The Cross and Family Sins Redemption, Hope, and Healing by Dr. Russell Moore A few years ago, I felt my knees buckle as I knelt down during the closing hymn at the church where I preached at the time, to receive a trembling little four-year-old boy who took my hand and said, “Can you please pray that my Mama and …
Here’s What Happened When This North Carolina Church Stood up to Discrimination
Here’s What Happened When This North Carolina Church Stood up to Discrimination by Sarah Kramer With over 24 years of service, at all court levels, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has seen the cultural and legal trends clearly shift against the Church. As a result, churches need to be prepared to face the legal issues of today and tomorrow. When At …
A Decision of a Lifetime: Four Reasons You Can’t Afford to Opt Out of Social Security
A Decision of a Lifetime: Four Reasons You Can’t Afford to Opt Out of Social Security by Greg Love During the first two years of your ministry, you will make a decision of a lifetime — whether or not to opt out of Social Security. This is a hot topic in ministry circles today, and everyone has a personal opinion …
Message Mondays: “Grace Changes Everything” by Clint Darst
This week’s Sermon Name: Pastor Clint Darst Clint has been married to his best friend, Rachel, for 10+ years. They have 3 children. Clint has been in vocational ministry for more than a decade and is finishing up his M.Div from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Previously, he worked for Campus Outreach as a Campus Director at Wingate University and then …
Conflict Among Fellow Elders
For the nearly twenty years I’ve been in vocational ministry, I’ve always served in a setting that understood the need for a plurality of elders. Prior to this, I served as a lay elder for a number of years as well. I’m grateful for the foundation of a Biblical ecclesiology that others laid as a legacy upon which I’ve had …
Did Gerald Harris and I Attend a Different SBC This Year?
Recently, I was sent Gerald Harris’ article in the Christian Index entitled, “The Southern Baptist Convention is Undergoing a Seismic Shift.” Harris is the Senior Editor of that Georgia Baptist Paper. After reading the article, I was left with the question, “Did we attend completely different conventions?” Harris laments in the article that Southern Baptists used to be about evangelism and missions, but that …
WATCH: 6 Pastors Share Personal Stories of Religious Freedom Challenge
WATCH: 6 Pastors Share Personal Stories of Religious Freedom Challenge A Word From the Alliance Defending Freedom With over 24 years of service, at all court levels, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has seen the cultural and legal trends clearly shift against the Church. As a result, churches need to be prepared to face the legal issues of today and tomorrow. …
Queue’s and Limbs in Church Planting and Renewal
Today we welcome Dr. Mark Coppenger as a guest writer on Baptist21. Dr. Coppenger is Professor of Christian Apologetics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and managing editor of the online Kairos Journal. You can follow him on Twitter at @mcoppenger. When I sensed God’s call to pastoral ministry, some thought it odd that I would go to seminary for …
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 …