peterlumpkins.com

Systemic Racism & Sexual Revolution: Replying to Karen Swallow Prior

Formerly teaching English at Liberty University for over 20 years, Karen Swallow Prior presently serves as Research Professor of English and Christianity and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Prior is author of a number of books including Jane Eyre: A Guide to Reading and Reflecting; On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books; Heart of Darkness, and Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me not to mention her prolific online literary presence and numerous magazine articles published in Christianity Today and other major Christian publications. Prior's... Read more →

Theological liberalism in the SBC? A Brief Response

Baptist Press recently published a First-Person article entitled "Theological Liberalism in the SBC?" by Rhett Wilson, freelance author, bivocational pastor, and a senior writer for The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Wilson also blogs and, in fact, blogs well. I read several of his pieces and without qualification commend them. He is a superb writer. On the other hand, I think Wilson misses his target completely in his estimation of what's going on the the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Allow me to explain. As the title of his piece in Baptist... Read more →

Sexual Abuse, Darrell Gilyard and the Southern Baptist Convention: Part 2

In Part 1, I argued contrary to many internet sources, tweeter feeds, and what one might rightly dub "Patterson haters" that Paige Patterson was a key player in dealing with the sexual predator and church destroyer, Darrell Gilyard, in 1991, forcing, as it were, Gilyard to resign his church and leave the ministry. Mainly through Patterson's influence Gilyard left the ministry so far as the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) was concerned. However, eleven days after Gilyard resigned, he started another church unaffiliated with the SBC,1 a move Patterson had little... Read more →

Sexual Abuse, Darrell Gilyard and the Southern Baptist Convention: Interlude

As I argued earlier, Paige Patterson was a key player in dealing with Darrell Gilyard in 1991, forcing, as it were, Gilyard to resign his church and leave the ministry. And, Gilyard did leave the ministry so far as the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) was concerned. Eleven days after Gilyard resigned, however, he started another church unaffiliated with the SBC.1 Some insist that since rumors had been previously flying forth from different churches, rumors about which Patterson was presumably aware, this fact alone should indicate Patterson was either dragging his... Read more →

Sexual Abuse, Darrell Gilyard and the Southern Baptist Convention Part 1

The story of Darrell Gilyard easily arises to the category of legend in Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) life. As originally told, Gilyard was abandoned by his parents at a young age and wound up living under a bridge in Florida. Jerry Vines, pastor of Jacksonville First Baptist Church,1 discovered Gilyard, led him to Christ, and began mentoring him in the mid-1980s. Vines had connections to which he recommended the young, exciting, and vibrant young preacher--most notably Paige Patterson, (then) President of Criswell Bible College and Jerry Falwell, pastor of Thomas... Read more →

Criticism of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Role of Discernment Blogs: Part II

Finally, there remains an unexplored possibility to explain why there's so much internet outrage expressed over so-called "discernment blogs" coming from Southern Baptists. Jason Allen hinted at it but did not develop it in his rebuke of Capstone Report. After demanding that the "anonymous blog" retract and apologize for its false report about him, Allen acknowledged the retraction as "a small, qualified victory in a larger struggle the SBC seems to be losing" (Note: as anyone can observe, Capstone Report is not anonymous). Truth is, it may be that SBC... Read more →

Criticism of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Role of Discernment Blogs: Part I

Last week, The Capstone Report, a popular website that focuses on issues it perceives as troubling in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), released a story concerning the president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Jason Allen, claiming he was personally lobbying the Missouri governor to settle more refugees in the state. The story turned out to be false. Don Hinkle, longtime editor of The Pathway, Missouri Baptists' state denominational paper, wrote a brief but scathing rebuttal, accusing the author of "fake news": "I know fake news when I see it. This... Read more →

Faith and Healthy Democracy: A Research Report on Civility in the Public Square: A Brief Critical Review

