By Angela McClain, Personal Financial Advisor at GuideStone 2020 has been a wild ride. And as we’ve talked about volatile financial markets, social distancing and the election cycle, “living through unprecedented times” has been crowned the cliché catchphrase of the year. Although with varying degrees of loss, COVID-19 left no one unaffected. But we made it work. Pastors preached to parking lot …
By John Murphy We can’t seem to go a single week without hearing about a new cyberattack or ransomware campaign affecting the information of millions. Yet, we rarely hear about churches and other nonprofits being impacted — but that is not the case. Cybersecurity statistics from 2019 indicate 43% of all cyberattacks target ministries, nonprofits and small organizations. If you combine …
Last Thursday, the Pillar Network, a group of ~130 SBC churches known for helping local churches plant/revitalize, announced they were embracing the Great Commission Baptists name for all official communications. Pillar is an organization that partners with Baptist21 from time to time for content/events. While Pillar has a few member churches abroad, the vast majority of their ~130 congregations are …
Understanding the leadership structure presented in the New Testament is critical for healthy church functioning. To explore this topic, we have links to our two-part podcast on this topic, along with an article listed below. By Matt Diaz It’s popular in our day to take business maxims and apply them to the work of the church. While a whole host …
By Aaron Meraz “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). 2020 has had what feels to be more than its share of trouble. Through Christ, though, we are able to view suffering and affliction as opportunities for increased gospel advancement and grace giving. Here at GuideStone’s Mission:Dignity® ministry, we have the opportunity …
By Jonathan Woodyard The departure of well-known Christians and churches from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) tends to make the headlines. Recently a prominent pastor, one from whom I have benefited personally, led his church to leave voluntary cooperation with the SBC. There are legitimate concerns with the state of our convention. The SBC is declining numerically, and baptisms are down. The reasons for the …
By Dr. Josh Wredberg PODCASTS: ARTICLE: What comes to your mind when you hear the words church discipline? Maybe you picture a scene from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter of Hester Prynne slinking down the sidewalks with a large, red “A” embroidered on her chest. Or maybe you envision the torture and death that was part of the Inquisition centuries ago. Many of the …
Listen to the B21 Podcast featuring Dr. Mohler discussing his timely, newest work, The Gathering Storm. This article is an excerpt from the introduction of Dr. Mohler’s newest book, The Gathering Storm: Secularism, Culture, and the Church. For more information, click here. To order a copy of the book, click here. Since I was in the eighth grade, Winston Churchill has been a …
By Josh Wester The advent of social media has changed our lives in innumerable ways. For Southern Baptists, the rise of platforms like Facebook and Twitter has fundamentally changed how we relate to one another, and to a large extent, meaningfully altered our experience as members of America’s largest Protestant denomination. The ability to communicate instantly online has widened our …
One of B21’s partner organizations, the Pillar Church Planting Network, recently hosted a Zoom conversation with around 50 SBC pastors on how they’re addressing the COVID-19 outbreak. Beyond exploring some practical approaches, much of this talk focused on the theological/ecclesiological reasons for engaging certain practices as well as encouragement towards personal soul care. Dr. Matt Rogers, a church planter, missiologist, …
