VBS Day Three

The third day of VBS went quite well indeed.  To find out just how well, you’ll need to attend worship Sunday.  Till then, here are a few photos.

American’s Aren’t As Christian As They Seem to Think

The latest Baptist and Reflector has an excellent article describing the results of a new study published by Barna Research.  In part

Eighty-three percent of Americans identify themselves as Christians, but only 49 percent of those describe themselves as absolutely committed to Christianity, Barna said.

Among other findings:

• 83 percent of Americans said they had prayed in the last week.

• 43 percent claimed to have attended a church service.

• 41 percent said they read the Bible outside of a church service.

• 20 percent attended Sunday School in the last week.

• 50 percent said they donated money to a congregation in the past year.

“Most Americans still embrace a traditional view of God, but they are less likely than ever to do so,” Barna said in a news release. “Currently two-thirds of Americans believe that God is best described as the all-powerful, all-knowing perfect creator of the universe who rules the world today (66 percent). However, this proportion is lower than it was a year ago (71 percent) and represents the lowest percentage in more than 20 years of similar surveys.”

The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith

John Mackenzie has recently published an essay on this early, important, Baptist statement of faith here. Do give it a read, it’s quite good. Yes, it really is quite good indeed!

VBS Night Two

I apologize that I didn’t get any photos posted from Monday night.  I forgot my camera…  Anyway, here are some from Tuesday night.  Click to enlarge, and enjoy!

 

 

A Discount

Edwin Mellen has sent me fliers to distribute to folk which allows them to obtain The Humor of Huldrych Zwingli for $39 (instead of the regular price). If you would like a flier in order to obtain the discounted price, you can download the pdf here (but take note, the discounted price offer ends in November). It’s a brilliant book (and not because I edited it but because Fritz Schmidt-Clausing was a brilliant scholar).

Thought of the Day

The Gospel would have looked good to everyone if the husband had found it made his wife nicer, if the teacher saw his student more obedient, if the magistrate had seen better behaved citizens, if the employer had found his employee more honest, if the buyer saw the merchant less deceitful.  But, as things are now, the conduct of some people has thrown cold water on the enthusiasm of those who initially supported the movement.   - Erasmus of Rotterdam

What To Do About The Decline of the SBC

The Southern Baptist Convention is shrinking.  Baptisms over the past few years have fallen and a general malaise has descended.  So at the SBC Annual Meeting in a couple of weeks in San Antonio, folk will discuss how to re-energize the Convention.

Experts inside and outside the church point to all kinds of reasons for the seeming malaise, from apathy within to lack of interest without. Some question whether older approaches to evangelism still fit modern-day needs. Others wonder if the conservative leadership’s views on doctrine and values have chased people away.

The problem, in my estimation, is a combination of many reasons.  Evangelism isn’t one of them.  Lack of evangelism and personal witnessing is, though, the chief reason.  And until folk in Baptist Churches see the importance of personal evangelism, the decline will continue.

Half of Southern Baptist Pastors are Pentecostals

At least that’s what the findings of a new survey suggest. The Christian Post reports

Half of Southern Baptist pastors say they believe the Holy Spirit gives some people a special language to pray to God – what is known to some as private prayer language – a surprising new study found.

That means that half of Southern Baptist pastors don’t know what Baptists have historically believed about the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The good news is though

“More recent graduates tend to be more ‘cessationist’ than their pastoral counterparts in SBC churches,” explained Scott McConnell, associate director of LifeWay Research. “A majority of recent SBC seminary graduates are cessationists – the only group in our study that identified with this position at over 50 percent.”

Cessationism is the belief that the “gift of tongues” in particular was a special manifestation of the work of the Spirit in the earliest days of the Church which “authenticated” the message of the Gospel for people who simply did not have a Bible to consult.

VBS Begins Tomorrow!

Tomorrow our Vacation Bible School kicks off.  If you’ve signed up to work, please be present at 5:30.  And if you aren’t working, please do pray for the workers and especially the kids who will attend.

From This Week’s Baptist And Reflector

It’s that time of year when Churches in the State nominate their choice for “Pastor of the Year”.  Details are here.  If you live in East Tennessee and know a worthy Pastor, download the form and send it in.