Recently, The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (ERLC, SBC) released a 72 page written report of a research project commissioned and supported by The Fetzer Institute, a non-Christian religious organization devoted to "helping build the spiritual foundation for a loving world." Entitled "Faith and Healthy Democracy" (FHD), the report has been widely distributed online through social media and the ERLC website. According to the author(s), the report results from a compilation of an evangelical survey poll commissioned by LifeWay Research, dozens of interviews with evangelical... Read more →

Karen Swallow Prior on John Piper's Advice to Women in Troubled Marriages

OK. I'm not much on Twitter. I've never liked it. I don't think I ever will. Moreover, it can get very vicious, even more vicious than Facebook. Yet it appears it's definitively made its mark for usefulness even among Christians, so I logged on to my old account this AM and posted a link to the piece I put up on my blog entitled, "How do Patterson Critics View John Piper on Spousal Abuse?," a piece asking some of the leaders among Southern Baptists who are bent on seeing Paige... Read more →

How do Patterson Critics View John Piper on Spousal Abuse?

Since the social media mob, led by @JonathanMerritt, @edstetzer, and @KSPrior, judges Paige Patterson's counsel to women in troubled marriages so entirely unChristian as to merit his immediate dismissal as President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, one wonders what they think evangelicals ought to do with evangelical icon, @JohnPiper, and desiringGod.org for the counsel Piper offers to women in troubled marriages. Check it out. For that matter, thoughts about John Piper's counsel to women in troubled marriages from high-profile Christian celebrities and organizations could be helpful in determining exactly why... Read more →

Had Al Mohler gone to Southeastern seminary and not to Southern seminary, what would have become of Southern?

On April 21, 1992, Baptist Press ran an article announcing the trustee decision for the new president of Southern Baptists' seminary in Wake Forest: Paige Patterson, an architect of the "conservative resurgence" in the Southern Baptist Convention, is the nominee for the next president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. Within the same article, another paragraph reads: Two other candidates had been interviewed by the trustees' executive committee acting as the search committee, Ellsworth said. R. Albert Mohler Jr., editor of the Georgia Baptist newsjournal, The Christian... Read more →

Southern Baptist Convention presidential candidate J.D. Greear refuses interview with Louisiana Baptist state paper

What's up with Southern Baptist Convention presidential hopeful, J.D. Greear, refusing an interview with Will Hall, Editor of Louisiana's Baptist Message? According to Hall Despite making an appointment for a phone interview and after a substantive conversation, J.D. Greear declined to participate in a live question and answer session with the Louisiana Baptist Message about his run for the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention. James David "J.D." Greear is lead pastor of The Summit Church, a mega-church in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. Greear also is Visiting Fletcher... Read more →

Is Racism embedded all over the Southern Baptist Convention?

I've been trying to stay away from denominational politics. Honest! At times, however, it's impossible to stay on the wagon. Indeed as my good friend, Chris Gilliam, indicated in the Facebook thread (see below), one gets tired of the simplistic rhetoric. Below is a brief commentary I pecked out on my cell phone in response to an article detailing Russell Moore's indictment of widespread racism allegedly embedded within the Southern Baptist Convention. A Facebook friend asked me to post it on my blog so he could point his friends to... Read more →

'God helped me save myself essentially because I worked so hard'--Chuck Quarles on his pre-Calvinistic relationship with God

What does a typical non-Calvinist affirm or deny so far as the foundation of his or her relationship with God is concerned? Is the relationship based solely upon grace through faith as Paul reveals in Ephesians 2:8-9? Or does a typical non-Calvinist believe the basis of his or her salvation is essentially because he or she works so hard to be saved? Below is a hefty slice of what Dr. Charles Quarles testified to a congregation in Denham Springs, Louisiana during a sermon on 2 Thessalonians 2:13. He said: And... Read more →

Chuck Quarles on election--'Southern Baptists are in a really awkward position today'

