By Seth Hawkins Whether you’re breaking bread with new neighbors, celebrating a joyous occasion or lamenting grief with a trusted friend, what makes a house a home is the people coming in and out of its doors. So it is with vocational ministry; it may begin inside the church building, but ministry often extends to and through the walls of …
By Jed Coppenger It’s not loving to create laws that promote falsehoods, confusion, discrimination, and harm, while reducing the institutions that help people flourish the most. That’s why, out of love for all people, including the LGBTQ+ community, I’m praying against the Respect for Marriage Act. I know this isn’t a popular position in our culture or, most likely, a …
By Nate Akin February 10, 2021, I posted a twitter thread about “pastors/complementarianism” due to the amount of conversation I was observing on Social Media (SM) around the topic. This thread preceded both SBC 2021, SBC 2022, and the whole dust up with Rick Warren including the revelation that he was ordaining women as “pastors” but not “elders.” Almost two years later, …
By John Murphy, GuideStone Managing Director of Insurance Sales Social media has fundamentally changed the way we communicate with one another. Thoughts are broadcast to followers in a matter of seconds, generating quick public criticism or praise. Posts can be as entertaining as your latest vacation snapshot, as boring as your dinner plate and as controversial as the politics of …
HOW TO LEAD A GREAT BIBLE STUDY BY ANDY DAVIS One of my favorite ways to teach the Bible is in a small group setting in which there is the opportunity for give and take, for dynamic interaction over the sacred texts of Scripture. To prepare for such Bible studies, for years I have written out discussion questions that get …
By Jed Coppenger When the biblical idea of “unity and diversity” becomes a reality amongst Christians, most figure out that it is a lot messier than it sounds. There’s enough sin present amongst believers to make unity impossible, apart from a massive influx of heart-transforming grace. One of the temptations in the midst of the friction is either to be, …
By Dr. Aaron Meraz, Director of Mission:Dignity at GuideStone Having pastored and shepherded young pastors, I am reminded often of the faithful servants who led my own family, friends and even me to Christ. These ministers and their wives dedicated most of their lives to churches that could not contribute to their retirement savings, but they kept serving anyway. After …
B21 invites all Southern Baptists to set aside June 1st as a day of prayer for our upcoming annual meeting. To coincide with this day, there will be a virtual prayer meeting beginning at 2pm EST led by various Southern Baptist leaders. Although we are in contentious times, the Lord is still doing much through Southern Baptists for the propagation …
By Jed Coppenger The SBC has problems. Lots of them. If you’ve been around the SBC very long, that’s not a surprising statement. What is unique about our current situation is the nature of the topics around which we disagree—race, politics, women in ministry, handling abuse—and the intensity with which we disagree. People don’t just disagree with each other; they demonize their …
As a voice for Southern Baptists, one of our goals for this current season is to interview all 4 SBC Presidential Candidates prior to the annual meeting later this June. In our first interview, we sat down with Dr. Litton to hear why he is running for SBC President, what he hopes to accomplish if elected, along with more information …
