peterlumpkins.com

Al Mohler on the necessity of denominational transparency by Peter Lumpkins

Howell Scott, my friend and co-belligerent in many issues facing the Southern Baptist Convention raises some important questions concerning an article in SBC Life, a publication sponsored by the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention  >>>

SBC name change: it's good...it's bad...it's ugly (part III) by Peter Lumpkins

UPDATE: Texas pastor, Dwight McKissic, Sr. offered an interesting response to this piece entitled "The SBC Identity Crisis: a Response to Peter Lumpkins." Many times my brother Dwight and I have differing opinions on denominational politics. However, we agree fully on this particular point concerning the name change issue though we begin with contrary premises.  It's worthy of your time, I assure...    

UPDATE: please pay careful attention to the two footnotes

In Part I, I showed how Bryant Wright's task force recommendations concerning name change for the Southern Baptist Convention had both good and bad aspects to it. While "Great Commission Baptists" captures well the church's own missional terminology about herself to herself (and other gospel-initiated believers), the proposed name change (i.e. "tag-line") possesses no more explanatory power to the culture at large about who Southern Baptists are and what we're about than our present name, "Southern Baptists."¹ Why missional strategists like Ed Stetzer, who normally takes the initiative to correct Southern Baptists for their hesitancy to relate well to the larger culture, failed to criticize the name "Great Commission Baptists" for its navel-gazing aura² can hardly be explained since he climbed aboard early in riding the task force's name change bus  >>>

 

SBC name change: it's good...it's bad...it's ugly (part II) by Peter Lumpkins

Summarizing Part I, I explained the good, the bad, and some of the ugly stemming from this last attempt to change our name spawned by SBC president, Bryant Wright's appointing  of a "task force" to study the name change last September (2011). As for the good, "Great Commission Baptists" (GCB) surely captures the ideal of what and whom Southern Baptists have been throughout their history. From the moment of our beginnings in 1845, Southern Baptists have been, at their best moments, about carrying out the Great Commission of our Lord. Few, if any, imagined arguments could usurp this proposition  >>>

SBC name change: it's good...it's bad...it's ugly (part I) by Peter Lumpkins

Movie critics attribute to Clint Eastwood the rebranding of the American West.  With a series of rugged westerns beginning with A Fist Full of Dollars in 1964, the long, bony cowboy from nowhere and everywhere with a lightning fast draw sealed the ideal image of the loner, macho man on horseback. Surely, "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) must rank as one of the best westerns of all time  >>>

On our fabulously new but entirely optional name change by Peter Lumpkins

I'm off to the hospitals early today so I have no time to bloviate on our fabulously new but entirely optional name change for the Southern Baptist Convention  >>>

The Calvinists are here: a guest editorial by Gerald Harris

UPDATE: the word is LifeWay is preparing a detailed response to Gerald Harris' essay and is scheduled to post this evening on Baptist Press. I'm anticipating precisely what facts in the essay LifeWay intends to dispute.

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Below is the current editorial in The Christian Index, the Georiga Baptist Convention's state paper. Dr. Gerald Harris has served as editor of The Christian Index since May 2003. We happily publish by permission Dr. Harris' latest editoral, "The Calvinists are here"  >>>

SBC Tomorrow welcomes Gerald Harris as guest contributor*

Conspiracy Theories & Wackadoodles in the SBC by Howell Scott

What do the Gospel Project and the Great Commission Resurgence have in common with Roswell Aliens, JFK's assassination, Area 51, 9/11 Truthers, and Obama Birthers?

SBC Tomorrow welcomes Howell Scott as guest contributor*

Task Force proposes names for the "new and improved" Southern Baptist Convention by Peter Lumpkins

Sources close to the name change task force initiated by SBC president, Bryant Wright reveal some interesting possibilities which may be presented to the Executive Committee  >>>

Georgia Missionary says name change for Southern Baptists "unnecessary" by Peter Lumpkins

Dr. Eddy Rushing serves as associational missionary for the Northwest Georgia and Lookout Valley Baptist Associations in Rock Spring, perhaps the oldest association in Georgia. Recently, he wrote an opinion piece for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) concerning a potential name change for Southern Baptists >>>

Peter Berger's sociological interpretation of New Calvinism's effect on Southern Baptists by Peter Lumpkins

Sociologist Peter Berger stands tall among American intellectuals. Berger presently serves as Professor Emeritus of Religion, Sociology and Theology and Director, Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs at the prestigious Boston University. Among many influential titles to his credit are The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion (1967), The Desecularization of the World: Resurgent Religion and World Politics  (1999), and more recently Questions of Faith: A Skeptical Affirmation of Christianity (2003). Professor Berger also regularly contributes to The American Interest, an online magazine dealing with American culture and global interests   >>>

Are some SBC leaders distracting Southern Baptists from Kingdom work by ineffectively focusing on "rebranding" our name? by Peter Lumpkins

I remember reading my first book by evangelical pollster, George Barna. It was in the early 1990s while pastoring in Tennessee. I was not internet savvy at the time; hence,  I could not read about the latest book on the market at the click of a mouse. Rather, I waited for a stack of index-sized advertisement cards to come in the mailbox >>>

The Southern Baptist Convention and Rebranding: what we can learn from Al-Qaeda's marketing strategy by Peter Lumpkins

Do you think Al-Qaeda can offer some good marketing tips which could assist Southern Baptists to overcome their alleged "negative baggage"?  The video below may help you decide...

Tennessee Baptists say "NO!" to name change for the Southern Baptist Convention by Peter Lumpkins

I love Tennessee. I ought to. I--along with eleven brothers and sisters--was raised in the sleepy little county of Middle Tennessee known as Lawrence. Our official address was Leoma, but we all knew we were from Dunn--or even more precise, Coon Creek Hollow  >>>

Will a Bandaid suffice when heart surgery is needed? by Gerald Harris

 

  SBC President Bryant Wright, who serves as pastor of Marietta’s Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, announced to the SBC Executive Committee on Sept. 19 that he was appointing a task force to study the prospect of changing the Convention’s name.  >>>

SBC Tomorrow welcomes Dr. Gerald Harris as guest contributor*

 

Does Jonathan Merritt Fairly Represent Southern Baptists on Name Change? by Peter Lumpkins

Recently, Cross Pointe’s¹ teaching pastor, Jonathan Merritt, was interviewed by Paul Edwards concerning Bryant Wright’s proposed name change for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Edwards asked young Merritt several questions to which he responded, responses some of which I’d like to address below  >>>