12 Witnesses

Today I preached on why Human Life is to be held in special regard. It was not my typical sermon. I usually preach exegetically through just a few verses. Today, it being my first time to address this issue in detail with my new church, I chose to give an overview of the issue as a whole with several key Scriptures and take later opportunities to go into more detail with the verses.

Here is my outline:

Intro: Our Anthropology (understanding of humankind) is a part of and dependent on our Theology (understanding of God)

Gen 1:26-27 Image of God on man

Matt 22:19-21 Image of Caesar on the coin - give it to Caesar; Image of God on you - give yourself to God (speaks to His purpose on your life)

1 Cor 3:16-17 As the Holy of Holies was once the place where God dwelt, now God dwells in us, if we are His. This demands that we treat His temple with the respect the OT Holy of Holies garnered.

Ps. 139.13-16 God Himself knit each person uniquely and with purpose, numbering all of our days.

From these verses, we learn

1. We are each made individually

2. We are made by God

3. We are made with a purpose

4. We bear His image

5. Nothing else bears His image - we are unique

6. He takes that seriously and because He does we should

Therefore…

1. We are to treat every person with respect, as they bear His image.

I grieved when Saddam Hussein was put to death. It was just, no doubt, but I looked at a man who gave every reason to believe that he would spend eternity in a very real Hell. Because he was made in God’s image, I grieved that.

People say respect is earned. It is not. Respect is due to every person because they bear the very image of God.

2. We should not thwart His knitting of little ones who bear His image.

It is never alright to beget violence in an effort to stop violence. In other words, shooting an abortion doctor is becoming what you say you stand against.

Nevertheless, we should do everything we are able to do to preserve the lives of little ones in the making. This includes voting, but it also includes the practical investing of our lives - time, money and heart - into those who are facing such an option so that we may protect the unborn.

3. We should never thwart His purpose for someone’s life.

If God has numbered all the days of everyone’s life, who are we to interfere? Euthanasia is an assault on the very plan of God for the life of a human being. We are not God and we do not have that privilege.

4. We should never meddle with His process of creation - we aren’t Him and therefore we aren’t qualified

The trajectory of Science is forcing us toward the time when we must face the issues of cloning human beings. The creation of life is the province of God. I am all for curing disease, but not if I have to dally in the process of creating life. It is not our job or calling. We are not equipped for it.

5. We must tend to our own selves in a way that shows we honor Him

This is where I must confess my sin. As we belong to God and are to reflect Him in our whole lives, it is incumbent on us to be good stewards of our bodies and lives. I am overweight. It is a sin. We all have things that we bring into God’s dwelling place that are not appropriate for God’s temple. It is not now, nor will it ever be, acceptable to do so. We must do better with our own selves if we are to have a voice in the decisions of others.

Nuhnt. Na na nuhnt. Na na nuhnt.

Back in Black.

Thanks, David, for the help and advice.

Followed by a big crash.

I was trying to update my wordpress software last night. Can you believe they had the audacity to suggest that it was a five minute process? Yikes.

Anyway, I deleted something I wasn’t supposed to delete and everything went bye-bye.

I did back everything up and was able to restore the content.

I also had saved the theme, or so I thought. The main structure of the black and orange you have come to love is still there, but it won’t pick up the content, so what good does that do us? None.

I’ll try to have everything back to some semblance of the old blog soon. Please be patient.

Once again, I am at the mercy of blog guru, David Phillips and his willingness to take time from his ministry and family. I am reticent to be anything other than humbly patient.

Blessings.

While not as messy as MO, Tennessee’s state convention has found itself in court with a breakaway institution: Belmont University. You can read the full story here:
Subpoena of 100 churches by Belmont called ‘unreasonable’

Belmont University’s president, in 1951, signed an agreement that all monies received from Baptists would be returned if the University took away the ability for the state convention to appoint trustees. This move seems almost prescient in light of the last twenty years and all of the agencies and entities that have broken away in that time.