Dr. Charles "Chuck" Quarles presently is Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theology Seminary. In a sermon based upon 2 Thessalonians 2:13 he preached at the Riverside Baptist Church, Denham Springs, Louisiana in October, 2009, the professor said concerning election and Southern Baptists: Southern Baptists are in a really awkward position today in a lot of our churches because many want to deny the doctrine of election and yet they want to insist on "Once saved always saved." You can't do that. Those two doctrines rise... Read more →

Christian Index editor pushes for answers from Calvinism Advisory Committee about babies burning in hell

Below is the most recent editorial by Christian Index editor, Gerald Harris.1 Entitled "A New Kind of Calvinism" Dr. Harris shares his perspective on the committee report released prior to the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention by Executive Committee President Frank Page. In addition Harris recalls his concern over one aspect of the committee report, a concern he expressed during the official Q/A at the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention. Harris rightly asked about the committee's affirmation that "most Southern Baptists believe that those who die before they are capable of moral... Read more →

Louisiana's Message republishes "The Calvinists are here" by Georgia's Christian Index editor, Gerald Harris

The Baptist Message recently posted a series of articles on the purported issue over Calvinism at Louisiana College. I received permission from The Message editor to re-post the four articles in full on my site since many Southern Baptists outside Louisiana are watching with concerned interest the fiasco taking place on the Baptist campus. Yet since so few of us outside Louisiana subscribe to The Message, we were left completely in the dark as to the content of the articles. You may find the first and second articles linked after... Read more →

Augustine and Southern Baptists: an Introduction by Dr. Jim Gifford

Dr. Jim Gifford Below is what Dr. Jim Gifford1 describes as a "short informal essay" serving as an opening post to a six-part series on Saint Augustine, an introductory essay entitled "Augustine and Southern Baptists: an Introduction." He envisions five remaining articles describing Augustine's influence on modern day evangelicalism--especially Southern Baptists--and attesting to several theological innovations Gifford's research led him to conclude were deviations from the received traditions the legendary Bishop of Hippo followed. The reader should keep in mind that Dr. Gifford intentionally designed the article series as informal... Read more →

Coming series on Saint Augustine by Dr. James D. Gifford Jr.

I’m pleased to announce a series of articles on Saint Augustine and his influence on Southern Baptist theology written by Dr. James D. “Jim” Gifford Jr. Originally from West Virginia, Dr. Gifford now lives in Charlotte, NC where he teaches theology and church history at New Life Theological Seminary, a small but growing TRACS-accredited multi-denominational, multi-ethnic Bible college and seminary. Jim received his PhD in systematic theology in 2010 from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.1 He also is author of Perichoretic Salvation: The Believer's Union with Christ as a Third Type... Read more →

Young Truett-McConnell scholar drops a bombshell on Southern Baptist academia

When Karl Barth's classic commentary on Paul's Epistle to the Romans was first published in 1919, a biblical monograph which effectively delivered Old Liberalism its first mortal blow, one German reviewer described Barth's neo-orthodox innovation revealed in his Romans exposition as falling "like a bombshell on the playground of the theologians" >>> And, while one cannot place Adam Harwood's modest theological reflection at SBC Today on such a profoundly global ecclesial scale as was Barth, the Assistant Professor of Christian Studies at Truett-McConnell College just dropped a theological bombshell on... Read more →

Calvinists recruit W.A. Criswell to their cause by Peter Lumpkins

Dr. Tom Ascol is Director of Founders Ministries, the largest network of Calvinists affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Founders Ministries maintains that since Southern Baptists have “lost the gospel”, it apparently will be up to like-minded Calvinists like themselves to assist us in finding the gospel* >>> *I remain very much aware I broke my own ususal standard in posting such a long piece. I only hope I have not presumed upon my readership for whom I am always thankful... Of course, their understanding of the gospel is summed... 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 →

Akin says media reports led to "misconceptions and misinterpretations" about weekend arrest of William "Billy" Birch by Peter Lumpkins

