Walker’s Second Birthday Party September 29, 2007
Walker turns two and his family gave him a party to which many of his friends came. Below are just a few of the photos taken. Happy second birthday, young man! (Click to enlarge).
Why People Don’t Talk About Sin September 29, 2007
The ‘S’ word… alas, it’s so foul and so dreadful that there really is a great disdain with it and a discomfort in using it. If you do use it, be prepared to be denigrated and treated, by the ‘tolerant’, intolerably. What is the ’s’ word? ‘Sin’.
Nothing is sin anymore. Shacking up- that’s not sin. Homosexuality- that’s not sin either. Alcoholism- why that’s not sin, it’s a disease. Theft? It can’t be sin since it’s provoked by an economic reality over which you have no control- your not a thief- you’re just trying to get by. Adultery? That can’t be called sin either. Neither can anything else because sin doesn’t exist anymore. Everything is the simple singular choice of those who are predetermined to be or act or behave in a specifically predetermined way. It’s not sin. It’s a choice or a problem.
In fact, because there isn’t sin anymore- one preacher is apologizing for all the bad things that have ever been said about behavior that was once upon a time called sin.
On Sunday, Lee plans to apologize for these past wrongs in a sermon at his church, Sugar Hill Baptist, known as The Family Church. Some of the groups Lee said he’ll apologize to include gays, women seeking abortions and couples who live together outside marriage. “For too long, we’ve been known for the issues we’re against, not for the God we’re for,” Lee, 38, said.
Yes dear friends, don’t be against sin- even though sin destroys. Embrace it. Love it. God is love after all and he must love sin too. Have at abortion, kill the unborn for the sake of your career or convenience. Sleep around. Get an STD. Destroy yourself and your family. It’s all ok because there’s no such thing as sin. And you should apologize for every time you’ve said there was.
[But to do so make sure you don't actually read the Bible- because it has rather a lot to say about sin- including the fact that the whole of the world was destroyed because of it in the days of Noah- not to mention the thousands of other passages describing God's rage at sin].
There is a difference between hating sin and loving people. One can do both. And if one really does love people one doesn’t wish to see them destroyed. Parents who love their children correct them. And if our friends are destroying themselves through alcohol or drugs or illicit sex, we don’t really love them if we don’t warn them.
I won’t be apologizing for speaking out against sin tomorrow. No one should be.
Thought of the Day September 27, 2007
“The first generation of Reformers consisted of visionaries who had caught a glimpse of what they took to be the true gospel and … were undeterred by the sloth and nonchalance of human beings.” — Hans Hillerbrand
Cooperation and Trust September 26, 2007
Lonnie Wilkey has a brilliant piece in this week’s Baptist and Reflector that every Baptist ought to read. Take a look.
The SBC and The Problem of Clergy Sex Abuse September 20, 2007
After months of discussion and much public debate, the Southern Baptist Convention has taken steps to aid Churches face the terrible problem of clergy sex abuse. They have put up a new website and are continuing to examine further steps to ensure that our children are safe from predatory pastors. This is a tremendously important issue, so that I am also adding a link to the sidebar so that those interested can access the website from there.
Every week or two we hear in the news that another Pastor has been arrested for molestation. It must stop and those destroying children’s lives must be removed from the ministry and from access to children. Pray that the SBC continue to take steps to see that those things happen.
The Program for the Tennessee Baptist Convention Annual Meeting September 19, 2007
The program for the upcoming (in November) TBC Annual Meeting is available now online. You can download a copy here.
Upcoming Events September 12, 2007
September 30, 7 PM- Carson Newman College Ensemble Concert.
October 14, 11 AM- Old Fashioned Day!
October 18, 1-7 PM- Big Emory Baptist Association Annual Meeting.
October 20, 7 PM, Singing Convention here at the Church, led by Trey Daugherty.
November 13-14, Tennessee Baptist Convention.
November 18- Guest Speaker Mason Goodman- morning and evening services!
November 21, 7 PM, Annual Community Thanksgiving Service!
