From Law to Grace » Entries tagged with "transparency"
Affinities, Alliances & Agendas in the SBC: Part 2
Let’s face it. Some folks are easier to like than others. For some of my fellow Southern Baptists, I am one of those folks! When it comes to cooperative missions and ministry in the 21st Century, simply being “Southern Baptist” is no longer sufficient to bind us together even though it is the most efficient avenue to fulfill the Great Commission. While we might sing “bless be the tie that binds” (at least those who know it) and give the right answer to who should ultimately bind us – JESUS — we know from personal experience that voluntary partnership and cooperation must be based on a shared mission, vision, goals, and beliefs. However, even that is not always enough to bind us together. What Southern Baptists must possess, in addition to these four areas, is an … Read entire article »
Filed under: Calvinism, Great Commission Resurgence, Religion, Southern Baptist Convention
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
Sensitivities, Transparency & a Terrorist’s Death
The emerging facts surrounding the death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of U.S. Navy SEALs have clouded what should have been a clearcut victory in the war on terrorism. With each passing day, the Obama Administration seems to be snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The latest developments, including Obama’s decision not to release photos of a very dead OBL and CIA Director Leon Panetta’s stunning admission that there was a 25-minute gap in video coverage of the raid that killed bin Laden, have heightened the scrutiny behind the daring raid carried out this past Sunday. I personally have no doubt that bin Laden was killed in a firefight inside his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. However, with an opportunity to practice transparency — something that President Obama promised prior to his election – and to definitively prove … Read entire article »
Filed under: Government, Islam, Politics, Religion
The GCR & A New War Between The States
With great excitement and enthusiasm, 95% of the messengers (including this one) at the Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting in Louisville, Ky in June 2009 approved the creation of a Great Commission Task Force. The mandate, as authorized by the messengers, was straightforward and unambiguous: authorize the President of the Southern Baptist Convention to appoint a Great Commission Task Force charged to bring a report and any recommendations to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Orlando, Florida, June 15-16, 2010, concerning how Southern Baptists can work more faithfully and effectively together in serving Christ through the Great Commission. The Task Force did indeed bring their report and seven recommendations to Orlando. The messengers, even fewer in number than the year before, approved the report and all seven recommendations as a whole. In the end, the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Cooperative Program, Great Commission Resurgence, Southern Baptist Convention