Archive for May, 2007
Nail… Hammer… Head.
May 31st, 2007 | 1 Comment | Posted in » Baptist Issues, In the News..., Worth Reading
In case you missed it, you’ve got to check out Marty Duren’s latest post, where he responds to Ergun Caner’s article in Baptist Press.
Three words about Marty’s response…
Nail… Hammer… Head.
Is There a Middle Ground?
May 31st, 2007 | 5 Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues
I haven’t written much on the issues swirling amongst Baptists recently… primarily because life is just busy, but also because I really haven’t known what to say. I’m immensely frustrated with things both on a national and state level, and I’m not one to just rant and rave on the blog, even when I sometimes need to vent. I guess I tend to buy into the adage that if you don’t have something nice (or maybe more specifically, productive) to say, not to say it at all.
With the frustration I’ve had in mind, I write this post, and ask the question… is there a middle ground?
The background that drives my frustration? In a nutshell… it’s the lack of unity and prevalence of discord.
On the national level, there’s the large-scale debate regarding private prayer language / tongues, and to a lesser extent, baptismal requirements. IMB / NAMB guidelines essentially recommend that if you practice tongues of any sort… you can’t serve. A proposed resolution by Robin Foster, while well intended in its desire to settle the matter by determining the “will of the convention” through its messengers, seems to widen the divide more… if it passes, the convention has essentially provided direction that it doesn’t want SBC employees who practice private prayer language / tongues. Similar issues surround the baptismal requirements issue… with the IMB guidelines, even if your baptism has been accepted by the SBC church in which you’re a member, if it doesn’t meet the “proper” standards and you refuse to be re-baptized… you’re not qualified to serve. I’m sure there are other matters of conflict I haven’t touched upon.
On the state level, at least here in Missouri… we’ve got a mess. There’s the huge blow-up about a community connection ministry of the Journey church in regard to alcohol… there’s the aftermath of the Project 1000 movement… we’ve kicked out churches due to single-alignment… we’ve got a new “Save Our Convention” movement which some see as a threat to fracture the convention irrepairably (note, I’m not sure what to think it at this point, except to say that we’re already pretty messed up)… there’s a flap over the role of our state Baptist newspaper, the Pathway.
You get the picture? In general, there’s just a lot of tension between Baptists with conflicting ideas about our direction.
So here’s what I see happening behind all this. To me, there appears to be two general “sides” involved in these disputes… conservative Baptists who see very few doctrinal matters as tertiary… and conservative Baptists who see several doctrinal matters as tertiary. At root is the question, “what are tertiary doctrinal matters… and can we cooperate on those?” Both sides answer yes to the latter question… but the former is where disagreement begins (and seemingly never ends). The end result? We’ve got both sides desiring doctrinal purity… but strong tension over what matters we can agree to disagree on. Hence, conflict over private prayer language / tongues… conflict over alcohol, moderation vs. abstinence… conflict over baptismal requirements… the list goes on and on.
So I ask… is there a middle ground? Do we have irreconcilable differences?
To make it clear what I’m getting at, I’ll provide an example… prayer language / tongues. In that debate, one side holds to the belief that the modern practice of tongues / prayer language is not Biblical. The other side holds to the viewpoint that there is not enough clear Biblical evidence to support a complete cessationist position. The “cessationist” side (I use the term loosely, because I realize not everyone on that side holds to a complete cessationist position) refuses to endorse those who, in their viewpoint, participate in an unbiblical practice, in positions of leadership or service in the convention. The “continuationalist” side (again, the term is used loosely) are frustrated because the “cessationist” side seems to desire to exclude people for (what “continuationalists” see as) baseless reasons.
How do we overcome this stalemate? Is there middle ground, or will it be necessary for one side (or both) to give a bit? What will it take to see unity?
I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I’m thinking a big part involves Baptists putting to death pride.
New Banner… Like It?
May 28th, 2007 | 4 Comments | Posted in » Polls, Site News...
My good friend Micah Fries (a graphic design genius) has put together a new banner for me over the weekend. Do you like it?
This finally gives me a good reason to put up a new poll (and also provides a way for me to plug his site). Vote to the right, and let me know which one you like best, the new one (above), the old one, or even, I suppose, neither.
Do you have a Baptist Dog?
