Final Thanksgiving Thought

Before I put my Christmas lights up today and Thanksgiving is a distant memory--here is a final thought:

"This Thanksgiving I'm thankful. That there aren't twice as many Congressmen and half as many doctors. That grass doesn't grow through snow, necessitating winter mowing as well as shoveling. That there are only twenty-four hours available each day for TV programming. That civil servants aren't less civil. That teenagers ultimately will have children who will become teenagers. That I'm not a turkey. That houses still cost more than cars. That the space available for messages on T-shirts and bumpers is limited. That liberated women whose husbands take them for granted don't all scream at the same time. That snow covers the un-raked leaves. That hugs and kisses don't add weight or cause cancer. That record players and radios and TV sets and washers and mixers and lights can be turned off. That no one can turn off the moon and stars." (Christianity Today, 11-17-1978)

A little old, I know but I thought you'd like this from "Vines-Lines." My kids won't know what a record player is, so I guess the above would be o.k. if you replaced it with C.D. player or MP3! You still get the idea...Let me be the first to wish you a blessed upcoming Christmas season!

Warren in Syria

Rick Warren's visit to Syria is generating a lot of news. On the one hand it seems he was often used by the government for proaganda purposes, but on the other hand it seems that he often says what he denies saying. Perhaps it is a little of both. I think preachers should remain in the pulpit and not venture into the realm of meeting with foreign heads of state. Usually the preacher winds up in trouble because he is in a world he really doesn't understand.

For more on Warren's visit:

http://www.bpnews.org/bpnews.asp?ID=24441

Rick--stick with what you do best!

NAMB Survey

I was interested in a recent survey conducted by the North American Mission Board through Zogby that shows that 57% of adults viewed Southern Baptists favorably. Only 17% viewed us unfavorably, but 24% said they were unfamiliar with us. Even in the Western and Eastern parts of the country, half of the respondants viewed the SBC favorably. I think this is good news and shows that many churches are doing good things in their communities. Because nearly 1/4 of those who responded are unfamiliar with us, there is still much work to do to get our good news out.

I found something else interesting in this survey. Because the word "Baptist" may not always appear in a church's name, the research also looked at what the significance of knowing that a particular church is indeed Southern Baptist would have on someone's decision to visit or join that church. The survey found that 31% of respondants said this would positively affect their decision, 25% said it would have a negative impact, but 36% said it would have no effect at all.

We've been told for years by some that the name "Baptist" would have negative impact and should not be in the name of the church. This survey shows that is not necessarily true. I have always believed that church's should be as up-front as possible on what it believes. That starts with the name.

Various Musings

Sorry that I have not written in a while. I'm very much behind with papers to grade and final preparations for the end of the semester to make. We have had some good friends of ours with us this weekend. Ed and Rose Pilarczyk from Graceville, FL were with us. Ed and Rose were among the first to join our church in Florida in 1989 shortly after we arrived. Ed and I were classmates at Florida Baptist Theological College, and they have been friends ever since.

I had the privilege of preaching this past Sunday at our home church--Fairview in Greer. We had a good crowd, the choir was excellent, and I really was blessed by the experience. My text was Matthew 18:21-35, the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. I rather think that the parable should be entitled, The Parable of the Forgiving God, because we should ask what a text says about God rather than what it says about us. Anyway, I pray the message was used by the Lord.

We heard last night that our former church, Riverside in Ft. Worth, called a pastor last Sunday. May the Lord bless him and that great congregation!

Thanksgiving is ahead. I hope during the long weekend to catch up on a few things I've wanted to write. We'll see. I'm thankful for the Lord's blessings--family, friends, and faith. I can't wait for Lesa's turkey and dressing!

Weekend Musings

Some random thoughts on the weekend.

I preached tonight at Davidson Street Baptist Church in Clinton. Pastor Kenny Moore has a great congregation, and the Lord moved mightily. We had a good time in an old fashioned Sunday night Baptist service--it was a blessing!

Veteran's Day--I'm thankful for the service of our men and women in uniform. I always think of my two grandfathers who served in WWII, my uncles who served in Vietnam, and the many men and women I've pastored who served in the military. God bless them all!