It seems that the state convention has a pretty open and shut case, in my opinion. They are not demanding that the University come back under control of TN Baptists. Rather, they are letting them go their own way, but they are asking the University to pay them back what they are owed under this contract.

It appears to me that the University is pulling specific churches into the legal mix for a spurious reason. Now, this is purely speculation, but I think the subpoenas are intended to create pressure from the churches on the state’s Executive Committee to just let the University go so that the churches will not be troubled. I think this will backfire, however, if our recent history informs me accurately. I think that the churches will blame Belmont for the whole mess and the subpoenas specifically.

Baptist congregations have tended to be upset with breakaway entities, for the most part. The subpoenas targeted the 100 top giving churches. Is this because the smaller, more rural TN churches are not as likely to be sympathetic to their ideologies? Perhaps. Regardless, I doubt that they will find much sympathy in the top 100, either. Also, the way mega churches have been giving, some of the smaller churches are bound to out give some of the larger ones.

In the end, though, they are not fighting for their own freedom. That is not under discussion. They are fighting to get out of a binding agreement that they should have planned for when they started this process. Or maybe this is their plan. I sure hope not.

2007 Christian Blogger Survey

Let me encourage you to participate in this survey. You can ask for the results to be emailed to you after everything is compiled.

If you haven’t yet heard of Cory’s blog, Church Communications Pro, you must not read Micah Fries’ blog. Corey will get you up to speed on all things technical. My favorite post so far is his primer on how to podcast your sermons. Good stuff.

We’re in the midst of what appears to be a near week long ice over in the city of Tulsa. These are pictures of my truck, which has been in the driveway. We have had three waves of ice that are now two days past. Nevertheless, we are sill in the midst of sunny skies and closed schools.

All the white that you see is ice. No snow fell during the weekend. Eastern OK is full of folks without power, which also means no heat. We are grateful that we still have power - just a few flickers throughout the weekend.

I’ll be back with everyone soon.

In discussing SBC issues over the last year, I have heard the rationale given, “the majority of the SBC does not believe in (fill in the blank).”

I always advise that this is a dangerous road, as the majority opinion is not necessarily the right opinion. Today, though, as I read Micah Fries post, A Big Tent Revival, it occurred to me that the aforementioned rationale was a myth.

You see, this is a simplified version of the SBC:

This is not the SBC that some are trying to create. It is the SBC that exists now.

Each circle represents certain non-essential belief sets. All of these belief sets are conservative, inerrancy & sufficiency affirming Southern Baptists. For most, many of the non-essential beliefs overlap in certain areas.

Remember, all of the circles agree on the essentials, to use Spurgeon’s word. Only non-essentials are represented in the diversification.

Focus on the blue circle toward the top right. Notice that it overlaps almost every circle somewhere. It doesn’t consume all circles, though. When someone says: “The majority of the SBC believes ‘this’” about any one particular non-essential, they may well be speaking the truth.

The mistake is the assumption that the majority of the SBC believes exactly like them on every non-essential. In other words, we may agree exactly on this issue, but that does not mean we agree on every issue. We may agree on alcohol and Prayer Languages, but that does not mean we agree on Calvinism, traditional worship/church structure or whatever else happens to come up.

There is no “Uniform Majority.” However, the rationale of the majority is being wielded about as if it were to say, “The majority of the SBC agrees exactly in all the areas of diversity now under discussion.”

If you want to talk about people who are uniform in almost every area of non-essentials, you are talking about a group that is more accurately represented by this gray area here:

The group that stands out on the top right agrees with each other exclusively. Notice that they are a vast minority within the whole SBC, when viewed in this light. However, because they agree on one issue or another with others in the SBC, they assume and assert that they represent the majority of the SBC on all issues. When all issues are considered, however, they are as much a minority as everyone else. In that sense, everyone in almost every other circle could say the same thing.

We have reached a place when the inhabitants of one belief set is trying to carve away those outside its circle. I think they earnestly believe that they will only lose the fringes of the SBC - a small number in their mind.

