A Plea for Help!

Everyone…

I have just received word at our Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting last night that our small local Christian School in Defuniak Springs, that is run by a 86 year old saint of a Christian Lady that volunteers her time in order to keep the doors of the School open, is behind in paying their bills by more than $6,000 dollars due to the downturn in the economy. That may not sound like much to you, but it is huge to this very small Christian School. The School is really suffering and the Children are now selling donuts to try and keep the lights on.

If anyone would like to help me keep the doors of “The Galilean Academy” in Defuniak Springs, Florida, open for our children you can send a check to [First Baptist Church, 2877 Highway 81 N., Ponce de Leon, Florida 32455] Please make any checks out to First Baptist Church and put “Galilean Academy” in the note…

Thanks,

“Doctrine - and the Face of God”

As men and women of faith; we do never hold our opinions on any matter of doctrine, or issue of life, independent and separate from our views concerning the very nature and character of God. To the contrary, our understanding of the nature and character of God underpins and greatly influences all our opinions, doctrine, and general overall worldview.

Each individual opinion, or doctrine, that we hold tells us something about our personal convictions concerning who God truly is.

Therefore, the doctrines we believe are, as it were, single threads that when woven together make up the fabric of our faith upon which a mosaic of the face of our God may be clearly seen.

This is a profound truth that many, who engage in theological debate, do never stop to consider. What do my opinions, and the doctrines I defend, say about my God?

Grace Always,

A Defense of Virginia and the South

‎"A Defense of Virginia and the South" by R.L. Dabney is a book that every Southern Christian should read carefully, and then re-read it again! I am very much aware that many of my fellow Southerners may be a little embarrassed that I now take up the cause to defend the Christian nature of the Old South, but I like Dabney do so without hesitation and without apology.

Dabney explains his motivation for writing his ‘A Defense of Virginia and the South’ by saying:

To the conquerors of my native State, and perhaps to some of her sons, a large part of the following defense will appear wholly unseasonable… But my purpose in the following pages is, first and chiefly, to lay this pious and final defense upon the tomb of my murdered mother, Virginia… The last and only office that remains to her sons is to leave their testimony for her righteous fame – feeble it may be now, amidst the din of passion and material power, yet inextinguishable as Truth’s own torch.

The most fearful consequence of the despotic government to which the South is now subjected, is not the plundering of our goods, nor the abridgment of privileges, nor the death of innocent men, but the degrading and debauching of the moral sensibilities and principles of the helpless victims… The wisest, kindest, most patriotic thing which any man can do for his country, amidst such calamities, is to aid in preserving and reinstating the tottering principles of his countrymen; to teach them, while they give place to inexorable force, to abate nothing of righteous convictions and of self –respect.

--- R.L. Dabney

Irrespective of one’s personal convictions concerning the institution of slavery in all the States (Northern and Southern) of the former United States of America no honest student of American history can point to an age in which it’s people were more deeply pious than we find in the southern states of the Old South prior to the war of northern aggression that brought an end to one form of slavery only to give birth to another in which all its citizens would eventually become indentured servants (slaves) to the government through an ever increasing and unconstitutional system of federal taxation upon the person income (labor) of its once free citizens. If the contest between the states truly ever freed any of the citizens of this nation, that freedom was to endure less than a hundred years.

I say “former United States of America” for the union of coequal commonwealth states that existed prior to the war of northern aggression is long dead, and long replaced by an Imperial and Unconstitutional Federal Government that is an anathema to the principals of a union between free, coequal, and self-governing states envisioned by the Founding Fathers of this nation. The opening words to the movie ‘Lord of the Rings’ rings hauntingly true when viewed toward the history of this nation; “Much that once was has now been lost, for there are none now alive who remember.”

Get the book ‎"A Defense of Virginia and the South" by R.L. Dabney and read it carefully for it was written by one who lived through the great disaster of that time, and it’s truths are so well documented that no historian has ever attempted to refute what Dabney writes. It will change your understanding of life in the former Free States of the Old South, and it will challenge your former opinions of the character of her people.

Deo Vindice ........."God Will Vindicate"

"Evolution? It's a Lie!"

“Evolution? It’s a Lie!”

Charles Brock put this on our Church Sign at First Baptist Church of Ponce de Leon Florida two weeks ago and people from out of state (Tennessee, Alabama, etc) have been stopping in our church parking lot to have their picture taken with our sign. I found that just a little unsettling… Have we so bought into the lie of Evolution that no one will even speak out against it in our day for fear of being labeled a religious nut?

Regardless of how you interpret the creation account in Genesis… Evolution is an insidious lie and perhaps the greatest scientific “Hoax” of all time. The falsified evidence in support of this key doctrine of the secular/atheist worldview has been fully exposed and refuted by modern molecular biology and yet we continue to “tip toe” around this issue. Please get “The Truth Project” videos from Focus on the Family and show them to your church, family, and everyone else you can get to watch them. Dr Del Tackett is just awesome in this video series!

