Archive for the ‘Southern Baptists’ Category

Adrianisms

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

For some reason, this past week, Adrian Rogers has been on my mind.




I find it hard to believe that it’s already been five years since he received his heavenly promotion. As the dynamic and lovable pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, Dr. Rogers was, for several decades, an iconic leader among Southern Baptists, particularly in the 80′s.

At the height of the great SBC controversy, it was under his leadership that the SBC was steered away from liberalism towards the safe shores of the Bible. The SBC would likely be in shambles today, were it not for his leadership. He was a great preacher, a great husband and family man, and a great follower of Jesus. His body may be buried and his soul may be gone, but his impact and ministry still lives on.

When most people think of Dr. Rogers, they instantly think of his voice. When he spoke, it boomed and thundered to the envy of every preacher. But how he spoke was really just a reflection of what he spoke. His voice was deep. His wit and wisdom likewise. Some men are blacksmiths. Other men are silversmiths. Adrian Rogers was a wordsmith. Nobody could say it like he did. When he spoke, people used to listen. It would do us all some good today to listen to him once again.

In that spirit, I want to share with you a collection of “Adrianisms” that I have compiled. These may not be the very best of Adrian Rogers, but they sure get close. If you don’t know who Dr. Adrian Rogers was, then you’re in for a treat. If you do, then you’re in for a reminder of why he was such a treat. I thank God for Adrian Rogers’ life, example, and faith.

Here are a few of my favorite Adrianisms.

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noitativni yadhtrib a

Saturday, November 14th, 2009

As you know, last year the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (for International Missions) was tens of millions of dollars short of the goal. As a result, many IMB missionaries have been delayed in their deployment while others are having to return home early.

That’s why this year’s LMCO is more important than ever.

As a church, our LMCO goal for 2009 is $20,000. With the economic slump in the US as well as recent offerings which have been lower than usual here at Forest, it’s clearly not going to be easy to reach our goal or the national LMCO goal of $175 million.




For us to reach this goal and keep our missionaries on the field it is going to take every person doing their part and making a special sacrifice. As we were recently reminded from the story of the widow’s mite, “Jesus is not as interested in the size of the gift, as much as He is in the size of the sacrifice.”

This week I was thinking about some creative and nontraditional ways that I (and my family) could give a little extra to the LMCO this year. As you may know my birthday is right around Christmas time and this year I am doing something I’ve never done before. I am…

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The Best Teachers are Lifelong Students

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

This last week, I spent five days in Wake Forest, NC on the campus of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS).

“Why?” you ask. Well, as most of you know I am beginning my studies in the Doctor of Ministry program at SEBTS in Expository Preaching. It is designed as a three-year degree (notice I use the word “designed”) that I hope to complete sometime before I am 45 years old. By the way, this is a good time to mention that at the end of this degree, you will all be required to then call me by my newly earned title, “Exhausted Tyler”.

Now, I know that some people think that seminaries are actually theological “cemeteries” that will suffocate and kill any sense of passion that a minister has. But I firmly believe that…

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God, Gender, and the Church (Part 1)

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

Last week, Lifeway Christian Bookstores (an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention) made headlines by removing the current issue of Gospel Today magazine from its racks, making them available by request only. Gospel Today is the most widely distributed urban Christian magazine in the country. The feature cover story, entitled “Female Pastors: Breaking the Glass Ceiling”, “took positions that were contrary to what we would say” according to a spokesman from Lifeway.
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Tamara Bennett, one of the female pastors featured, defended the article by saying, “Sometimes we forget that ministry is God’s business. It’s not a man’s business.” Gospel Today spokeswoman, Teresa Hairston, was particularly upset that Lifeway would “treat it like pornography”, because they made it available only to those that ask for it at the counter.

Questions about the role of men and women, especially in the church, has become one of the most volatile issues in modern Christianity. Should women serve as pastors? If not, where and how can they serve? If not, why not? Does this mean that women are inferior to men? As society continues to blur the gender lines, isn’t it only right for the church to follow suit? These issues… (more…)

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The Annual Meeting of the SBC

Wednesday, June 11th, 2008

It’s finally that time of year again when messengers representing 45,000 Southern Baptist churches will come together in one place for two days of preaching, denominational business, and Baptist brethren (and “sisteren”) fellowship. The Southern Baptist Annual Meeting is always an enjoyable and challenging time for recharging the ministry batteries and reviving our common interest in fulfilling the Great Commission as Southern Baptists. This year we are sending three messengers to represent our church – Joe Veres, Gaylen Leverett, and myself. We look forward to a wonderful time in Indianapolis at the meeting and will report our findings back to the church soon after we return.

To give you a preview of this year’s Annual Meeting, I thought I would share… (more…)

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If Heaven Has a Marquee…

Sunday, April 6th, 2008

I recently stumbled across this website that has an unusual collection of real, funny (and sometimes embarassing) church marquee mistakes, misspellings, and ironies.

Here’s my top five pictures of funny signs. (more…)

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The Gospel, Plain & Simple

Thursday, April 3rd, 2008

One of the clearest voices speaking out and leading the way in our Southern Baptist Convention is… (more…)

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For the Beauty of the Earth…

Friday, March 21st, 2008

God has revealed Himself to human beings in two ways: general and special revelation. General revelation is that which speaks generally about God; most notably creation and conscience. Special revelation, on the other hand, is found in the specific person of Jesus Christ as well as in the Scriptures.

The church has spilled both ink and blood for hundreds of years to defend and preserve the Scriptures as God’s special revelation. And rightfully so. But sadly we haven’t done the same for His general revelation, creation.

As one professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary has said, “when we destroy creation, which is God’s revelation, it is no different than… (more…)

Posted in Bible, Environment, Southern Baptists | No Comments »