the Chinese were struggling with poverty, famine, and the effects of war. When Moon returned from her second furlough in …
We had a great time at Harvestfest this year! I had the wonderful privilege of putting the team together to lead worship. The band was composed from 3 different churches. Our worship team and tech team did a wonderful job leading the thousands gathered. David Sons brought a great message and we had some wonderful food. The night was capped …
In this video, Lander University’s BCM Director, Scott Smith, talks about how to pray for your spouse. Scott’s wife Judy was in an accident years ago that changed their lives, but strengthened their marriage.
When I was growing up, I envisioned missionaries to be super spiritual people who were impervious to normal spiritual struggles that the rest of us endured. They were so holy that they never had family issues, crises of faith, or bad days. Then I got to know missionaries and discovered how far off from the truth that actually is. As …
The 2015 ERLC Leadership Summit addressed “The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation” to equip Christians to apply the gospel on these issues with convictional kindness in their communities, their families, and their churches. This event was held in Nashville on March 26-27, 2015.
When it comes to race, our churches must reflect the united kingdom of Christ more than the divided states of America.
I haven’t gotten to watch all the videos from this event, but what I have seen has been so biblical, passionate, and helpful. One message was from pastor, author, and rapper Trip Lee. He does a great job in the video above talking about “Calling the Next Generation to Racial Reconciliation.”
Some great tips he shared:
We are not just looking for blacks and whites in the same room, we want blacks and whites in the same family – through Jesus.
All the videos from the @ERLC summit on the gospel and racial reconciliation now online and available: ERLC.com/videos
I was honored to have been asked to preach at the 2014 Pastors’ Conference for the South Carolina Baptist Convention last week. The circumstances were a God-thing, and I was humbled to be a part. Speakers at the 2014 Pastors’ Conference, which met under the banner of “This Hope” and featured sessions on “Hope for His Servant,” “Hope for His Church,” …
Such a wonderful time at Harvestfest 2014! I was honored to be able to work with a team to lead worship there again this year. I love this event because many churches work together and it’s all one big family! Jay Hardwick and the worship team did a fantastic job. Cole’s monologue was on point. The extra musicians and groups …
Around 4:15 PM today, Judy Smith went to glory. My words will never do justice to express how much I love this dear saint and her family, but I will try. Judy is the wife of Scott Smith who has now served Lander University as the BCM Director and Campus Minister for 30 years. The first time I really got …
One of the most frequented questions I am asked focuses on the issue of election (or predestination). For the record, I believe in biblical election. For the record, I also believe in free will. Why? Because they are both in the Bible. I’m a biblicist. I am putting all I have on the truths of God’s Word. So even if my brain …
Dr. Danny Akin is the President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. While a great intellectual gift to the Church, he is also a husband and father. That role has also served as a gift to the Church. Watch this interview with him and his son that Dr. Russell Moore conducted concerning “Raising Boys to Be Godly Men.” Great practical and …
In the times we live, it is hard to have respectful disagreements. In this age of tolerance, people are intolerant if you say your beliefs are correct. There is no absolute truth except the absolute truth that there is none (are you getting the problem here?). In these current cultural wars, oftentimes, theological differences are accepted for the sake of …
This has been a whirlwind of a week. Monday morning, I traveled to Montreal, Canada to meet, encourage, learn, and pray for church planters in that area. We were back Tuesday night! It was a fast paced but a very special time.
Our time was spent with passionate men of God, who are dedicated to the Great Commission. They love the Lord with their hearts but also their minds. They have studied that city and know the areas in which they are trying to reach. Spending time with the Send Montreal team of the North American Mission Board was not only educational but edifying as well.
Montreal’s history is unique. There was a time when the city basically walked away from organized religion. The city is now 0.5% evangelical Christian and there is 1 church per 185,000 people in that area.
We were invited to come and see the work that is being done. While the stats seem bad, God is at work.
I’m not the best father. I’ve got plenty of issues I am working out. God is still shaping me to father like he fathers.
But I have been learning a pretty solid secret of fathering as of late.
Ready for it?
When you go somewhere, take your kids with you.
I’m honored to have been asked by LifeWay and Sherwood Pictures to partner with them again on another Bible study curriculum. I’ve been very humbled to play a very small part in their ministry over the last couple of years, and I was humbled again that I was thought of to come alongside the latest project. I was contacted about …
I’m still processing all God did among us in West Africa. In some ways, this was the hardest mission trip I have ever been on in the fact of the conditions and what it takes to get there. In other ways, it was the easiest in that it was very simple in theory. Our primary objective was to share the gospel.
When speaking to our partnering missionary, I told him how difficult it was to get to him. I had to fly across the world. Then drive across the country. Then walk across the desert. Then, I was where he wanted me. He said, “This is frontline missions. There’s a reason your church was the last one to visit me months ago. No one else is willing to come out here. It’s too far. Too hard.”
It was interesting to find out that out of the 18 summer volunteers serving with them this summer, 6 of them are from North Side, 3 are from Brook Hills (David Platt’s church), and the rest are from different locations. Out of all the Southern Baptist churches, only 2 “radical” churches (sorry for the pun) are willing to encourage their students to go there. And that is the reason why we must continue to go.