William "Billy" Birch According to Baptist Press (BP), Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary's weekly chapel service focused on circumstances surrounding the tragic arrest of seminary student and Southern Baptist blogger, William "Billy" Birch. Before expulsion, Birch was an MDiv student at the Wake Forest campus but was arrested Saturday afternoon after allegations he performed unwanted sexual advances toward a 25 year old male undergraduate student, crimes he apparently confesses to have committed. President Danny Akin clarified what he suspects to be "misconceptions and misinterpretations" stemming from media reports about the weekend's... Read more →

Take heed lest you fall by Peter Lumpkins

The inspired Apostle gives us both exhortation and warning. He writes: >>> Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall (1 Co 10:12) Our hearts are directed first to the victims of this moral and criminal lapse. Though it taxes our minds in discovering appropriate words to collectively express our disappointment, our anger, our frustration, we nonetheless are morally obliged to do so. We hurt for and with the victims. We also possess a moral obligation to denounce as sinful and depraved this criminal act allegedly... Read more →

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. ======================= 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* John Calvin... Read more →

Calvinism's "deep, dark, dirty little secret" by Peter Lumpkins

Below is a quote from a paper entitled "Salvation and the Sovereignty of God: The Great Commission as the Expression of the Divine Will"1 by Dr. Kenneth Keathley, Professor of Theology, Dean of the Faculty, and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (Keathley's blog is here) >>> Let us remember that there is no disagreement about human responsibility. Augustinians, Calvinists, Arminians, and all other orthodox Christians agree that the lost are lost because of their own sin. But that is not the question at hand. The... Read more →

A grassroots Southern Baptist "gets it" on the undeniable Calvinist agenda within the Southern Baptist Convention by Peter Lumpkins

After a full five years of blogging, including 900 & a quarter K page views and 15K+ comments, I thought it'd be nice to hear from reader and frequent commenter on SBC Tomorrow, "Mary" >>> Mary is a longtime Southern Baptist but she doesn't live in Birmingham, nor any city in the south. And, those who have challenged Mary's contributions on threads at SBC Tomorrow know by experience she's hardly the ordinary 'housewife' stereotype far too many new generation Baptists overlay onto traditional Southern Baptist females. Instead, Mary is a... Read more →

William Lane Craig on Matthew 27:52-53

Below is a clip from a debate between William Lane Craig and James Crossley. In the course of Craig's presentation, he referenced the resurrected saints in Matthew 27. At the Q/A time in the closing segment, a questioner appealed to Craig to explain his understanding of the resurrected saints about which Matthew mentions. Craig's answer is enlightening: Those who've kept up with my site know my appreciation for William Craig, even describing him as perhaps the foremost Christian apologist living today. However, in light of the recent Licona/Geisler-Mohler contention over... Read more →

Memo from Licona to Mohler and Geisler: "unpersuasive and misguided" by Peter Lumpkins

Mike Licona is not backing down. While he softened his wording found in his published book in the open letter to Norm Geisler, it seems he's once again taking a polarizing position on the Matthew 27:52-53 text. Indeed after going back and fairly well arguing strongly for his original position in his book, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach, Licona boldly asserts >>> The calls of Drs. Geisler and Mohler for me to retract my opinion that it is possible Matthew intended for his readers to understand the... Read more →

Mike Licona Responds to Norman Geisler by Peter Lumpkins

Apparently, Dr. Mike Licona has openly responded to Dr. Norman Geisler's public criticism. A copy of Licona's response is posted on Licona's son-in-law's site* (I could not locate it on Licona's site). Dr.Licona writes: An Open Response to Norman Geisler Norman Geisler has taken issue with a portion of my recent book, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach, in which I proposed that the story of the raised saints in Matthew 27:52-53 should probably be interpreted as apocalyptic imagery rather than literal history. In response, Dr. Geisler has... Read more →

Why does an SBC Entity Sponsor an SBC Exhibitor Which Declines Accountability to Southern Baptists? by Peter Lumpkins

