Post by * irenic *'We've polled over 400,000 Southern Baptists and asked them whether the best
religion in the world is Southern Baptist. We have over 99% agreement, which
proves our point about which religion is best.'
Obviously you posted this with tongue planted firmly in cheek.
However, I must admit, so the best sermons I have heard over the last
10-15 yrs have all come from SB preachers. On ILife TV, Mac Brunson
preaches on Sunday afternoons. He puts more biblical insight in 20
minutes that most preachers have in a year. Charles Stanley, thought
he is not exegetical as such, wonderfully applies biblical principles
to every day living.
One thing I have mixed feelings on, is the way they do missions. I
mean I understand the usefullness of their paradigm, but in some
regards it leaves me cold. The SBConvention has one large missionary
fund out of which they support the conference missionaries. That's
fine as far as stability goes. I know too many missionaries who over
the last 10 yrs have had numerous individuals and individual churches,
recind their commitment pledges. That can serious jepordize a
missionary family's ministry if not force them to come home or worse
yet, just stop doing foreign missions. However, I like (and most of
the missionaries we are friends and supports of like) the individual
commitment over the conference commitment on one simple fact. Christ
did not die for a faceless mass nor should we just drop our offerings
and pledges into the plate without giving second thought to the
individual missionaries and their families. It becomes impersonal when
the person-to-person relationship is in anyway eclipsed whether by a
church or a convention or even by a missions board. To a small degree,
some of this plays back on the missionaries as well. Though nearly all
the missionaries we support have email and monthly send out pictures
and reports, some we only hear from them via their quarterly missions
boards or when they happen to be home on furlow and do the rounds of
the churches which support them.
just my .02