Discipleship Requires Baptism
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When Jesus gave his most succinct instruction about making disciples – the Great Commission – he told Christians to baptize new converts as an initial step of obedience to him.
Defining Discipleship
One of the pressing issues in the American church is the inadequacy of current disciple-making processes resulting in fewer disciples following Jesus. Exploring this issue starts with defining discipleship.
Sex Robots, Really?
Business is booming in our area, including a company called Abyss Creations that is hoping to bring sexbots to the market soon. Harmony, Henry, and Solana are the prototypes – each with a robotic head empowered by artificial intelligence and controlled by a phone app. When fully developed, they...
A Measured Response
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The recent Time cover photo featuring President Trump glowering at a crying child infuriated me – even before I knew it had been faked. The actual story was gripping enough, without fictionalizing it.
Even More Optimistic
Last week, my summative statement about the future of the Southern Baptist Convention was “very optimistic.” My weekly blog spelled out some reasons for my optimism. After attending the annual meeting of Southern Baptists, let me add another reason to be optimistic about the future.
Very Optimistic
A student recently asked me, “How do you feel about the future of the Southern Baptist Convention?” He was surprised by my answer, “Very positive.” He replied, “Don’t some of the current problems mean the convention is in trouble?” My answer was, “No, not really.” He asked for some explanation...
Koinonia
Karthik Nemmani, from near Dallas, recently won the national spelling bee by knowing how to spell the word koinonia. Southern Baptists will go to Dallas next week and see if we know what the word means.
Mission Drift
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Organizations – including churches, companies, and conventions – all experience mission drift. It happens when an organization loses focus on its founding purpose and its reason for continued existence.
Guest Blogger
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Tomorrow is the big day. They tell me that I have passed all the requirements, paid all the fees, and will graduate with a Doctor of Ministry in Town and Country Church. I have been contemplating the differences between being a small church pastor and a big church pastor. Since I am a small...
Responsible
In a recent conversation about leadership and decision-making, a phrase was used that is a good descriptor of one aspect of leadership. My comment was, “I am not always right, but I am responsible.” One of the hallmarks of leadership is making decisions and owning the consequences. It’s a...