SBC Life Articles in Theology & Doctrine

Why do Baptists write confessions? How do Baptists use confessions? These are the key questions facing Southern Baptists today as we address divisive issues like the authority of Jesus Christ and the titles which can be assigned to Christians i

People approach the Bible in a range of ways. Some people treat it as a collection of disconnected stories, others as an antiquated moral handbook. For some, the Bible functions as a cryptic codebook about modern-day political affairs and “end-time” events.

One Christmas, my wife, Janet, had a necklace made from a broken piece of my grandmother’s china. These necklaces were made by broken women in a local women’s shelter that our church supported financially. Their jewelry is a wonderful reminder of how God can bring beauty into brokenness. These necklaces remind us of history’s first Christmas gift.

God had been foretelling about these days and hours for centuries, but it took God the Son opening their eyes to the Christ in the Scriptures and resurrected in the flesh before them.

As Southern Baptists look toward the annual meeting in Indianapolis next year, we all know that there are at least two major decisions ahead of us.

Waking up after a long Sunday nap, I surfed channels and landed on Carlton Pearson’s broadcast. He was a younger preacher than many on TV. His church was jampacked, mega-sized, and racially diverse. A traditional black preacher, Pearson even “whooped” – backed by a Hammond organ. This set of ministry dynamics is rare now. Imagine how alien it was 30 years ago.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Andy Stanley has said controversial things before. He said small churches are “selfish” and “inferior to big churches” in 2016. Two years later he said Christianity must be “unhitched” from the Old Testament. The list goes on. But his latest comments on LGBTQ issues seem different to journalist and commentator Warren Cole Smith.

WASHINGTON (BP) -- Belief in God, Satan, angels, heaven and hell is at a 23-year low in America, Gallup Poll said in its latest update. But most Americans still believe in the spiritual entities.

Last month, messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in New Orleans affirmed their belief that the pastorate is reserved for men with two decisions – one to amend the SBC’s constitution to reflect that belief and another to deem two churches outside the bounds of friendly cooperation due to their employing women pastors.

NEW ORLEANS (BP) – The 2023 SBC Committee on Resolutions hopes the resolution “On Opposing Gender Transitions”, accurately represents Southern Baptists’ views on one of modern culture’s most pervasive and controversial issues.