May 26th, 2007 | 3 Comments | Posted in » Just For Fun...
A strong Baptist family decided to buy a home and make everything in the house Baptist. They were going to make it look and feel Baptist through and through. So when they were finished they went to a pet shop to look for a Baptist dog.
They asked the owner, “Do you have a Baptist dog?”
Surprised, the pet shop owner thought about it for a while and then nodded, saying, “Yes… yes, I think we have a dog that will fit your description.”
So the owner brought out the dog to the family, and the father said, “Let’s see if this is a real Baptist dog.” So the father said to the dog, “Go get a Bible.”
And the dog ran over to a table, grabbed a Bible in its mouth, ran back to the man and plopped the book at his feet.
Impressed, the father continued, “Let’s see if this dog knows its books of the Bible… Turn to Psalm 23″.
The dog then opened the Bible with its snout and pawed through the pages to Psalm 23.
Very pleased, the father bought the dog and brought it home. The next day, the family had visitors. They showed their friends the Baptist dog and the things it could do.
Finally, the friends asked, “Well, can it do any other tricks that normal dogs do?”
The Baptist father wondered and said, “Hmm, I don’t know. I’ve never tried.” He then ordered the dog, “Heel.”
Suddenly the dog leaped onto the father’s lap and placed its paw on the man’s head and started to pray.
“Wait a minute!” exclaimed the Baptist mother, “This dog isn’t Baptist! It’s Pentecostal!”
(For the record, I didn’t make this up… just came across it and thought it was hilarious.)
Prayer Request Update…
May 24th, 2007 | 4 Comments | Posted in » Prayer Requests
Just wanted to post a quick update on Nancy’s nephew, and thank everyone for praying for him (please continue to do so!).
God has definitely been looking out for Tim throughout this… just three days ago, he was rushed to the hospital by a complete stranger, after crawling out of his wrecked vehicle… found to have a broken neck (the C-3 vertebra, the same as Christopher Reeves!)… yet today, he’s going home, and is expected to make a full recovery.
God is great!
Pray for Tim
May 22nd, 2007 | 2 Comments | Posted in » Prayer Requests
Last night, Nancy’s nephew, Tim, was in a serious car accident. It’s unclear as to exactly how the accident happened, but the bottom line is that his vehicle left the road and struck some trees, and that he is now in the hospital with some pretty severe injuries, including a broken neck. As we understand, he has movement in all his extremeties, so that is definitely a blessing. He was alone in the car, which is another blessing, as the damage to the vehicle was severe enough that any passengers would have been severely injured as well.
Please pray for Tim, not only for his healing, but also that God would use this situation to draw Tim to Himself. Please pray for Tim’s family as well, that they would experience God’s love and comfort in this difficult time.
Thanks in advance to all of you wonderfully caring folks who visit this site! I appreciate all of you!
Friday… Funnies!
May 18th, 2007 | 3 Comments | Posted in » Just For Fun..., My Life, Pictures
I didn’t have a Friday photo this week… well, I do, sort of. It’s actually a video, and it’s quite funny… video of Allison laughing.
I’m a proud daddy, no doubt… but I thought it was extremely cute, especially since it was the first time I’d seen her doing it!
Anyway, here she is…
Questions…
May 10th, 2007 | 6 Comments | Posted in » Just For Fun...
- Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting dead?
- Why do banks charge a fee on “insufficient funds” when they know there is not enough money?
- Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
- Why doesn’t glue stick to the bottle?
- Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?
- Why doesn’t Tarzan have a beard?
- Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?
- Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
- Whose idea was it to put an “S” in the word “lisp”?
- If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?
- Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?
- Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?
- Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?
- Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?
- Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?
- How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?
- Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that’s falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?
- In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?
- How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?
- Why is abbreviation such a long word?
- Why isn’t phonetic spelled the way it sounds?
Which one of these questions made you laugh hardest?
Do you have any additions for this list?
Commissioning…
May 10th, 2007 | No Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues
Last night, I had the immense privilege of attending an IMB Missionary Commissioning Service at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Liberty, Missouri. If you’ve never been to one, you REALLY need to… it was one of the most powerful services I’ve ever experienced.
I’m sure most of you who visit this site know about the IMB, but I thought I’d share a few stats to give some perspective:
- The IMB sends missionaries to 186 countries.
