When the people of Israel had been in slavery in Egypt, God used Moses to rescue them and return them to their homeland. That event was called the “Exodus.” However, the Old Testament prophesied that Israel would sin against God, once again end up captives outside the land, and then God would perform a “New Exodus” where he freed them …
Don’t call it a pullback; we’ve been here for years. The recent profile in the Wall Street Journal highlighted a generational change in terms of the way evangelicals approach cultural and political engagement: toward a gospel-centered approach that doesn’t back down on issues of importance, but sees our ultimate mission as one that applies the blood of Christ to the questions …
It’s almost that time of the year again. The dust has settled from the annual meeting among Southern Baptists from around the country, and now it is almost time for state conventions to host their annual meetings. We will meet to discuss what God is doing among our churches, how to better encourage one another, statewide evangelism initiatives, and …
It is surreal to me to now sit on the “other side.” After driving across the southeast, meeting with established churches as an aspiring church planter, and asking for them to “partner” with us, I am now the guy that people come to asking for help. My experience didn’t go so well. As a Southern Baptist, we planted in …
As a pastor in the Nashville area—a place where churches are plentiful and Christianity is profitable—I’ve come across a lot of stories of relational pain caused by professing Christians. This reality is especially unfortunate, since most of the people I have pastored understand far more about what to do with their physical pain than they do with relational pain. …
When I talk with pastors about Christ-centered interpretation and preaching, I’m often told, “I resonate with what you’re saying, but I don’t know how to do it. I was never trained to read the Bible or preach it like that. How can I do it?” Obviously the answer to that question is complex and takes time, but there is …
The Wednesday morning session of this year’s Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) was slated to be a historic moment in SBC history. Messengers found themselves prepared to cast votes for the third time in twenty-four hours for the election of President of the SBC. After two runoff votes, messengers would finally elect Pastor Steve Gaines, …
Today we’re featuring a post by B21’s long-time friend, Jimmy Scroggins. Jimmy is the Lead Pastor of Family Church in West Palm Beach. Below he shares some key insights and wisdom for new pastors learned from his own transition. Prior to being called to pastor Family Church, I had served as a teaching pastor at Highview Baptist Church in …
I’ve been told before that I can be too “Jesus-y” because I think the whole Bible – every part of it – points to Jesus. So yes, I’m the crazy guy who sees Jesus “under every rock.” But the truth is that I’m even crazier than that. I don’t just think this about the whole Bible; I also think the …
Today we’re featuring a guest post by Dan Darling, Vice President for Communications at the ERLC. We at B21 are thankful for the ERLC’s leadership in equipping the SBC on issues in the public square and their continued support of our mission to be a pastor-led voice for Baptists in the 21st century. As they have in every generation, evangelicals are wrestling with …
