BY NATHAN ROSE When I became the pastor of Liberty Baptist Church in March of 2012, our average Sunday morning worship attendance hovered around 120. However, our membership rolls recorded a total of 654 members! This meant over 80% of our congregation had not participated in the life of the church for at least a year. One of my first …
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, …
NASHVILLE, TN — Dr. Ronnie Floyd, President of the SBC Executive Committee, presented a new vision this evening of what the SBC could become over the next five years. At the core of Floyd’s vision is a desire for our denomination to unite around the heart of the Southern Baptist Convention: the Great Commission. The specific wording of Floyd’s central …
This year I celebrated my 30th year in pastoral ministry. The years have flown by like a flock of geese heading south for the winter. Those years have been filled with countless weddings, funerals, counseling sessions, staff and Elders meetings, hospital visits, sermon preps, writing projects, mission trips, church planting adventures, seminary classes, and denominational meetings. During those years, I’ve had …
At the Pillar Network’s 2019 Unite Conference, Baptist21 hosted a panel on cross-cultural ministry, exploring what it is like to be a faithful expositor and pastor in various contexts. Featured guests for this discussion included SEBTS President, Danny Akin, who has helped equip scores of missionaries, Liam Garvie, an elder at the largest evangelical church in Scotland, Jeff Hay, a …
One of the key features of the 2019 Unite Conference, hosted by the Pillar Network, was the concluding session entitled “Theological TED Talks”. This segment featured 5 theologians providing 10-minute sermonettes in homage to the popular TED Talks format which gained prominence online a few years back. During the theological discussions hosted at Unite, the following speakers and topics were …
BY GREG LOVE There’s something about the Christmas season that makes us want to view our cup of coffee as half full, not half empty. This time of year has us overflowing with thankfulness and optimism! However, in the delight and busyness of the holiday season, don’t allow your church to become distracted from managing potential risks. For example, do …
A CHRISTIAN COLLEGE SHOULD MOBILIZE ITS CURRICULUM, FACULTY, AND PROGRAMMING TO HELP STUDENTS DEVELOP THE SKILL OF THINKING CRITICALLY ACCORDING TO GOD’S REVELATION. By Matthew J. Hall What should you look for in a Christian college? Common sense suggests you should know what kind of person you are, or aspire to be, and look for the school that aligns with that. …
Eric Bancroft is a church planter from Grace Church in Miami, Florida, who’s well-known within 9Marks circles. At last month’s Unite Conference, a pastor’s conference hosted by the Pillar Network and Baptist21, Pastor Eric delivered a keynote talk on the importance of expositional preaching in Baptist churches. This talk, entitled, “Putting the Mic in God’s Hand”, sustained a thesis construct …
At the recent Unite Conference, hosted by the Pillar Network, Pastor Paul Rees from Charlotte Chapel, delivered a moving message from Mark 4, entitled “God’s Word Does The Work“. If you’re unfamiliar with Paul, he leads a rather large Baptist church in Edinburgh, Scotland, dedicated to planting and revitalizing churches throughout the British Isles. In a cluster of nations that …
