Salvation by works. That’s a phrase that is anathema to baptists the world round. Instead, the rallying cry is sola fide, by faith alone. But what if that wasn’t the message of Jesus? We are, I presume, all familiar with…
More questions about Christian beliefs
In Friday’s post I attempted to answer two questions that were asked of me by a group of friends in my church, Baptist Church of the Covenant in Birmingham. In response to the question “Wouldn’t the world be more peaceful…
Southern Seminary VP Impedes Tolerance
My jaw nearly slapped the ground when I read the words. They bellowed from Mark Coppenger, vice president for extension education and director of Southern Seminary’s extension center in Nashville, Tenn. Recently he sat on a panel that discussed the…
That time of year…
I’ve never felt “called” to ministering to university students, but for the better part of 15 years they have been the one age demographic that I have found myself around the most. As a Student Minister at a church, working…
Three responses to 9/11 grief
Eleven years ago on September 11, I was in college. I was getting out of a Tuesday morning class when I heard people talking about an airplane crash. As I walked back to my apartment, I heard more and more…
Deacons in a Baptist church are a waste if . . .
Sarah looks at the ballot for deacons for the coming year in her congregation. Today in the Sunday worship services is the annual election of a new set of deacons. As she looks at the ballot, she wonders to herself,…
Think attendance in your church is declining? Think Again
Some eyewitnesses claim the attendance in their congregations is declining. This may be true. In some cases, however, congregations do not know how to count. If you think attendance in your congregation is really declining, I invite you to think…
Can corporations walk the aisle?
As the race for the White House heats up with Paul Ryan’s Republican VP nod, questions concerning corporate political involvement remain. Crucial to the debate around corporate political funding are two words: Citizens United. They refer to the landmark, 2010…
Fear and congregations that give in to it
How many times have you heard there are three kinds of people in this world? One memorable version of this is from the 1960s “spaghetti” western starring Clint Eastwood that referred to the good, the bad and the ugly. When…
Number crunching and list keeping
Every couple years I put on my accountant hat and crunch numbers. Not the tax-paying accountant hat I put every year by April 15 and sweat over numbers. My number-crunching-accountant hat is the one I put on when I start…
What churches can learn from the Olympics
As the Olympics got underway, the whole world seemed abuzz with excitement. Much of that excitement, though, quickly turned to complaints on the internet. Almost immediately the hashtag #NBCFail had cropped up on Twitter and became a trending topic. The source of…
Are there good reasons to start new congregations?
A quarter of a century ago I moved to South Carolina in response to the call of the largest Baptist body in that state. Baptists of various tribes in South Carolina lacked a commitment to starting new congregations. I was…