peterlumpkins.com

Wine, The Bible & The Believer: Tying Up Loose Ends

I began a series of posts on Wine, The Bible & The Believer in January of this year. For a period of approximately a month and a half, I published nineteen short essays dealing specifically with this issue, mostly because I desired to inject another view that not only dissented from many of the high profile Baptist blogs (so many of which are vocally moderationists), but also represented what I believe to be the majority of grassroots Southern Baptists >>> Admittedly, Nathan Finn nudged me toward cranking out the remainder... Read more →

Painful Concern or Political Posturing: Rodney Hammer & The Open Letter to the Southern Baptist Convention

Former IMB Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe, Rodney Hammer, recently resigned his post citing two "extrabiblical" policies the Trustees put in placed which, according to Hammer, "restricted the flow of good conservative candidates." Questioning the policies, Hammer said: “I am expected as a regional leader to accept, own and support the policies of the IMB trustees. I can do so no longer.” While, he and his family left the field for stateside assignment on May 5 and plan to be reassigned to a field assignment upon their return,... Read more →

Evangelical Orthodoxy & Baptist Orthodoxy: Are The Two Identical?

Orthodoxy is a 50s term, no longer in vogue for enlightened people. For many this unenlightened, theological artifact calls from the grave the rotted corpse of The Inquisition to ride once again from village to village, church to church in a holy but horrifying quest to expose and execute on the spot any who dare depart from duly established dogma of the Christian church. Orthodoxy equals death to all who dissent. That is one way some view orthodoxy. Others have a less sensational understanding of being orthodox. Instead of the... Read more →

Evangelicals & Baptists Together: A Test Case of Confusion

In April, 1994, after approximately two years of vigorous dialog, First Things, published by The Institute on Religion and Public Life, an interreligious, nonpartisan research and education institute whose purpose is to advance a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society, published the document entitled Evangelicals & Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium (ECT). This document may stand as the most sophisticated attempt in modern Christian history to make a universally acceptable statement from across the great theological divide begun with the 95 echoes of... Read more →

An Unapologetic Conservative for Environmentalism: It's Time to Wake Up

It's time I came out: I am green. See for yourself. With that, I am... Peter Continue on... Read more →

Dissenting in the Southern Baptist Convention: Dignified Critique or Destructive Politicking?

Former Congressman, Tom Delay, wrote: “I have learned something about liberals. They are much like Communists. They believe they have to destroy you in order to win. ... Liberals in Congress have no ideas that history hasn’t disproved, and this leaves them pursuing only power. To get that power, they will destroy you — and if they can’t destroy your message they will try to lock up the messenger. Congress today is plagued by the politics of personal destruction.” (italics mine). Today, the same could be said of dissenters in... Read more →