Press On Towards The Goal...

 Last week I visited Music City for the 2021 Southern Baptist annual meeting; it was two days of voting, catching up with ministry friends, eating out, and catching a fresh vision for sharing Jesus and making disciples. Even though Southern Baptists are united in faith and mission essentials, each annual meeting has controversy, because thousands of registered messengers seldom agree on each resolution and motion. Many suspected the 2021 annual convention would be a turning point, and they were right. Southern Baptists resisted both a fundamentalist hardening and a liberal drift this year, contrary to suspicions and concerns voiced before the meeting. Different people were convinced one would occur. This was demonstrated in the resolution on race and racial reconciliation. The meeting also addressed concerns about the Executive Committee (EC) mishandling credible sexual abuse allegations in Southern Baptist Churches. Here is a summary of these two “big tickets,” a reflection on Bap...

A Review for You (4 Minute read) Do you remember the first time you started a story with “When I was a kid…”? I love hearing other generations' coming-of-age stories. Even at 31, I have uttered this quite a few times. Youth have very different childhoods than I did 13+ years ago. Each generation has virtues and vices that the former did not. The Coddling of the American Mind shares some of the lies believed by youth and parents today, then tries to replace them with truths for their better. This is not a Christian book, but much of it will help Christian parents understand themselves and their children so they can parent well. I think the book is worth your time, so I will summarize and share highlights about the first “untruth” (aka, “lie”), how we came to believe it, and then a few recommended solutions. Three Lies Greg and Jonathan share three “untruths” that have formed many modern parents and kids. At first glance, you may not believe the authors, but they argue compellingly ...