Grace Always,

Are The Children of The Conservative Resurgence becoming "Moderates"?

With the results of the 2010 SBC Convention in Orlando now in the history books, specifically the passing of the GCRTF recommendations by an overwhelming margin, the election of Frank Page as Executive Committee President, and the election of Bryant Wright as SBC President some have ask if the SBC is becoming more "Moderate".

I can see how some would ask this question, yet in my opinion, the positive changes we are beginning to see in the SBC are not a result of the "Children of the Conservative Resurgence" becoming more moderate or even "Moderates". From my perspective, if anything, the Children of the Conservative Resurgence are becoming more Biblical.

The Conservative Resurgence taught their Children that "The Holy Bible... is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author... without any mixture of error... Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy... and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world... the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried..."

The Children of the Conservative Resurgence believed what their fathers taught them... and as a result have rejected both Liberalism, which denies the clear teaching of Scripture, and Fundamentalism, which adds the opinions of man to the clear teaching of Scripture. So it is that we can expect both the Liberal and the Fundamentalist to view the Children of the Conservative Resurgence as becoming more "Moderate" (and from their point of view they are), but in truth they are becoming more "Biblical".

And this is the most positive thing I see coming out of the preceding of the 2010 SBC Convention in Orlando.

Grace Always,

The GCRTF “Secret Agenda” Revealed!

In a post on his Blog, Between the Times, today Daniel Akin, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, made a stunning admission to the reality of the “True” Agenda behind the GCRTF. Concerning the GCRTF recommendations Akin makes the following comment:

“ It sends a strong signal where Southern Baptists want to go in terms of what we emphasize and what we support. In the “Axioms of a GCR” message, it was stated that Southern Baptists could come together and would support that which promotes 1) International Missions, 2) Aggressive Church Planting and 3) Healthy Theological Education. Here is a 3-prong vision that transcends generational and methodological differences. Here is a captivating agenda that can lead us into our greatest days as a Great Commission people”

Absolutely Stunning!

Grace Always,

SBC Convention Update

2010 SBC Annual Meeting Update (July 15, 5:20)

The (Southern Baptist) World has changed…

I have been glued to my computer screen all day today watching the live-stream of the 2010 Convention in Orlando, and I thought that I might post on some of what I have seen so far.

There were 10,994 messengers registered (I think I got that number correct, if not I am not off by much.) This number was well up from previous years, and is a good sign. I do not know yet, but it is my suspicion the increased numbers are due to many of the younger generation attending for the first time in many years.

The Great Commission Resurgence Taskforce Recommendation was approved by a majority of the messengers in Orlando. Not being there and no numbers given I do not know by how large of percent this passed. But pass it did! So bring on the naysayers…

There was much (and sometimes passionate) debate and many attempts to modify the recommendations failed, however one amendment to modify the language of recommendation number 3 to basically say that direct giving is to be considered “supplemental to Cooperative Program giving” did pass. This amendment was in reality just semantics and does not change the substance of recommendation number 3 at all. In a powerful display of seeking to preserve the unity of the convention the GCRTF committee itself joined in with the messenger who made the motion to create a compromise language on recommendation number 3 that in the end may very well have won the day for the entire GCRTF Recommendations which went on to pass easily.

First Round of voting on the next President of the SBC:

Bryant Wright 36.84%

Ted Traylor 29.18%

Jimmy Jackson 26%

Leo Endel 6.32%

Wright and Traylor will advance to the second round of voting.

The low-point (and low blow) of today’s proceedings at the convention, was the address by outgoing Executive Committee President, Morris Chapman. Who last year used his time before the convention to bash Calvinism and this year used his time to bash the GCRTF recommendations. One good thing that Morris Chapman said and to which I gave a hearty amen (howbeit in my office) was when he said this would be his “Last Address to the Southern Baptist Convention.” Amen, and Amen!

Morris Chapman should be the poster boy for a campaign to limit the term of anyone serving as Executive Committee President to no more than 8 years.

By the way Frank Page has been elected to be the next Executive Committee President…

Grace Always,

“Baptist Identity" Movement Endorses Jimmy Jackson

The Baptist Identity Movement have chosen their man for SBC President and it’s Jimmy Jackson.

If the Fighting Fundamentalist over at SBC Today have found their man in Jimmy Jackson, that is enough to give me pause in considering him for President of the SBC.

Just saying…

GCRTF and Fading Fundamentalism

In the ebb and flow of the ever changing tides of influence in the Southern Baptist Convention; Fundamentalism, with it ridged set of qualifications for acceptance in SBC Leadership circles, appears (Thankfully) to be fading.