In my life, I’ve learned that God often does the most with the least expected.
We often think we’ve got it all figured out. In our estimation, we have enough knowledge to map out God’s plan for our lives.
But that rarely happens. Oftentimes, God uses things in our lives that we never ever saw coming.
I said “yes” to the ministry when I was a teenager. I really didn’t know what area I wanted to serve, I liked doing so many different things.
And yet, if you look at what God is using me the most in right now, I never would have seen this coming.
Thursday night, I was honored to lead worship and preach for Lander’s BCM. I felt pretty clear concerning the direction for the message, but I knew it was going to be a bit different. I wanted to focus on the biblical character Demas. If you haven’t heard about him, you are not alone. He’s not that famous. We don’t know …
I posted yesterday concerning the approval at the South Carolina Baptist Convention of the Great Commission Resurgence. This approval met with a very significant majority vote (which shocked me personally). While there are many different changes, the one that keeps me focused is that it changes the budget for more emphasis on sending more missionaries to the field. It takes away some money from our institutions but also gives them allowance to raise money in other avenues.
The vote was a significant majority, but everyone involved are not raving fans (I know you’ve never heard of a situation like that in a church setting ;)). I’m sympathetic to both sides. I have dear brothers who were a part of leading the change and I have dear brothers who tried to stop it. I see both sides, but the reality is, the change has happened now.
So, what do you do when the church vote doesn’t go your way?
North Side is a part of the Southern Baptist Convention, and within that denomination, we are specifically aligned with the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Yesterday, we took a group of the staff to be a part of the yearly Convention meeting.
Recently, there has been dialogue concerning the allocation of Southern Baptist funds. When the recession hit, the Convention as a whole had to figure out how and where to cut back. From that event, the Great Commission Resurgence was a movement within the Convention to review how we spend money and where we send our resources. Yesterday, part of our leadership were in attendance to decide how South Carolina should go forward with their funds.
When North Side takes up an offering each week, 10% of that automatically goes to the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention. When all of our Baptist churches put their funds together, we “cooperate” and send more missionaries than individual churches could on their own. So, even if you haven’t heard about this discussion, the decision yesterday effected where some of your tithe and offering money goes to.
We thought it would be great for you to hear how a large group of very different people united together around the gospel yesterday. Of course there are concerns about the strategy, and some people are not raving fans, but what I thought was amazing yesterday was very opinionated people got together and shared together in a Christian, civil way.
The following is an article provided by the Baptist Courier:
What an incredible weekend! With a limited number of theaters showing the film Courageous, it was the top 5 movie in the box office this weekend! That is unheard of!
If you got to see it, you know the range of emotions you experience during this roller coaster ride. It is absolutely powerful. We watched it with a Friday night showing at 7:00 that North Side rented out. It was great to watch it and experience it with my church family.
Many of asked about the Bible study I worked on. You can purchase “Honor Begins at Home” with LifeWay stores now. It is an 8-session study that highlights principles in the book. You can actually download a copy of one week’s lesson for free here.
But there is a slight catch.
The Southern Baptist Convention met this week in Phoenix for their annual meeting. I was unable to go, but I tried to stay informed through Twitter and such to see what was going on. It was the lowest attended meeting in years (possibly because Phoenix is a far way away from the Bible Belt and the economy). SBC has had the lowest number of baptisms last year that they have had in 50 years. Not a good sign. Many are wondering if the SBC will make it.
I will say this. I have never seen such a rejection of status quo in our Convention as I see right now. When theologians who are normally stereotyped for the lack of evangelistic fervor are leading the call for a resurggence on the Great Commission, we are heading in a good place. When young pastors are heavily involved rather than choosing to steer clear of the Convention, that is a good sign. When a Convention fights for the nations, ethnic diversity, and a desire to trim the financial fat that has been accumulated, we are heading in a good direction.
I know there are controversies where all this is going. Many reading may think that some things could be handled differently. Maybe it could be led better or in a different direction, but I am at least excited about that it is going somewhere!
Highlights:
A lot of great things took place, and one of them being David Platt’s message Wednesday morning (his message starts at about the 8th minute). You can view that here:
I’m heading back from Nashville today from a busy few days at LifeWay. I left Sunday in the middle of the last service to get to GSP to make a flight. Monday and Tuesday were full of ideation for LifeWay’s 2012 curriculum. I was humbled to write for this great team again when they asked me to write a unit on selected Psalms entitled “The Heart of Worship.”
It was great catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. While I was there, I also got to spend some time with the editorial team for Courageous.
I was so excited to receive these copies in the mail of LifeWay’s LifeTruths upcoming quarterly edition. The crew at LifeWay does a fantastic job at this Bible study curriculum geared towards parents. I was honored to write for the second time for this publication. The first time I wrote a curriculum called “I (Still) Do” on marriage. In …
Last week, I had the privilege of brainstorming with the Sherwood Pictures Team and LifeWay leadership for the upcoming “Courageous Bible Study” based on the Courageous movie coming in September 2011. I was humbled when they asked me to be a part of the writing process, and I am even more humbled after spending a week working on this material.
I can’t go into too many details concerning the film or the curriculum, but I can share some things with you so you can make this a matter of prayer:
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