peterlumpkins.com

Kehukee Baptist Association formed from stolen churches?

In 1765, the Kehukee Baptist Association met for the first time and was organized as an association. The Philadelphia Baptist Association had commissioned Peter Van Horn and Benjamin Miller as missionaries to go south into North Carolina to "visit the churches and preach the Gospel." Their mission was to churches, not to the masses moving into the southern Colonies. Specifically, the two missionaries visited General Baptist churches planted by Paul Palmer and other "Free-will" Baptists. According to Kehukee's historian, Through their instrumentality [Van Horn and Miller], many people were awakened;... Read more →

More dismissing fiduciary obligation of IMB administration and trustees

I recently expressed my lament over the recent announcement of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (IMB). Not only is it hard to accept that at least since 2010, our missions-sending agency has outspent its predictable income by close to a quarter of a billion dollars, it also remains gut-wrenching to know IMB both sold off tens of millions of dollars of real estate and properties and depleted its cash reserves just to keep the doors open. Adding insult to injury, IMB officials announced it expects seasoned... Read more →

Six to 800 missionaries must come home apparently due to apathy of Southern Baptists

source Recently, International Mission Board (IMB) leaders announced a plan to scale back Southern Baptists' global mission effort by cutting personnel by approximately 15%. The plan was presented by President David Platt and his senior leadership team during an Aug. 27 "town hall" meeting, a meeting which included missionaries and staff and was available both on and off site (i.e. digitally). According to Baptist Press "Platt said the urgency of the plan is based in the reality that while Southern Baptist giving through the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon... Read more →

Charleston tradition loses influence at Brown Creek Baptist Association

In the Fall of 1854, several churches from North Carolina's Moriah Baptist Association—an association birthed by The Charleston Association in 1815--decided to organize another association. Meeting at the Wilson Chambers School House (school located across the road from Mt. Olive Baptist Church), the Brown Creek Baptist Association was constituted.1 The association may have taken its name from Brown Creek Baptist Church (1773). In 1884, the name changed from the Brown Creek Baptist Association to Union Baptist Association.2 The minutes of the meeting reveal the mindset the churches possessed toward the... Read more →

Does overseas missions strategy need reform? At least one SBC professor says it does

A piece by Will Hall in the Christian Examiner rehearses a journal article published in The Southwestern Journal of Theology by Midwestern professor of missions, Robin Dale Hadaway. Hall's article entitled "Prof calls for SBC overseas missions reform: Does drastic drop in IMB baptisms merit major remake?" lists among the changes Hadaway proposes: 1. Drop the two percent "reachedness" threshold and return to the original 20 percent or at least adopt a 10 percent baseline. "Exiting a people group that is more than two-percent evangelical," he said, "is the historical... Read more →

Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill, and planting churches

Question: Is a church a real church if it disbands when the pastor resigns? Set. Go! Read more →

Bullseye: Perceptive Reflections on a Collapsing Culture: Free Church Press New Release

Click on image to enlarge Free Church Press is excited to announce a new title by William F. Harrell: Bullseye: Perceptive Reflections on a Collapsing Culture. Dr. Harrell is Pastor Emeritus of the historic Abilene Baptist Church, Martinez, Georgia. Bullseye is Harrell's second book. In Bullseye, Dr. Harrell aims his bead for cultural issues facing the church today. Those who purchased Harrell's first volume--Straight Shooting: Pastoral Reflections for Today's Church--will note in Bullseye the very same folksy literary style Dr. Harrell commands. Below are a few of the targets onto... Read more →

Janet Mefferd pulls documentation alleging plagiarism against Mark Driscoll

See UPDATE below Christian talkshow host and journalist, Janet Mefferd, removed documents which appeared to show plagiarism by controversial pastor and Young, Restless, and Reformed icon, Mark Driscoll. Earlier Mefferd had pressed Driscoll in an interview to explain why he apparently used material from Reformed theologian, Peter Jones, without properly citing his material, an interview which turned sour quickly with Driscoll allegedly hanging up (unfortunately the allegation of 'hanging up' took the spotlight away from the more serious breach if true--plagiarism). Mefferd produced even more indicting forms of potential plagiarism... Read more →

"The Power of the Church": a sermon by Peter Lumpkins

Below is a sermon I preached some years ago entitled "The Power of the Church." Based upon Romans 1:16, it suggests four reasons why the church's power rests solely in Christ's gospel--the power of God unto salvation; namely, the gospel is the power of God because the gospel, bears the authority of God promises effectiveness from God designed for the entire world constitutes the singular hope we possess Even though I preached this message at a local congregation, I think it possesses broad merit for us today. Less branding strategies... Read more →

Whatever happened to Lake Ridge Church?