Unfortunately, to achieve the uniformity desired, they must cut away almost everyone - because almost everyone disagrees with some other Southern Baptist on SOME issue. I think they might be amazed by the number of those they think are “just like them,” but who would be excluded if they got their way.

As for the whole group, my friends and I, if I may speak for them, are not trying to widen the tent other than to re-establish the levels of cooperation that have already been stripped away from inerrancy minded conservatives. To say that we are liberals or that we advocate the bringing in of liberals to the SBC is a misrepresentation. It is done by those who prefer to give a false account of others at the expense of their own integrity because it might help them “win.” Adrian Rogers called them “Tire Slashers.” Anything for “The Cause.”

We want the SBC we grew up in to quit shrinking to a tailored fit of uniformity that suits a certain group. If allowed to define the ground of cooperation, any small group of people will eliminate almost everybody on some point or another. Then, the SBC will be a tiny group who have little division and no impact on the world.

You see, this SBC is a myth:

Ever wonder how people get to serve in the various positions within the SBC?

Don’t think it is just some “good ole boy” line up put together in the back room somewhere. I’m not denying that has ever happened, but the President really does set the tone.

The President picks a Committee on Committees and they pick a Committee on Nominations. There are two nominators from each state. They create the list of names that gets presented to the Convention.

This process puts the President two steps away from those who pick the names, but by carefully choosing the Committee on Committees, the President can set the tone and give direction to the process.

For instance, Frank Page has said publicly that he wants to avoid the “maypole” recommendations where the same people who have always served in leadership weave in and out of each other’s former positions, so that new blood is rarely brought in. [My word in quotes, not Page's] This had been a problem well documented last year, but in response to it being brought to Bobby Welch’s attention, he directed the Committee to present a “clean slate” of nominees. That was a success, with the exception of one.

Don’t forget, of course, that the bylaws allow for substitute motions from the floor, but that rarely happens and is not often necessary.

It is now time for the nomination process to begin in earnest and you can be a part of it. The Southern Baptist Convention’s website, sbc.net, has a link at the top right of its home page that will allow you to fill out an online form recommending someone you think would make a great servant to the SBC. I’ll make it easier than that by giving you the direct link here:

Online Recommendation Form

If you would prefer, you can download the form in a pdf format and fax it to your state’s nominators. This page will allow you to both download the form and look up the names and fax numbers for the nominators for your state:

Recommendation Form and Fax Numbers

This is our process. We should avail ourselves of it in a way that is helpful, beneficial and appropriate. In other words, use it, don’t abuse it.

[update]

Be sure to read all of Dr. Chapman’s letter about the nomination process.� At the end is a list of spots needing to be filled, so you can match people who would be good for the specific job.

[/update]

When Joyce Rogers spoke to the Southern Baptist Convention in Greensboro, she took a stand against the narrowing of parameters in the SBC and said that here late husband, SBC giant Adrian Rogers, would never have supported it.

It was a powerful moment, to be sure. Afterward, though, I got the impression - through nothing overt - that some of her late husband’s friends disagreed with her assessment, but wouldn’t indict Adrian’s widow. I heard a comment or two that she was more reflective of her son, David, in her speech, than she was of Adrian.

Last week, I was sent the link to an audio sermon preached by Dr. Rogers and released on the “Love Worth Finding” website in December. Clearly, it validates everything that Mrs. Rogers said.

The Dangers of Extremism

The entire sermon was great, but it got very relevant to our current SBC culture about minute 24.

Feel free to post your favorite quote from the sermon in the comment section along with the reason you think it is relevant. I’ll give you first crack at it, and I’ll give you mine later.

Dr. Al Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has suffered a set back after surgery and has been moved to ICU. He has air embolisms in his lungs.

You can read more at his blog: AlbertMohler.com

Please pray for his health, his family and for all involved.

[update: Baptist Press is reporting on its headline news-ticker that Dr. Mohler has blood clots in both lungs.]

[update: Dr. Mohler's blog is now reporting that his recovery is coming along.� You can check out the updates on the link to his blog above.]