Tis the Season? We were in a store this week and Christmas music was already pumping! Isn't it a bit early for Jingle Bells? Also, as we drove in from Clinton tonight, we saw two houses with Christmas lights on already. Let's get my favorite holiday--Thanksgiving over first!

Congratulations NGU! The football team is 9-2 and hosting the "Victory Bowl" this week. This is apparently the game between the two best Christian college teams each year. We're playing Malone College out of Ohio. I hope we show some good ol' southern hospitality, but also I hope we win!

Weekend Musings

Some random thoughts on the weekend.

I preached tonight at Davidson Street Baptist Church in Clinton. Pastor Kenny Moore has a great congregation, and the Lord moved mightily. We had a good time in an old fashioned Sunday night Baptist service--it was a blessing!

Veteran's Day--I'm thankful for the service of our men and women in uniform. I always think of my two grandfathers who served in WWII, my uncles who served in Vietnam, and the many men and women I've pastored who served in the military. God bless them all!

Tis the Season? We were in a store this week and Christmas music was already pumping! Isn't it a bit early for Jingle Bells? Also, as we drove in from Clinton tonight, we saw two houses with Christmas lights on already. Let's get my favorite holiday--Thanksgiving over first!

Congratulations NGU! The football team is 9-2 and hosting the "Victory Bowl" this week. This is apparently the game between the two best Christian college teams each year. We're playing Malone College out of Ohio. I hope we show some good ol' southern hospitality, but also I hope we win!

Revival in the SBC

I have been greatly encouraged by Dr. Frank Page's emphasis on revival during his short tenure as SBC president. In a recent article, Dr. Page quotes Roy Fish: "For 30 years we have tried to raise baptism numbers among an un-revived people in unrevived churches." This has been a concern of mine for some time as well.

I would urge us who love our blessed convention:

• to stop fighting over Calvinism, church polity, and worship styles and begin to work together to bring revival to our churches. There is much more to unite us than can divide us.
• to renew our revivalistic emphasis, once so strong in our convention but now waning.
• to renew the use of revivals in our churches. For years now we have seen what was once a traditional part of our church ministries being neglected. We are reaping the results of that now. And...
• to humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways so that God will hear us and heal us, bringing spiritual renewal.

I pray that our president's call for revival will be heeded.

Staff Dismissals

I've been meaning to post on this for a week or so but haven't had time. I was interested in a recent study released by LifeWay that shows that 1300-plus people were dismissed from church staffs in the SBC in 2005. As usual, relational issues top the list of problems that churches have with ministers. I'm wondering when ministers will learn to understand that they are in the people business. At the same time, I wonder when churches will learn the same thing--ministers are people too.

Some other interesting notes from the study. A pastor's lack of administrative skills and sexual misconduct were found among the top ten reasons for dismissal for the first time. I'm not surprised by the latter, and the former seems to be more of a problem than ever in our churches. By the way, administration is not a biblical function of the pastorate. If a pastor lacks that skill, and many do, lay people or other staff gifted in administration should deal with those issues. Allow the pastor to do what he is called and gifted to do: preach, pray, minister, and spiritually lead.

Finally for the first time, disagreement over doctrine is mentioned in the list at number 12. Bob Sheffield, a LifeWay specialist quoted in The Baptist Courier, said that it is difficult to know what that means, but let me hazard a guess--the problem between Calvinists and non-Calvinists. The Calvinists are usually the pastors and the non-Calvinists are usually the churches. I've known of more than one church over the last ten years that has dismissed a pastor after they found out that he had Calvinist leanings. By the way, a prospective pastor owes it to the pastor search committee to fully disclose his theology.

Saturdays

Saturday morning is my favorite of the week. It is the only morning of seven that the household is not stirring around. How wonderful it is to get up early, put the coffee on, leisurely read and move slowly into the day. This morning I was able to read the entirety of 1 Peter in the Greek text, read the paper, and spend at a while catching up on the blogs I've missed during the week. Praise the Lord for Saturday morning!

Methodists and Biblical Authority

Methodists are strongly debating sexuality issues, which are dividing the denomination. Al Mohler has an insightful post that shows that it is not homosexuality that is at the heart of the problem.

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=806