It's been said of Acts 29 Network, "When you're looking for theologically vibrant, healthy models that lead to growing churches, where else are you going to look?" If I am not mistaken, Dr. Ed Stetzer introduced Southern Baptists to the church planting network known as Acts 29 while he was Director of Research and Missiologist at the North American Mission Board (NAMB). In addition to introducing Southern Baptists to Acts 29 Network and its assumed "theologically vibrant, healthy models" of church planting parallel to none, Stetzer also planted a church... Read more →

John MacArthur offers more skepticism on the YRR and "Flat-screen" Preachers

Yesterday I posted MacArthur's video wherein he pounded the young, restless, and reformed community for stepping over the moral threshold into a worldly lifestyle.1 In a real sense, MacArthur's concern centers on classic antinomianism, a well-known temptation within the Reformed community. In 2009, I wrote these words: The Conservative Resurgence which officially began in 1979 made history by turning the theological clock backwards to its rightful, biblically authoritative moorings… Southern Baptists once again should heed the times: there is another coming crisis in our convention, just beyond the horizon. Before... Read more →

New Release by Free Church Press! The Secrets of a Great Church by Jerry Vines

Just in time for The John 3:16 Conference, The Secrets of a Great Church by Jerry Vines will be given free of charge to all registered participants. In addition, through the generosity of friends of Free Church Press and Jerry Vines Ministries, a complimentary copy will be available to messengers who drop by the booth at the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention in Houston, TX. Read more →

Now we know what Arminian theologian Roger Olson REALLY thinks about Southern Baptists

Popular Arminian theologian, Roger Olson, reveals on his latest post how he really feels about Southern Baptists generally. In his piece entitled, 'My List of "Approved Denominations"' Dr. Olson goes around the denominational globe listing the denominations which meet his approval >>> Included on Olson's "approved denominations" list are: Fellowship of Evangelical Churches Mennonite Church Brethren Church Evangelical Covenant Church Evangelical Free Church of America American Baptist Churches, U.S.A. Baptist General Convention of Texas Conservative Baptist Association of America Baptist General Conference/Converge Worldwide Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Association of General... Read more →

Rick Warren's absurd call for Al Mohler to apologize by Peter Lumpkins

Al Mohler's recent post entitled "Is the Megachurch the New Liberalism?" raised questions not only concerning megachurch pastor, Andy Stanley, and his all-but implicit acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle, but Mohler also drew fire from unsuspecting critics1 >>> Legendary Saddleback pastor, Rick Warren, did not just take issue with Al Mohler's piece; rather the father of the purpose-driven movement called for the seminary president to apologize for unduly offending thousands of churches for the lone reason the church happened to be big. Reportedly, Warren tweeted to Mohler: @albertmohler Would a... Read more →

Al Mohler, Homosexuality, and the "New Liberalism" by Peter Lumpkins

Last week, I raised the question concerning Andy Stanley’s perplexing story about a gay couple in his church. I wrote: Stanley tells the story of a couple who divorced while members of his church. The issue was, the husband had fallen in love with another man... The problem is, not once in the entire story did Stanley question the homosexual relationship the two men experienced. Instead he questioned whether or not the men could serve in their Buckhead branch since one of the men was still married... Stanley questioned the... Read more →

Why Calvinists are so successful at making non-Calvinist friends by Peter Lumpkins

How do they do it? You know, Calvinists who are so good at making non-Calvinist friends. I think one of their secrets must be summarized by Dr. Steven Lawson, senior pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church, Mobile, AL. Yes, this is the same Steven Lawson who took the historic Dauphin Way Baptist Church in 1995 and, in just a few short years, grew the church down from virtually mega-church status* to a staggering 650. Dr. Lawson's secret? Focus on the five points of Calvinism and push evangelism by the wayside.... Read more →

Lifeway Wants to Know--"What Politico-Cultural Icons are Christians?" by Peter Lumpkins