I posted earlier on 9Marks Ministries’ history-making-moment by being an officially-sponsored exhibitor at the 2011 Southern Baptist Convention in Phoenix. For publishing this factually-oriented info, I was accused on the one hand of being divisive and on the other of attacking 9Marks. My accuser appears to think SBC Tomorrow exists to either avoid factual information or offer interpretations of factual information which are consistent only with a presupposed understanding agreeable to him. Alas, I must dissent. Indeed I will continue to dissent and call plays like I see them regardless... Read more →

Reformed Theology vs. Free Church Theology in the SBC: Disaster Inevitable by Peter Lumpkins

I started blogging in 2006. The reason I gave then, is the reason I state now: the aggressive Calvinist agenda being promoted among Southern Baptists. In 2006, Founders Ministries was the kingpin blog. Tom Ascol peeled every non-Calvinist banana who dared mention the "doctrines of grace." Indeed it would be hard to name a then, mega-church pastor in the SBC, who did not feel the wrath of Founders' blog and blog thread. They were "exposed" for the "Arminians" (i.e. "heretics") they were... >>> A new day arrived for Southern Baptists... Read more →

On Marginalizing Brad Whitt by Peter Lumpkins

UPDATE: Brad Whitt has a great follow-up to his original post entitled, "The Challenge for Committed, Contributing Southern Baptists" Also, Tim Rogers queries if Brad Whitt fits the profile of a fresh, young stateman in "A New SBC Statesman?" Dr. Steve Lemke offers insight on Brad Whitt's essay in "The Shot Heard Round the SBC (Part 1)" ========================================================== On February 28, South Carolina pastor, Dr. Brad Whitt, wrote a provocative piece entitled “Young, Southern Baptist…and Irrelevant?” Barely a week later, in an unprecedented maneuver, two highly visible Southern Baptist professors... Read more →

Annihilationism vs. Universalism: Acceptable Error or Condemnable Heresy? by Peter Lumpkins

My raising the question concerning The Gospel Coalition’s fairly obvious duplicity in describing Rob Bell a heretic for his alleged universalist and/or annihilationist views while theologically cuddling up nice and cozy with Anglican scholar, John R.W. Stott, even though it is common knowledge Stott embraces some form of an annihilationist position concerning the after-life created many defenders who suggested annihilationism, although an error to be sure, hardly meets the “heresy” criteria that universalism does>>> In fact, I had an email exchange with a TGC advocate who alleged my point was... Read more →

Bart Ehrman Honks James White's Nose by Peter Lumpkins

Internet apologetics is destroying conservative evangelicalism. It's only a matter of time. How do I know this? Take 10 minutes and listen to Bart Ehrman completely break down Reformed apologist, James White in cross-examination. I know little to nothing about textual criticism. But I do know when someone is bluffing with an answer. James White embarrassed evangelicals with this poor dialog with Ehrman. Ehrman walks away looking like an accomplished scholar. On the other hand, White crawls away like a whipped mongrel. Hear for yourself: Unfortunately the sound-bite I linked... Read more →

Free Will, Ignorance, and Reformed Internet Apologetics by Peter Lumpkins

I don’t know if it’s unintended ignorance or intentional intellectual laziness on the part of many Reformed apologists, but options for theological accuracy coming from some of the more well-known websites are fast disappearing. Alpha & Omega, the apologetic website of extreme Calvinist* James White, recently put up a piece on free will written by contributor, Alan Kurschner in which Kurschner flatly denied human responsibility implies the concept of “so-called free will.” I offered a brief critique, pointing out the obvious flaw in Kurschner’s reasoning (and most all strict Calvinists... Read more →

