Update: I received an email from someone close to Ken Hemphill stating “Ken paid for the website and no CP dollars were used to produce it.” There’s a lot financially that goes into website production and management. Whether a domain name was the only purchase made or Ken is financially covering the costs of maintaining the site is not clear. …
We’re Headed to Dallas
We are thrilled to announce the 2018 B21 Panel at the Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas, TX! This year marks the tenth anniversary of hosting the B21 Panel during the annual meeting and we couldn’t be more excited to be celebrating in Dallas! Each year we gather around open dialogue with key leaders and ask the questions that pastors across our …
Platt’s Departure from the IMB: Great Things Behind and Before
Jaclyn S. Parrish worked as a writer for the International Mission Board in South Asia. She currently serves in the United States as a writer, editor, and social media associate for the IMB. You can follow her on Twitter at @JaclynSParrish. I think I sat in my car for a solid twenty minutes. Shoulders hunched. Head hanging. I’d come to …
The Frequently Overlooked Part of Leading Change in the Church
This is a guest post by John Mark Harrison, Lead Pastor at Apex Baptist Church in Apex, North Carolina. You can follow John Mark on Twitter here. One of the great challenges of pastoring a church is shepherding people through seasons of change. Most people don’t enjoy change, but change does not have to be that unconquerable mountain that it …
The Triumph of Christianity’s Reading Practices: How Some Faulty Assumptions Swept Biblical Scholarship
This is a guest post by Brian J. Wright (PhD, Ridley College). Brian serves as adjunct professor at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Daniella, have been blessed with four children. He is an active member of Hillcrest Baptist Church, Pensacola, FL. Welcome to biblical scholarship: set your watch back 30 years—or at least 29. In 1989, …
Why I Am Hopeful, Confident, and Excited for the Future of the IMB
Perhaps I am just a naive and idealistic millennial, but I remain hopeful and excited for the future of the IMB. Without a doubt, yesterday was a heavy day for Southern Baptists and for the International Mission Board (IMB). IMB President, Dr. David Platt announced that he has asked IMB Trustees to begin a search for his successor as President …
6 Steps Every Christian Can Take To Improve Their Devotional Life
The biggest steps are often the smallest steps. Most of the people I know think bible reading and prayer are small steps. They’re boring steps. They’re not world-changing steps. They’re certainly not big steps. But a quick look at every survey examining “causes for spiritual growth” that I’ve seen, tells a different story. It turns out that these small, boring, …
What Does It Take to Raise Children in the Church?
God has entrusted parents and churches with the blessing and responsibility of raising up infants and children to love and know him. But this is often easier said than done. Complicating that, Christians affirm different perspectives on the theology and ministry as it relates to infants and children. Common questions that come up are: How are infants and children …
5 Benefits of Two Services
Four years ago we set out to start a church that would join Jesus in building Redemption City with the gospel—a city where everyone is redeemed, every aspect of life is redeemed, because it is completely centered on the Redeemer (Rev. 21-22). We’ve given our lives to connecting people to Jesus and growing people in Jesus with the gospel. …
Jesus and Ruth
Understanding the Book of Ruth Ruth is a dramatic love story that ultimately points to God’s overwhelming love, which eventually shows itself in the coming of Jesus Christ. Only two books of the Bible are named after women: Ruth and Esther. Esther was a queen, whereas Ruth was a lowly peasant girl. Esther was a Jewish woman who married …