December 24, 7 PM, Annual Christmas Program.
January 6, 2008- Mason Goodman for the Sunday services!!!!
Mark your calendar now, these, and our regular schedule of services offer plenty of opportunities to learn and grow.
The Latest Volume… September 12, 2007
Available here. Previous volumes are listed here (along with other publications from Quartz Hill Publications).
Executive Board Meeting Summary September 10, 2007
This morning’s Executive Board of the Big Emory Baptist Association meeting discussed the following items:
1- The Clerk, Mark Umbehagen, resigned his post as Clerk and as Team Leader of the Youth Conference Team- having left the Pastorate (for the time being anyway) and assuming a job with US Cellular, he simply won’t have time to participate.
2- Association Churches were urged to participate in Pastor and Staff Appreciation Day the second Sunday in October. As an Association, we too wish to show Mason and his family that we appreciate them and so will be providing him and his wife a weekend away at a nearby resort. This gift will be presented at the Annual Meeting in October.
3- The Treasurer’s report indicates that the Association, long in the red under the leadership of the former DOM, has been in the black for a good while now and is continuing to meet its budgetary obligations. The proposed budget was passed out per the requirement of the Association bylaws in advance of the Annual Meeting.
4- Various Sunday School emphases were announced, including High Attendance Day set for February 3rd, 2008.
5- A brief video regarding disaster relief and its connection to the State Mission Offering was viewed.
6- The meeting adjourned with prayer.
The proposed budget and other articles distributed at the meeting are attached to the bulletin board in the downstairs hallway at the Church, if you wish to see them.
The Man Who Would Be President September 8, 2007
For the first time in its history, the Southern Baptist Convention may elect a former missionary to the presidency. It sounds strange, doesn’t it- but no President has been elected who has served a small church, as a former missionary! Stranger still since the vast majority of SBC Churches are “small”.
Baptist Press reports
William L. (Bill) Wagner, a former Southern Baptist missionary and seminary professor and current president of Olivet University International in San Francisco, says he will allow his name to be placed in nomination for Southern Baptist Convention president when messengers meet in Indianapolis next year.
“It is hard to believe that the Southern Baptist Convention, historically and currently bound together in their desire to introduce others to the Gospel all over the world, have never had an International Mission Board missionary as their president, never had someone from a pioneer context (west of Texas or north of Maryland) as its president, never had a pastor of a small church as its president, and never had a trained missional strategist at its helm,” Wagner said in a statement to Baptist Press.
It is hard to believe.
Wagner has written a “Contract with Southern Baptists,” which consists of 10 points he hopes to implement if elected. Among them, he says he would seek:
1 — “to help SBC churches become more missional in lifestyle and outreach” and to “support the Cooperative Program and work to make it a priority for all Southern Baptists.”
2 — “to help Southern Baptists find a method to use our … university and college students in world evangelism.”
3 — “to support the Conservative Resurgence and encourage Southern Baptist schools and universities to continue to retain and to teach biblical basics to their students.”
4 — “to address the current perception held by many young Baptist leader[s] and future Baptist leaders that participating in the creation and structure of the policies of the Southern Baptist Convention is not a valuable investment of their time.” He proposes to create a program where Baptist colleges and universities will teach about denominational policies and explain “why current practices exist within the SBC.”
5 — “to help make Southern Baptists aware of the current issues and religions that pose significant obstacles to the advancement of the Gospel, especially in the Western World.”
6 — “to emphasize the importance of the small church in Southern Baptist life.”
The first and the last are the most important.
And, speaking of the fact that no Pastor of a small church has ever been elected President, his really is a small church!
The 2006 Annual Church Profile lists four baptisms for the previous year for Snyder Lane Baptist, located in Rohnert Park, Calif., and primary worship service attendance of 30. The church gave $670 through the Cooperative Program. It did not list its total undesignated receipts or total mission expenditures. The church gave $23 to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering and $73 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.
I hope he is elected. It’s time for the mega-church Pastors (a gross minority of SBC Churches) step aside and we elect a normal Pastor as President.