Suppose I asked, “Which, if any, of the following people do you believe are Christians?” and listed five people: Barack Obama Glenn Beck Sarah Palin Oprah Winfrey George W. Bush Do you think a poll like this offers substantial information which assists us with the Great Commission? Or, could the negativity toward the inquirers (Lifeway affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention) outweigh any potential assistance the feedback could offer? Well Lifeway Research answered "yes" to the first question and "no" to the second. Not with an added benefit of a... Read more →

"Whosoever Will" Getting Good Press by Peter Lumpkins

As I posted late last week, Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point Calvinism edited by Drs. David Allen and Steve Lemke and published by B&H Publishing Group is already on backorder (//link). More good news is, reviews are beginning to come in with positive results. The Southern Baptist TEXAN has two reviews, one by TEXAN correspondent, David Roach and the other by Editor, Gary Ledbetter (respectively here and here). Of the volume overall, Ledbetter concludes: “Some who read articles by members of the Founders’ movement or hear messages from... Read more →

Church Attendance in the United States by Peter Lumpkins

Gallup just released the latest numbers on church attendance in the United States. No real surprises. Nine of the 10 Top church attending states are in the south... The top ten states for church attendance are: Well maybe one surprise: is it not odd to see Florida absent from the mix of the Top Ten church going states? The other oddity in the list is Utah. However, Utah is easily explicable due do the high percentage of Mormons in the state, Mormons being among the most vigorous attendees of any... Read more →

Christ’s Prophets or Culture’s Pollsters: To Whom Do We Turn? by Peter Lumpkins

Typically argued by church-growth gurus a half-generation ago was for the 20th Century church to stop using 19th century methods to reach a 20th century audience. Remember this book? Among the many culprits often indicted was the "boring" church which ignored the sharpened sensory tastes of a media-driven society soaked in the tub of cutting edge video, graphics, and the ever-ready, almighty microchip. The stats were in... young people spent about 15-20 hours a week absorbing this new, very powerful venue. Hence, the church which did not reach kids through... Read more →

Southern Baptists Propose More Churches for Cuba by Peter Lumpkins

The Southern Baptist vision to reach the entire globe for Christ stands without parallel in Christian history. Neither is the vision to plant churches a more recent development of Southern Baptist life as many curiously assume. Nor have we ever considered our name as The "Southern" Baptist Convention indicative of a stunted regionalism only concerned about souls in Dixie. Indeed quite telling of the Southern Baptist heartbeat to evangelize to the ends of the earth is the little piece below. It originally appeared on January, 4th, 1900 in "The Bee,"... Read more →

Courageous Prophesy or Cowardly Diplomacy? by Peter Lumpkins

Some men call on the church today to be kind...gentle...friendly...unoffensive to a narcissistic culture obsessed with self-destructive hedonism. A.W. Tozer speaks: We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum. Preachers of the Word! Let Tozer sink... Read more →

B21 Panel Discussion: A Brief Commentary by Peter Lumpkins

I just got enough time to listen to the panel discussion held at the Sojourn Community Church, Louisville, KY during the SBC (//link; all that is presently available is the first half). A few comments. Allow me to begin with some positives. I thought the forum format lent itself well to good communication. All the participants appeared relaxed. Dr. Mohler came across perhaps as a bit too relaxed, fiddling around with his Blackberry in the opening moments (twittering?). All in all, however, the panel atmosphere worked. Second, I thought the... Read more →

Ed Stetzer, Michael Spencer and the 2009 Southern Baptist Convention by Peter Lumpkins

I apologize in advance. I have little time to write. Know, however, it takes only a little time to assess the guffawed views of some otherwise intelligent people. Two such views come from Ed Stetzer, the neo-numbers guru of those who appear to think culture should be the conscience of the church rather than the church the conscience of the culture, and IMonk, A.K.A., Michael Spencer, the exclusive, independent voice among bloggers who possesses no bias, no agenda, and no monkey business. In other words, "Imonk says it, I believe... Read more →

Are Evangelicals Losing Influence in the Public Square? A Series on Baptist Press by Will Hall

My apologies* to the readers for belatedly placing a link to this final article in a four-part series by Will Hall, Executive Director, Baptist Press. In this essay, Hall considers whether the popular notion concerning younger evangelicals leaning left fits the numerical studies (//link). We are grateful to Mr. Hall for this timely series. With that, I am... Peter *internet woes in West Georgia... WILL HALL'S ENTIRE SERIES Article I: ANALYSIS: God is Not Dead and Neither is Christianity in America (//link) Article II: ANALYSIS: What do the Numbers Mean--is... Read more →