- There are currently 5,200 missionaries serving the IMB world-wide.
- IMB missionaries guided over 500,000 individuals to Christ last year.
- IMB missionaries started somewhere between 20,000 and 23,000 new churches last year.
While those stats are impressive, the task remaining is HUGE. There are over 2,000,000,000 (2 BILLION) people in our world who have never heard the gospel, and it’s going to take a lot more than the 35 new missionaries appointed at last night’s service to reach them all. Those of us here, content in our churches, satisfied with our lives, perhaps even callous to the task… all of us need to consider our part in reaching the nations with the good news of Christ. As Jerry Rankin shared last night, sending missionaries to reach the lost “is the most exciting thing Southern Baptists do… and we get to be a part of it.”
We’d all be remiss if we didn’t consider what our part is in that privilege.
As for the service itself, in addition to singing praises to God and hearing some good messages from some of our IMB personnel (Jerry Rankin gave a phenomenal message), the most powerful part of the entire night was when each of the new missionaries was given a chance to share their story. Hearing how each of them clearly received God’s call was, simply put, amazing. The majority heard God’s voice most clearly while on a short-term mission trip. Some accepted immediately, and committed to leave everything at almost a moment’s notice. Others struggled with the call over a number of years. All, however, realized, as one missionary shared, that “everyone deserves to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
I can’t begin to convey the passion and emotion that these new missionaries shared, but try to envision yourself in their shoes and think about what you’d have to give up to go… the safety and security of life here in the U.S… being away from family and friends… familiar foods… familiar places… the comfort of being able to communicate in your own language… the comfort of knowing your culture. Imagine the passion for Christ and for the lost you’d need to have to make that leap of faith, saying to God, as Isaiah did, “Here am I… send me!”
It bears repeating the question… “what’s my part?” Are we, as Dr. Rankin shared, ones who look at missionaries, affirm their work, pat them on the back, praise them… then thank God it’s not us? Do we look at our lives and really consider the fact that God doesn’t just want our prayers, gifts, and thoughts for missions… but that he wants our lives?
We really need to examine our hearts and ask ourselves if we are committed to reaching the nations… and how we, individually, are called to do just that. Not all are called to go… but all are called to care and to support the cause in some manner.
One last thing… as I witnessed the service, and the passion and sacrifices of our missionaries to reach the world with the gospel, I couldn’t help but reflect on the IMB issues of the past year and a half in regard to baptismal requirements / prayer language. The single reoccurring thought?
How dare we split hairs over this matter, standing in the way of those called to go and share Christ with a waiting world. Thousands are dying every day, condemned to eternity in hell… yet we would dare to prevent those called by God to go and rescue them over such trivial matters as where they were baptized or how they pray in private?
The task is huge. We need unity of purpose and commitment from all to even begin to tackle it effectively. Our differences are really quite insignificant when we step back and look at things… it’s time we all learned to rally around essentials, and cooperate to really make a difference in this lost world in which we live.
IMB Policies Demoted… to Guidelines?
May 9th, 2007 | 1 Comment | Posted in » Baptist Issues
Okay, I don’t get it. Wade Burleson reports that the IMB policies on private prayer language and baptismal requirements put in place almost a year and a half ago were demoted to “guidelines” at yesterday’s Trustee meeting in Kansas City (I’m kicking myself for not attending!). The guidelines are a bit more clearly worded, but the same basic message as the old policies remains.
So what’s the difference? The guidelines state that missionary candidates who practice “ecstatic utterances as prayer language” have eliminated themselves from being IMB missionaries… ditto with the policies. The guidelines state that candidates who have not been baptized by immersion under the authority of a local church that does not comply with all of the “guidelines” must be re-baptized in such a local church… ditto with the policies. The wording and implementation are almost identical… so why bother changing it from a policy to a guideline? What mitigating circumstances might exist where the guidelines would be waived?
Although I understand that “guidelines” are less binding than “policies”, the whole thing just doesn’t make any sense to me. If the guidelines are intended to weed out certain missionary candidates, why not just keep them as an official policy? Is the “demotion” intended to lessen the blow? To provide wiggle room to account for the fact that the IMB currently has employees that would be excluded under the “policies” (including Jerry Rankin, the IMB President)? Something else?
Maybe I’m just too dense to understand.