FBC JAX Pastors' Conference by Peter Lumpkins

Carrying on the great, 25 year tradition of inspiration, encouragement, and love for the local church pastor, First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida is in the final preparatory stages for the 2011 Conference. This year's theme is endurance and will be held January 28-February 1. Dr. Mac Brunson, Senior Pastor, FBC Jax, rightly observes that while some pastors are concerned about enduring until they retire, so many pastors today are struggling with how to endure to the end of the week! Here's a peek: Dr. Brunson obviously is attempting to reach... Read more →

Founders Journal & Whosoever Will: Observations: Part I by Peter Lumpkins

Founders Journal represents the theological thinking of the largest network of strict Calvinists within the Southern Baptist Convention, Founders Ministries.* In its most recent edition, Founders offers its critique of Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point Calvinism, edited by Drs. Steve Lemke and David Allen. The issue entitled “Theological Debate Within the Family” (FJ 82) unfortunately ran into some technical difficulties and is being presently republished (though the misprinted version had already been sent out). I want to offer a few observations about the critical journal entries and will... Read more →

Are Some Forms of Calvinism Hard to Swallow? Perhaps...by Peter Lumpkins

William Birch put up a great post recently entitled "Arminianism Grants Man All the Credit for Salvation." Dealing with the charge that Arminians receive credit for saving themselves from sin, Birch rhetorically asks: "...Does the person who is rescued from a burning building by a fireman turn to the on-lookers and exclaim, “I am a hero, for I had the wisdom to come out of the burning building”? No, the one rescued from the burning building owes his or her “salvation,” so to speak, to the fireman — the one... Read more →

Bryant Wright--Seminaries the Key to Global Missions Leadership? by Peter Lumpkins

I'm all for seminaries--especially Southern Baptist seminaries. Twice Southern Baptists underwrote my theological education through the Cooperative Program. Hence, it's almost inconceivable for me to think ingratitude when I think of our seminaries. On the other hand, I'm not so sure seminaries make the high grade our beloved president of the Southern Baptist Convention bestows. In a Q/A forum after chapel at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Georgia pastor and SBC president, Bryant Wright, opened up concerning what he sees as "a huge shortcoming that we have now" in the distribution... Read more →

Yoga: A Fatal Flaw for Theological Triage by Peter Lumpkins

Five years ago, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president, Al Mohler, put up a short piece on his blog entitled “A Call for Theological Triage and Christian Maturity,” a piece he probably did not realize at the time would become a hermeneutical shibboleth for some in Southern Baptist circles >>> In the short essay, he suggested doing community theology was like doing emergency room triage: “In recent years, emergency medical personnel have practiced a discipline known as triage–a process that allows trained personnel to make a quick evaluation of relative medical... Read more →

Danny Akin on Unity in the Southern Baptist Convention and the GCR by Peter Lumpkins

My last piece focused on concerns raised by a large representative group of Alabama Baptists who believe the GCRTF agenda has, through implementation, begun to divide Southern Baptists over missions methodology, an incredible and sad irony since cooperative missions has been the glue which held us together through doctrinal thick and thin. Perhaps more than any other person, Dr. Danny Akin has been the face of the GCR movement in the Southern Baptist Convention. Preaching the famous "axioms" sermon in April of 09, he set in motion what culminated in... Read more →

Alabama Baptists Push Back Against GCRTF Agenda by Peter Lumpkins

GCR advocates drove away from Orlando, FL last June believing they received a mandate from the Southern Baptist Convention—"We’re ready to move forward with the GCR agenda!" The then president of the pastor’s conference and now president of NAMB expressed regret for his “disengagement” from SBC life promising to create a vision so compelling, all Southern Baptists would begin to give till it hurts. Even those churches on the present periphery of Cooperative Program giving would rush, as Ezell now has, to hop aboard the CP choo-choo >>> Well, the... Read more →

Calvinism on the Rise: A New Barna Study Challenges the Reformed Revival in America by Peter Lumpkins