DISCLAIMER: “For those of you who do not truly know me; I am a Biblical Conservative, a 100% supporter of the Conservative Resurgence, and have been for over 20 years now! Additionally, I do not equate the Conservative Resurgence with Fundamentalism as some of the critics of the Conservative Resurgence in the SBC often do."

The influence of Fundamentalist ideology has certainly found fertile ground and expression among some members of the Conservative Resurgence over the last twenty plus years , perhaps hitting its high-water mark with the disastrous IMB policies that sought to regulate the private devotion of our missionaries and the baptism policy of the autonomous churches that make up the Southern Baptist Convention. Be that as it may, the Conservative Resurgence as a whole cannot in any reasonable discussion be considered a Fundamentalist movement. The battle cry of the Conservative Resurgence, around which the autonomous churches of the SBC rallied, was the inerrancy of Scripture (Solo Scriptoria) and not conformity to the leaders of the Conservative Resurgence idea of a “Baptist Identity”.

Some bloggers have tried to equate the work of the GCRTF with the end of the Conservative Resurgence in the SBC and have even ask if the adoption of GCRTF recommendations will actually amount to a takeover of the SBC and an end to the Conservative Resurgence itself. In a recent Blog post titled "GCRTF Takeover of the SBC?", Les Puryear lays out the argument that the passing of the GCRTF recommendations will mark the end of the “Conservative Resurgence” and sweep prominent members of the Task force into key leadership positions within the SBC.

Les writes:

“Word on the street is that after the GCR recommendations are passed in Orlando and the controversy dies down, that Ronnie Floyd will be the next NAMB President. Also, word on the street has it that Danny Akin will take the IMB Presidential slot. If Ted Traylor wins the SBC Presidential election in Orlando, then the GCRTF will have their members in all four key positions in the SBC. Thus, the transition from the "old guard" Conservative Resurgence will be complete and the Hunt/Akin/Floyd/ coalition, who can arm-twist with the best of them, will be in power.“

I am not that well connected to the political network inside the SBC to be able to say whether or not Les knows what he is talking about here, and really I don’t want to be that connected. Regardless of that, I do think that Les is correct in that clearly a transition is in the making. Les appears to believe that this transition will mark an end to the “old guard” Conservative Resurgence (whatever that is?), and that this will be a bad thing for the SBC.

I, on the other hand, believe that in the passing of the GCRTF recommendations we will be witnessing the passing of the baton from one generation of Conservatives in the SBC to the next generation of Conservatives in the SBC, and far from being something bad for the SBC, this will be something very positive for the SBC. Why? Well, for without fanfare or applause the passing of the GCRTF recommendations, and the selection of new leadership that will surely follow, will mark a turning point in the SBC… and a defeat (at least in part) of the Fundamentalist Ideology that has caused so much harm to our cooperation in the last few years.

Honestly, I am not sure (and I don’t think anyone else is) exactly how the adoption of the GCRTF recommendations will impact the various ministries of the SBC… But one thing I know for sure is this; the adoption of the GCRTF recommendations will be a huge blow to the Fundamentalist Ideology of the Baptist Identity Movement in the SBC. And this is a very good thing for the future of cooperation in the Convention.

Grace Always,

The C.P. 10% Idol

The SBC Majority Initiative has Endorsed Jimmy Jackson for SBC President.

In light of the SBC Majority’s own list of qualifications for SBC candidates, which says “A man whose church gives a minimum of 10% of total undesignated funds to the Cooperative Program.” and the fact that Jimmy Jacksons’s church gives just 5% to the CP, has raised some questions about the proper percentage a church in the SBC should be giving to the CP.

Let me start this discussion by saying that Jimmy Jackson is, by all accounts, a good choice for President of the SBC and unless something changes my mind I will be supporting Brother Jimmy.

Now, concerning the main point of this post, I personally (and I don’t want to pick a fight with my friends here) think we need to be very careful that we do not make the percentage one’s church gives to the CP the end all “litmus test” for one being qualified for the position of SBC President.

There are a number of real and valid reasons why a church, large or small, may not give 10% to the CP. One of which might be providing food and shelter for a Widow within the local church, or writing a check to the local crises pregnancy center in order that they might keep their lights on and their doors open for another month, instead of sending an extra 1% to the CP in order that their Pastor might be considered “qualified” for SBC President. In such cases as these I don’t think that any of us would vote for a man who chose to ignore the needs of his own church and community in order to send his 10% to the CP.

Giving to the CP in order that we might equip and send missionaries to a lost and dying world is, of course, a noble and worthy cause… I ’m just saying that this 10% “litmus test” can become is “slippery slope” and we need to be careful that we do not create a false standard of righteousness by which we measure our leaders in the SBC.

Grace Always,