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Craig Daliessio on good old-fashioned altar calls

Craig Daliessio, my friend and graduate of Liberty University, popular speaker, and author of A Ragamuffin Christmas , has a unique take on "altar calls."1 While conceding abuse of the altar call has been the unfortunate practice of some in evangelical and fundamentalist circles, Craig nonetheless laments the demise of genuine invitations and altar calls, especially among some of the contemporary churches where he often speaks. In "Gimme That Old Time Religion: Part 3: The Altar," he writes: "Another memory from my early days as a believer. Another seeming relic... Read more →

Ernest C. Reisinger on what non-Calvinist Southern Baptists apparently believe

We do not support the erroneous idea that God has done all He can, and is now standing idly by to see what sovereign sinners are going to do with an impotent, pathetic Jesus. No! God saves sinners -- salvation is of the Lord.1 Yep. That's exactly what non-Calvinist Southern Baptists like myself apparently believe–sinners are sovereign and must unilaterally decide what they're going to do with an impotent, pathetic Jesus. I couldn't have said it better myself. What a Georgia hoot! And, people wonder who started this mess anyway,... Read more →

'Chatty Cathy' no misnomer after all; Women do talk more than men...

image source "Chatty Cathy" dolls were introduced by Mattel Toys into the I-want-a-dollie-for-Christmas market beginning in 1960. For years, my youngest sister (who is older than I am, ha!) drooled for a "Chatty Cathy" to be found under our modest annual Christmas tree in the living room of our four-room shack at Coon Creek Hollow, Tennessee. As I recall, she never got one. "Chatty Cathy" not only remained one of the first talking dolls on the market, she served as an icon for what seemed to be conventional wisdom growing... Read more →

R.G. Lee on Limited Atonement

My Texas friend and fellow pastor, David Brumbelow, put up a string of quotes from the legendary R.G. Lee, helpfully showing Lee most certainly did not hold to five-point Calvinism as some have mistakenly attempted to suggest. Not long ago, I showed from W.A. Criswell's sermons he did not hold to the same type of Calvinism to which many attempted to brand him either. When will we stop reading our own assumptions and beliefs back into the historical record? Why can we not allow the record to stand as it... Read more →

"Compromise is everywhere"–A.W. Tozer

Christianity is so entangled with the world that millions never guess how radically they have missed the New Testament pattern. Compromise is everywhere. The world is whitewashed just enough to pass inspection by blind men posing as believers, and those same believers are everlastingly seeking to gain acceptance with the world A.W. Tozer Read more →

The Calvinist admits freely his position is ridiculous

As I was polishing up a section in my little book on What is Calvinism? everything you need to know about Calvinism...and then some (hopefully available at The 2013 John 3:16 Conference next month) I got a kick out of this statement by Edwin H. Palmer in his little book, The Five Points of Calvinism (Baker Books; 1972, 1980). He writes: "And, the Calvinist freely admits that his position is illogical, ridiculous, nonsensical, and foolish" (p. 85). Okee-doke. But pardon me in love: so far as I can personally tell,... Read more →

Southern Baptists and their silence...

Within the period of a single week, Southern Baptists have been informed three times over concerning the heart-rendering circumstances of a very well-known evangelical leader embroiled in a legal nightmare: >>> Embattled C.J. Mahaney visits SEBTS (Feb 5th) Former aide: Mahaney should be sidelined (Feb 7th) Petition calls out silent leaders (Feb 11th) But Southern Baptists did not learn of this civil-and may even end up criminal--fiasco from any news outlet connected directly with Southern Baptists. Instead we heard about it from ABP, a news agency many of us normally... Read more →

Mystery blogger at "Escape Plan"

Check out the pic below, a pic of a well read SBC blogger sitting in front of me at the conference. First one to identify the blogger, for him or her, I'll buy a Starbucks Drink of the winner's choice. Who is the mystery blogger? Read more →

Escape Plan: a Men's Bible Conference by Johnny Hunt

Sitting at the Men's Bible Conference at Woodstock First Baptist Church. "Escape Plan" is poised to teach Christian men how sin is a prison from which we need to "break out." This is the second week end of this year's conference. Last weekend, there were almost 6,000 men registered. This weekend, approximately 4,500 men paid 60 bucks a pop (including meal) to meet, experience an upbeat praise-band led worship time, and listen to one of the most personable, effective biblical communicators in the church today tell men what we needed... Read more →

Augustine and Southern Baptists: Part 6B: Augustine's Critics and Legacy by Dr. Jim Gifford

Dr. Jim Gifford This is the final installment of Dr. Gifford's series on Augustine and Southern Baptists. I want to thank him for lending us his scholarship and pursuing this series at SBC Tomorrow. Be assured that the engagement in the comments did not accurately reflect either the number of readers Gifford's series had nor the significance of the series for future discussions about Original Sin, imputed guilt, original guilt, total depravity, free will, divine sovereignty, determinism, or any number of other subjects usually under the head of philosophy of... Read more →

The 2013 John 3:16 Conference is almost here

In November, 2008, the First Baptist Church, Woodstock, Georgia hosted an insightful conference called The John 3:16 Conference, an event promising a scholarly evaluation of the recent Calvinist Resurgence in the Southern Baptist Convention >>> Past president of the Southern Baptist Convention and Pastor Emeritus of First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida, Dr. Jerry Vines, led the scheduled event at Woodstock. And, it did not disappoint. Subsequent to the conference, B&H Academic published the papers and sermons delivered in 2008 in a book entitled Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point... Read more →

Augustine and Southern Baptists: Part 6A: Augustine's Critics and Legacy by Dr. Jim Gifford

Dr. Jim Gifford This is the last installment of my series on Augustine. I wanted to say at the outset of this post that I really appreciate all of you who took the time to read it. A great big thank you to Peter for graciously posting it on his blog. I also want to thank Ben Simpson, Ken Hamrick, and David Allen for helpful suggestions and feedback. Thanks to Christiane and Lydia for insights and links. Thanks also to Eric Hankins, Malcolm Yarnell, and Adam Harwood for kind words... Read more →

Augustine and Southern Baptists Part 5: Augustine's Exegetical and Hermeutical Method by Dr. Jim Gifford

Dr. Jim Gifford This next-to-last post will examine the exegetical and hermeneutical method Augustine employs in constructing his teachings on grace and providence. Before I begin, I want to state my deep indebtedness to Donato Ogliari and his fine work Gratia et Certamen [Grace and Struggle]. Most of the real research in this section is his and I have only summarized it. One may wonder why this section comes later in this series of posts than his assumptions and the examination of the sources of those assumptions. It should be... Read more →