Whether one reads the young, restless, and reformed guru, Collin Hansen, or takes seriously Ed Stetzer’s statistics that suggests Calvinism is on the rise (especially in the SBC), or accepts the rhetoric that Reformed church planting leads the pack by a country mile in new church starts, The Barna Group’s newly released study “Is There a “Reformed Movement” in American Churches?” rains on the Calvinistic come-back parade >>> For at least 10 years, Barna has tracked American non-Catholic clergy who identify the churches they serve as "Calvinist or Reformed." Presently,... Read more →

On J.D. Greear's View of Alcohol: Inadequate, Naive, Relativistic, Unbiblical Balderdash: And That's Putting it Mildly by Peter Lumpkins

After getting over my initial “Oh my” upon reading North Carolina pastor and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Adjunct Professor, J.D. Greear’s recent swab on imbibing intoxicating beverages, I thought it would be helpful to look at Greear’s argumentation since he’s apparently been dealing with this issue for years. “A common issue that I have had to address over the years is the question of whether Christians should drink alcohol,” reveals Greear. One would think Greear would have developed a relatively solid case for one position or another if years were... Read more →

Southern Baptists Move Away from Rigid Calvinism: The Influence of F.H. Kerfoot: by Peter Lumpkins

Dr. Franklin Howard Kerfoot (1847-1901) though not a name widely recognized in Baptist circles today was, during the latter quarter of the 19th century, a formidable leader among Southern Baptists. He served as pastor, denominational leader and seminary professor. Dr. Kerfoot was born a Virginian but died a Georgian. After serving in the Confederate Army for a short period, he enrolled in Columbian College in Washington D.C. and excelled in his studies such that, in only three years, he received his M.S. and L.L.B. which normally took six. Afterward, Kerfoot... Read more →

Southeastern Seminary On Alcohol…Again! by Peter Lumpkins

I have a question: why is it when abstinence-oriented believers breach the subject of alcohol, they are accused of obsession with an issue which divides rather than unites? How interesting, however, when those who have no necessary scruples with imbibing intoxicating substances breach the subject--and do so over and over again--they are heaped with praise, endowed with courage in tackling such a timely issue, and estimated as possessing the moral aptitude to "speak out!" >>> I have another question: if alcohol use is not an issue at Southeastern Baptist Theological... Read more →

Salvation and Sovereignty: a Molinist Approach: An Extended Book-look (Part II) by Peter Lumpkins

Dr. Kenneth Keathley is Professor of Theology and Senior Vice President for Academic Administration/Dean of the Faculty at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. His book, Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (SSM, B&H, 2010, $24.99) contributes a unique approach among Southern Baptists toward solving the classic dilemma between God’s Sovereignty and human free will. In fact, unless I am mistaken, Dr. Keathley is the first writing Southern Baptist theologian who embraces the historical theological position known as Molinism. The engagement below is Part II in a series of three parts. To... Read more →

Quiet Revolution or Open Celebration? Calvinizing the Southern Baptist Convention by Peter Lumpkins

In his book, A Quiet Revolution, Earnest Reisinger (along with co-author, D. Matthew Allen) notes what he feels is the forsaking of historic Christianity in the Southern Baptist Convention and the recovery of the gospel... A Quiet Revolution Plainspoken in the clearest terms, Reisinger describes what he thinks ails the largest Protestant body in America—the absence of the gospel, the absence of Calvinism. He writes: “Calvinistic Christianity is nothing more and nothing less than biblical Christianity. It follows, then, that the future of Christianity itself is bound up in the... Read more →

Danny Akin, SEBTS, SBC Voices, and my Take on Acceptable Engagement by Peter Lumpkins

Warning: THIS PIECE IS VERY LENGTHY I initially prepared the piece below (below the double under-lined section) as a comment for this thread. I do think. however, it needs wider exposure. It is a longer comment exposing I think a fundamental divide between what I find as acceptable, honorable exchange and what other bloggers—specifically some Southern Baptist bloggers—judge as the “best” and “worst” in blogging. I think it beneficial if one is interested in knowing what drives me to write as I do. More importantly now, please read at least... Read more →