More SWBTS Chapel

Here's the latest from Baptist Press on the SWBTS chapel service on Tuesday.

http://www.bpnews.org/bpnews.asp?ID=23889

I mentioned to a friend the other day that probably Dwight McKissic spoke as he did because he is used to doing so in his pulpit within the African-American church climate. That is exactly what Bro. McKissic says in the above article:

McKissic had stated in his letter to Patterson, "If addressing the [IMB] policy violated SWBTS chapel protocol, and apparently it did, I deeply apologize for having done so. Please forgive me; I was unaware of this protocol. I was speaking from my faith tradition (National Baptist Convention) and cultural background that encourages addressing unbiblical and discriminatory issues prophetically and publicly. However, I do believe in submission to authority and I will submit to SWBTS protocol in the future to the extent that I am aware of it." He offered to submit an advance manuscript of his message if he is invited again as a chapel speaker [BP].

I don't know if the above statement gives Bro. McKissic a pass. It seems to me he should have been more sensitive to the issue of speaking so strongly against an IMB policy in the chapel at Southwestern and at least given Dr. Patterson the courtesy of a "heads-up" on what he was going to say. That could have prevented this fiasco. Whether one agrees with the IMB policy or not or agrees with Dr. Patterson's stance against tongues or not, a preacher being invited by the president of Southwestern has the obligation to at least give a private warning before releasing a bomb. Bro. McKissic says that he desires to submit to authority. When you preach in another's pulpit, you are under authority. Submission requires giving warning when something super controversial is coming in the sermon.

SWBTS Chapel Service

Well the dust still hasn't really cleared from yesterday's chapel service at Southwestern. Read this from Baptist Press:

http://bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=23882

Read the seminary news release in its entirety at www.swbts.edu

I'll have some reflections of my own on the IMB and "private prayer language" later in the week.

Success in Ministry

You no doubt will benefit from reading Ben Witherington's post on success in ministry. You'll stop to think.

http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/

Plagerism in the Pulpit

I've been thinking some lately about plagerism in the pulpit. A New York Times article recently reported that a pastor had admitted preaching other guys' sermons that he downloaded from the internet. We were visting with friends earlier this summer who believed the same thing about their pastor. We have all borrowed from each other in the homiletical arena, and "there is nothing new under the sun," but when does a preacher cross the line into plagerism?

• When his outline is someone else's and he doesn't give credit
• When one of those cute "turns of the phrase" that is not his is not credited to the one who really turned it
• When another's experience is related as his own [that's also lying!]
• When quotes are lifted from books or sermons without giving credit

I'm sure I'm missing some things here, but this is a start. I tell students when writing papers that if the thought is not your thought footnote. I would say to preachers--If the thought is not really yours give credit. Your credibility and integrity will then never be questioned.

What about background material gained from study? When you simply summarize background material as you explain a text in the sermon, you don't have to give credit. When you define biblical terms, I don't think it is necessary to quote the source; your congregation will assume you looked that definition up anyway. However, if you find something really great that you want to use and you do so word-for-word, give credit.

I have used outlines of others, quotes from others, etc. in the past--we all have. But I have attempted each time to make sure the proper person gets credit for it. That's only right. If I might twist a verse just a bit--"Give credit to whom credit is due!"

New York SS Teacher

Well much has been said in the press this week about the New York state Sunday School teacher who was "fired" from her ministry in a Baptist church in New York state [I'm glad to say not an SBC church]. Someone asked a question about it during the Wedneday night prayer meeting I attended, and I've read several blog entries. All I can say is that church will have a tough time getting ministry done without the women. If it had not been for women SS teachers in the churches I pastored, we wouldn't have had very many. I shudder to think what my churches would have done if we had to rely on men teachers.

Top 10 for Worship

You might be interested in this Top Ten from Jim Shaddix on worship.

http://www.baptistcourier.com/785.article

Pharaoh's Heart

I've been looking over the latest edition of edition of the New American Commentary: Exodus by Douglas K. Stuart. This is going to be one of the better volumes of the series, no doubt about it. There are many exegetical conundrums in Exodus. One of which is the hardening of Pharaoh's heart, which is found several times in the book [4:21; 9:12; 10:20, 27 just to name a few]. In his Excursus on this matter Stuart wrote in part:

His [Yahweh's] purpose in preventing Pharaoh from giving in too easily and too early was, as
will be seen in subsequent parts of the narrative, to allow himself fully to demonstrate his sovereignty over Pharaoh, the Egyptians, the land of Egypt itself, and the gods to which Pharaoh and the Egyptians trusted. . .The Egyptian Pharaoh was supposed to be a pure person, a divine manifestation of the gods,a nd one whose sovereignty over the people was credentialized in part by the purity of his 'ib [Egyptian for 'heart'] . The idea that Yahweh could do whatever he wanted with Pharaoh's heart, and specifically could "harden" it, therefore, was both an evidence of Yahweh's control of all things including the mightiest monarch of the day and also evidence that Yahweh had done what the Egyptians thought the "gods" would usually do--weigh the heart and decide whether the owner was worthy of eternal life or not. In effect, then, each time Yahweh is decribed as hardening Pharaoh's heart, the alert reader is reminded that Yahweh had, as it were, weighed Pharaoh and found him wanting . . . In terms of the classical theological-philosophical issue of free will versus determination, none of the references to the hardening of Pharaoh's heart is decisive. That is because God's causing Pharaoh to be stubborn is simply not presented in the narrative as a general permanent phenomenon (eternal election or rejection) but rather as an ad hoc action of God, temporary in nature . . . and limited to the special purpose of humiliating the Egyptians and their false religion [149-50].

A cogent discussion of a topic that bothers many folks in church when this subject comes up. By the way, Stuart is best known by many seminary students as the co-author with Gordon Fee of How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. His work on Exodus, just released by Broadman and Holman, will be well worth the purchase for anyone preaching and teaching in Exodus. I may have more quotes from the commentary later on.

Revivals

Do revivals still work? I believe they will. Is there a time more important than now in America for churches to emphasize revival and spiritual renewal? Read these two articles from Baptist Press.

http://bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=23819

http://bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=23818

The second article above deals with what old fashioned evangelism did in a church that had not had a baptism in TWENTY years! Praise the Lord.

I would pray that churches would have at least one and even more than one revival during the year. We just finished attending the North Greenville Crusade this week at NGU; it was a blessing, and many people were saved. Revivals still work, but they take lots of prayer and lots of preparation.

Christians and Muslims

The Florida Baptist Witness is publishing a series of articles by Dr. Mark Rathel of the Baptist College of Florida comparing Islam and Christianity. The latest can be found at:

http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/6268.article

I would urge you to read these.

Who does the Atheist thank?

Al Mohler has a recent post on his blog that I found fascinating. Who does the Athiest thank?

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=741

The Big Hug

Well we got through "The Big Hug." That's the term used at North Greenville University for the last goodbye we parents have to give our kids at their dorm. We had a day full of orientation activities; I appeciate NGU for letting us work our way into letting-go slowly. We've heard from Andrew today, and all seems to be going fairly well. If he can get his Internet running, I think he'll be o.k.

Lesa did pretty well--not too many tears, although I could have missed some when I left her alone. Today has been a bit dreary both in weather and in our overall attitudes, but I know we'll be fine too. We look forward to attending the NGU Crusade this week, so we'll get a first hand look on how things are really going.

We've got to get through another big day on Thursday--Stephanie's first day at Greer High School. I'm sure we'll have another emotional buildup to that. Stay tuned!

College

Well the day has arrived that I've been dreading--taking our son to college. He's only a few miles away really, but it is the thought I guess. What I dread most is my wife's reaction. Andrew is left in his dorm while I have to deal with Lesa! The "Big Hug" is around 4:30 this afternoon. At a faculty meeting yesterday, the Vice-President of Student Services remarked that he was looking forward to that so the parents can leave and "we can get the kids straightened out." Good luck. More on the days activities later.

Sales Tax Weekend

Well it is sales tax exemption weekend in SC. Lesa and Steph are geared up for a "shop till you drop" shopping marathon. I can't wait to see how much money she has "saved" me!

Page Articles

For those who might want to read more on various stances of our new SBC president, the Florida Baptist Witness has some good articles from last week's edition. Access them at:

www.floridabaptistwitness.com

All the hoopla resulting from Page's election is comical. When the rug gets pulled out from under the status quo, it can be quite unsettling.

Alcohol Resolution

I can't imagine that there be any debate among SBC pastors/leaders about the recent resolution on alcohol at the convention. For those interested in what the resolution says read:

http://www.sbc.net/resolutions/amResolution.asp?ID=1156

If I could eliminate all alcohol consumption today, I would. That of course is no possible, but I can keep praying that it would be so. To say that the resolution infringes on our "freedom in Christ" is to pervert that blessed statement.

Membership & Baptism

A church in Oklahoma has decided to table for now discussion about accepting members without baptism. Read the article at:

http://bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=23725

The church's pastor says the concern to change the by-laws was prompted by those who cannot be immersed due to some handicap and those who mistakingly believe that sprinkling is scriptural. I have empathy for the first problem and have myself poured water on a older lady who could not physically get into the baptistry. She greatly desired to be baptized before she died. I have no problem with that. As for the other problem--those who have been sprinkled have not be scripturally baptized, and we should not back up for one moment on that point.

It is a shame that so many of us today want to forget our history.