SBC

SBC

Denominational Life

One of the key distinctives of Baptist life is the doctrine of the autonomy of the local church.  In a nutshell, this means that there is no hierarchy over local Baptist churches that is outside of that church’s governance model.  There are no Baptist bishops, presbyteries, archbishops, or popes.  Local churches operate independently under the headship of…

#SBC Thoughts – Part 3

This week’s thought is from Marie Babcock, who served as a messenger to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention this year.  I am thankful for her – as well as the other messengers’ – prayerful and thoughtful participation this year.  I thought it would be a good thing for you to hear the perspectives of some of those who attended and not just my own. …

#SBC Thoughts – Part 2

This week’s thought is from Lisa King, who served as a messenger to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention this year.  I am thankful for her – as well as the other messengers’ – prayerful and thoughtful participation this year.  I thought it would be a good thing for you to hear the perspectives of some of those who attended and not just my…

#SBC19 Thoughts – Part 1

This year, the SBC’s annual meeting was held in Birmingham, Alabama with nearly 8,200 messengers representing the more than 47,000 SBC churches throughout the United States.  Every year, these messengers gather together to handle the business of this convention of churches, hear reports from our various entities, ask questions, become informed and educated, and meet…

The UMC and the Moral Revolution

Ever since the United Methodist Church (UMC) was formed in 1968 by the merger of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the question of how the denomination should view homosexuality has been a recurring issue at each of their quadrennial General Conferences.  This conflict existed despite the fact that The Book of Discipline, the…

SBC Presidential Election

The Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention is fast approaching (June 12-13), so I want to take the next couple of weeks to share some thoughts on some of the things that will be coming up at this year’s gathering in Dallas, Texas.  They are expecting a particularly large turnout this year (between 8,000 and 9,000 messengers – the largest since 2010 – as well as…