Richard Land, Trayvon Martin & the SBC

As an African-American who has been spiritually nurtured by the men and women of the Southern Baptist Convention. I feel a deep sense of gratitude and indebtedness. Thankfully, more and more African-American brothers and sisters are joining the SBC ranks, locking arms for the cause of Christ. I am grateful for the steps the SBC has taken toward the goal …

B21 Book Review: Trellis and the Vine

Recently, I have engaged in several conversations with aspiring Church Planters about team planting and the mission of church planting. In these conversations I almost always bring up the book Trellis and the Vine. There has to be a tension in our mission to plant the gospel and form churches out of gospel communities between health of the body (structure …

SBC 2011 B21 Panel Bio: Dr. Albert Mohler

It is a rare occasion that a biography consisting of academic degrees, along with previous and current job titles distract from one’s contribution to humanity, and in this case Evangelical Christianity in particular.  R. Albert Mohler is a leading intellectual in the Evangelical movement in the United States, with appearances on national programs such as CNN’s “Larry King Live,” NBC’s …

B21 Panel @ SBC2010 Bio: Danny Akin

We are excited to have Dr. Danny Akin participating in the b21 panel at the 2010 SBC. Register for the panel. Dr. Akin has been one of the leading voices calling for a Great Commission Resurgence in the SBC (below check out the video of the original GCR Axioms message that Dr. Akin delivered last year). He is also a …

Missions vs. Church Planting, or Missions is Church Planting.

The Great Commission Resurgence Task Force has released a statement recommending that the term “Great Commission Giving” be used in reference to the monetary gifts from our Southern Baptist Churches to the Cooperative Program and designations to the causes of the Southern Baptist Convention, state conventions and associations. A subtle change in verbiage may seem insignificant for those who have …

Letter from a Birmingham Jail: Revisited

In the month of February it is a common practice to pause and take the measure of historical figures in the struggle for civil rights in America.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a figure that stands heads and shoulders above those fighting for justice, equality and brotherhood in the mid twentieth century.  At times accusations of infidelity and a …

Diversity and the SBC: An Interview with Thabiti Anyabwile, Peter Rochelle, Brad Paradis, and Baptist21

Developing a Middle Ground: The Church Disclaimer: Many of us (even myself at times), cringe when it comes to talking about the issue of diversity in the church. In this blog it is not my goal to use the guilt of the past as a bludgeon to move believers into action, but to begin a conversation that assumes that we …

The Power of Story

Each day after kindergarten my mother would ask me what I learned in school that day as I ate my afternoon snack, and without fail the five year old Walter would respond, “nothing.” After giving my customary answer, I would always add, “but at story time we learned…” It didn’t matter if the story was fact or fiction, I would …