From Law to Grace » Entries tagged with "grassroots"
I’m Shocked, Shocked at the Politics in the SBC!
Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds? Captain Renault: I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here! [a croupier hands Renault a pile of money] Croupier: Your winnings, sir. Captain Renault: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much. [aloud] Captain Renault: Everybody out at once! (Casablanca, 1942) Just as Captain Renault, in the 1942 classic, Casablanca, was not truly shocked that gambling was going on in Rick’s (Humphrey Bogart) establishment, neither should it come as a shock to anyone that politics is going on in the Southern Baptist Convention. Such has been the case since the SBC’s founding in 1845 and such will be the case until the Convention’s demise. Such is life. As a political science major in college, former attorney, and student of politics, religion, and culture, I have an appreciation … Read entire article »
Filed under: Christianity, Politics, Religion, Southern Baptist Convention
SBC Name Change: Silence of Statesmen is Deafening
“There arises defining moments in our personal lives, our churches, and our denomination. I believe we are at one of those crossroads. In the final analysis we must trust our process, our common goal of bringing the Gospel to the world, and each other.” Who was the Southern Baptist statesman who uttered these words and what was the context within which they were said? None other than Dr. Jim Henry, former Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Orlando and a former two-term President of the SBC, in his endorsement of the GCR. During his tenure as President of the Convention, Dr. Henry had occasion to visit Southern Seminary and stay in the Seminary’s Guest House. At the time, my wife and I were the hostess and host of the Guest House. During our 2 1/2 … Read entire article »
Filed under: Great Commission Resurgence, Religion, Southern Baptist Convention, Uncategorized
In the SBC, Silence is No Longer an Option!
If implemented, Wright’s vision of “a radical change in priorities” — which also is the vision of many fellow megachurch pastors — will not only effect changes in leadership and strategy throughout the SBC, but will radically redefine what it means to be a “Cooperating” Southern Baptist church. Instead of the bottom-up, grass-roots convention that we have been, we will become (if we’re not already there) a top-down, corporate denomination that tells suggests how autonomous state conventions and local churches should act. That’s not the kind of hope and change that this Southern Baptist pastor wants to embrace! (Radically Reprioritizing and Redefining the SBC) When I wrote those words on July 15, 2010 — on what would have been my dad’s 75th birthday – I did not realize just how quickly and thoroughly that … Read entire article »
Filed under: Religion, Southern Baptist Convention