What Do Declining Numbers Mean for Southern Baptists? by Peter Lumpkins

Will Hall, Executive Director of Baptist Press, offers another perspective concerning whether the demographic studies support the popular, conference circuit mantra "The Southern Baptist Convention is a dying denomination." An interesting quote by Will Hall: In isolation, the ACP data might be interpreted to suggest the SBC is a denomination in decline. However, when ACP information is examined against research conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, it is evident that demographic changes in our country have been the major shaping force of our membership numbers, not outdated methodologies nor a... Read more →

Is Christianity in Decline? A Series by Will Hall

Conventional wisdom in both mainstream media as well as religious pollstering slowly pounds the final nail into historic Christianity's coffin, concluding, in effect, with Bishop John Shelby Spong, the historic church must change or die**. How often Southern Baptists are fed a similar bowl of soup and crackers--Baptists are shown to be an aging group that continues to lose the younger generations and leaders. Will Hall, Executive Director of Baptist Press, recently began a four-part analytical series designed to unearth another layer beneath the numbers so often cited by friend... Read more →

Weekend Quotes: A Time to Consider

"I define myself above all other things as a believer. I am indeed a passionate believer. God is the ultimate reality in my life... Like the psalmist of old, I have the sense of God's inescapableness. I am what I would call a God-intoxicated human being... [I seek] to build a world in which all barriers to full humanity for every person have been removed. That is why, for me, no prejudice can ever be allowed to exist within that entity that has come to call itself "the body of... Read more →

The Vanishing Church: Searching for Significance in the 21st Century by Bob Pearle: A Review by Peter Lumpkins

Finishing up a quick-read of the book entitled unChristian by authors, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, their working assumption is revealed by this tacit admission: "Using the lens of the careful scientific research we conducted, I invite you to see what Christianity looks like from the outside. In fact, the title of this book, unchristian, reflects outsiders' most common reaction to the faith: they think Christians no longer represent what Jesus had in mind, that Christianity in our society is not what it was meant to be...After thousands of interviews... Read more →

The SBC and The Gospel by Luke Liechty, Guest Contributor

I've considered for some time now experimenting with some new avenues on SBC Tomorrow. One such laboratory exercise is the addition of regularly scheduled guests who publish essays here. Keeping with such a vision, today's guest is Luke Liechty. Luke is not a stranger to Southern Baptist blogging, contributing to his site, Search Me O God, for almost two years. Luke is pastor of a Southern Baptist church in Moss Bluff, Louisiana. Furthermore, he is a husband, a dad, and a lover of Classical music. Luke is especially in love... 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 →

The Verdict Just In: The Southern Baptist Convention is in Decline

The verdict is now firmly set in place: The mighty Southern Baptist Convention is a convention of Churches in decline. How do we know? Well, numbers do not lie, do they? And the numbers are in, according to Lifeway's Ed Stetzer. The hot zone that triggered the greatest concern was the loss in Baptisms. This one dip sent a tremble through the airwaves equal to a whopping 5.0 magnitude on a Richter scale. The New York Times: Ranks of Southern Baptists Are Still Growing Thinner ABC News: Southern Baptist Numbers... Read more →

Salvation, The Sovereignty of God and The Great Commission: An Expression of the Will of God

A recent book edited by Dr. R. Stanton Norman, Vice President for University Development at Southwest Baptist University, contains essays from various Southern Baptist scholars and pastors. The Mission of the Church: Baptist Leaders Look at Modern Faith Issues is a collection of papers presented at a 2005 conference on "The Mission of Today's Church" sponsored by my Alma Marta, the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary >>> Presenters included Daniel Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Charles Kelly, President of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Jerry Sutton, Pastor, Two... Read more →

Raising Questions About the Quality of Worship

Every Pastor will, if not today, one day this week, ponder precisely how the service(s) got along yesterday. Perhaps with a deacon confidant, or staff colleagues or maybe just with his wife, the Pastor will attempt to reflect on the worship experience or lack of it. He will wonder if the music was appropriate, if it was high quality. He will express his curiosity as to whether his message connected with the people...>>> And, of course, he will ponder the attendance--up or down--and if his church is making a difference... Read more →