By Mark Wingfield In the dialogue about “ex-SBC” folks that’s been transpiring on this site in recent weeks, a false assumption seeps in from time to time: That all “ex” Southern Baptists are now affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship….
Your congregational aroma
By Bill Wilson Like many of you, I regularly read outside the world of congregational life in an effort to understand leadership issues. Recently, in Fast Company, I ran across an article dedicated to helping startup entrepreneurs establish healthy practices…
April Fools: a treatise on the most un-Christian holiday of all times, ever
Now, Now, Children On the way to school this morning, the following conversation was heard from the back seat of my vehicular transportation, upon which were seated three young ones en route to their daily training at the local school…
FutureBaptists: A collaborative missional movement
March 6thand 7th a diverse group of Baptists from North America gathered in Philadelphia for the 50th anniversary of the North American Baptist Fellowship [NABF] of the Baptist World Alliance. Using the title—FutureBaptists: A Collaborative Missional Movement—this gathering was more…
God: Still creating, after all these years
By Rick L. Hammer God’s creation still is being created. That may be an awkward way to state this fact, but it’s true. The creation stories of Genesis might suggest God’s creative activity was a one-time act, but that could…
Outreach, from the inside out
By Will Baker My church sits on an old highway in the small county seat town of Accomac, Va. It’s a great place and the church has amazing facilities that attract a lot of attention from anyone who passes by….
I have moved on
My friend Marv Knox recently wrote a wise column in which he urged Baptists to move on from past bitterness through repentance and forgiveness. As Knox noted, others such as David Gushee and Mark Wingfield have recently written on our…
The ethics of Christian blackmail
Yesterday, while pondering the Christian reaction to the initial World Vision decision, I wrote a short article (unpublished) on how (not) to talk about World Vision on the Internet – don’t be hateful, clam down before you publish, and other…
Learning and unlearning
Recently I read this quote from professor Leonard Sweet: “If ministers are not constantly learning and unlearning, they are becoming less and less qualified to serve.” Sweet is on to something. I am an advocate for lifelong learning because there…
The ‘ex-SBC’ trilogy: A response to my respondents
David Gushee Follow David on twitter: @dpgushee We have a beloved expression in our family: “stirrin’ up the pot.” This phrase emerged from the mouth of our mischievous son when he was about 11. It referred to his occasional forays…
‘All my ex’s…’
By Bill Leonard As an “ex-SBCer” I’m hesitant to write about the situation among Baptists in the second decade of the 21st century. According to my friend David Gushee, as an ex-SBCer I should actually be retired, or, as one…
Baptists on the other side of anger
By Mike Smith My friend Marv Knox recently wrote a wise column in which he urged Baptists to move on from past bitterness through repentance and forgiveness. As Knox noted, others such as David Gushee and Mark Wingfield have recently written…