peterlumpkins.com

Elderizing the Southern Baptist Convention (part I) by Peter Lumpkins

I posted three brief pieces recently which drew lots of traffic my way. The common theme concerned elder-rule and/or elder-led1 polity among Southern Baptist churches. In the first part >>> I showed how Acts 29 Network requires both churches and church plants formally affiliated with the network2 to embrace a plural elder rule polity as the only acceptable form of church government. The second two pieces constituted selected portions from an academic paper written by Dr. Robert Wring, a paper based upon his doctoral dissertation at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary... Read more →

Reformed Theologian dubs Steve Lemke's critics 'sad and irresponsible' by Peter Lumpkins

Adjunct Wheaton professor and Reformed author, John Armstrong, is no stranger to Southern Baptists; he used to be one. Though presently he is comfortably at home in the Reformed community of faith, he still holds dear what he learned in his spiritual pilgrimage among Southern Baptists. But Dr. Armstrong's got a contentious bone to pick with unfair critics of Dr. Steve Lemke, Provost and Professor of Philosophy and Ethics at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary >>> Steve Lemke, provost at New Orleans Baptist Seminary, recently examined various points of divergence... Read more →

Just in case you missed it by Peter Lumpkins

Below are some links you may have missed from this past week: A. Chadwick Mauldin, author of Fullerism as Opposed to Calvinism: A Historical and Theological Comparison of the Missiology of Andrew Fuller and John Calvin, has a worthy piece entitled, "Senualism, Antinomianism, and Sacntification" Brad Whitt has done it again with a post offering a summary of what it means to be Southern Baptist. Entitled, "What makes us 'Southern Baptist'?" I'll be surprised if both Baptist Press and other state papers do not pick up and run this short... Read more →

Southern Baptists not Reformed Baptists by Peter Lumpkins

Below is a document circulated in 1827 to Baptists in North Carolina. All our Southern Baptist brothers who love the "Reformed" moniker may want to consider this document before they so boldly testify, "I'm a Reformed Baptist" >>> In the Kehukee Association record, we find: 1827. This session of the Association was one of the most remarkable ever held by her. At this time came up for consideration the Declaration of Principles submitted at the last session to the churches for approval or rejection. And upon a full and fair... Read more →

Elder-Rule on the Rise in the Southern Baptist Convention (Part II) by Peter Lumpkins

Below is the second part of a section I selected from Dr. Robert Wring’s intriguing paper published in the Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry (Vol. 3 No. 1 Spring 2005: 188-212). Presently pastor of the Mountain Road Baptist Church in Spanaway, Washington (near Tacoma), Dr. Wring based his essay on his doctoral dissertation he completed in 2002 at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, the thesis of which was “An Examination of the Practice of Elder Rule in Selected Southern Baptist Churches in the Light of New Testament Teaching.” This is... Read more →

Elder-Rule on the Rise in the Southern Baptist Convention (Part I) by Peter Lumpkins

Below is Part I of a portion included in an essay originally published in the Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry (Vol. 3 No. 1 Spring 2005: 188-212) entitled “Elder Rule and Southern Baptist Church Polity.” It’s author is Dr. Robert A. Wring, presently pastor of the Mountain Road Baptist Church in Spanaway, Washington (near Tacoma). Dr. Wring based his essay on his doctoral dissertation he completed in 2002 at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, the thesis of which was “An Examination of the Practice of Elder Rule in Selected Southern... Read more →

Merritt vs. Merritt on Homosexuality by Peter Lumpkins

I recently posted some pieces raising questions toward Jonathan Merritt's innovative approach to the gay agenda systematically imposed on our culture. In my view, young Merritt's position forfeits entirely too much ground to aggressive policy-hawks who desire to cater to homosexual lobbyists. No only so, Merritt's stern condemnation of evangelicals' moral reservations in supporting homosexual lifestyles, consequently making gay orientation and gay practice no more culturally prohibitive than people who gossip, cannot reasonably stand as a socio-ethical option conservative Christians can honestly consider. For those desiring a refresher, below are... Read more →

Question for Lifeway: Who Says the Fifties are Irrelevant? by Peter Lumpkins

Below is a rare video depicting the cutting-edge, high-tech mindset of the 1950s. LifeWay Research should learn humility... With that, I am... Peter Read more →

A Mom's Love is Never Done by Peter Lumpkins

Hariette Petersen (most know her as "SelahV") has a penetrating testimony of a mother who never stops loving her son. In her piece entitled, "When the Inconceivable Falls on Mother's Day," she confesses: "I wondered how I'd feel today. It's been six years since Mother's Day exploded on May 8th. Each year, I've had a bit of a respite from that horrific anniversary of my 33 year-old son's death and Mother's Day celebration. The past few years I took some solace in the fact that this day sanctified as the... Read more →

Is Liberty Mountain about to Erupt into a Volcano? by Peter Lumpkins

UPDATE: Liberty Student News pulled the original piece. Details below... Love him or hate him, the late Jerry Falwell, by any estimation, was one of Fundamentalism's greatest visionaries since the movement's birth in the early 20th century. Indeed the evangelical right's most capable, inspiring spokesman left a gap no living leader presently fills. He is missed. In fact, Liberty University--Dr. Falwell's unique contribution to evangelical subculture--surely misses his strong leadership hand, and it's showing up on Liberty Mountain >>> According to the Liberty Student News, there may be a volcano... Read more →

Love Wins by Rob Bell: A Book Note by Peter Lumpkins

I finally finished my copy of Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person who Ever Lived by Rob Bell (hereafter, Love Wins, HarperOne 2011, $22.99). Some wondered why I have not already written a review. Others questioned my motives for posting a Reformed scholar’s review, while one blogger even strangely implicated me in surfing the internet looking for positive reviews of Bell’s book to post. Two quick points: a) I did not sense the urgency in critiquing Bell’s position before I actually read Bell’s... Read more →