Category Archives: news

SBC Name Change: Update

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Will Southern Baptists change their name?  Last week I said the answer was a little yes, a little no.  Literally.

The SBC task force appointed to study the prospects of changing the name recommends adding a tagline, the descriptor “Great Commission Baptists.”  Micah Fries, a member of that task force, has revealed much of what went into making that recommendation.  Read the post in its entirety; here’s an excerpt:

Changing the name to something that sounded good today, but would lose potency and effectiveness over time had little appeal to me. From my perspective, Great Commission Baptists was a great choice, as it did not preserve some of the baggage that comes with a name like Southern Baptist all the while clearly explaining our desire to unite around the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The Task Force came to the unanimous recommendation that ‘Great Commission Baptists’ captures well who we have historically aspired to be and propels us forward to a bright Great Commission focused future.

A discussion of financial considerations is included, as well as a plea to prayerfully consider supporting the recommendation.  Thoughts?  Concerns?  Many feel there are more important issues we could be spending our time and energy on, but that may not happen for a while.

SBC Name Change: A Little Yes and a Little No

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UPDATE: A member of the task force explains their recommendation.  

The official recommendation coming from the task force assigned to study possibly changing the name of the denomination is to add a subtitle.  Instead of Southern Baptist a church may call itself Great Commission Baptist, or keep both nomenclatures.  Some people are deeply offended and object highly to simply changing the name of the denomination they know well, despite the SBC being somewhat of a global brand.  This compromise is meant to satisfy everyone, if there can be such a thing. Continue reading →

JC Penny, Ellen DeGeneres and One Million Moms

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One Million Moms (40,000 members strong) is putting pressure on JC Penny to drop Ellen DeGeneres as their spokesperson.  They claim customers with “traditional values” will be turned away.  DeGeneres responded by saying “Here are the values I stand for. I stand for honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you’d want to be treated and helping those in need. To me, those are traditional values.” Continue reading →

The Intersection of Gay Marriage and Tennis

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I had never heard of Margaret Court until I read this story out of Australia.  Apparently the Australian Open is played at the Margaret Court Arena.  She is a professional tennis champion, holding 62 Grand Slam titles.  Court is also a pastor with an uncompromising view on gay marriage.  Because of her celebrity status in the world of tennis, her views on marriage and family have attracted what she feels is unwarranted criticism.  There could be protests at the Australian Open next week, and some are calling for the arena to be renamed.

Read the full story here, via Utterance.  Thank you Peter Hallett for the coverage.

The real shame would be if Court is denied the recognition she deserves from the professional world of tennis because of her convictions in her role as church pastor.  Her views on marriage are based on scriptural precepts and have not changed.  Only recently, however, have they become a thing of public scrutiny.  The same protesters waving rainbow flags and claiming people should be accepted the way they are seem to be refusing to accept Margaret Court for the way she is.  If her name is removed from the arena because of her views on marriage, which differs from some people, that almost smacks of prejudice.

Tebowing

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Okay, so here’s one more Tim Tebow blog post.  How can I talk about media saturation and then write another article?  Well, if it helps, it isn’t really Tim Tebow I’m ranting about/worshiping.

These kids are in trouble for Tebowing in their school hallways.  Some Christians are up at arms over rights of expression.  Some athletes are ranting about Tebow getting media coverage for either winning games and/or for being a Christian while their accomplishments and faith are overlooked.  My beef is this: kneeling on one knee and bowing the head is now called Tebowing.  Who gets the glory there? Continue reading →

See You at the Pole

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The nationwide See You at the Pole event is next Wednesday, Sept. 28th.  Below is a short video.  The theme this year is “Converge.”

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The See You at the Pole website (syatp.com) says the event began in 1990.  I swear I remember doing this in middle school in the late 80’s.  Must have been a local thing.

I teach at a private Christian school.  We have daily chapel, and my wife and I sponsor BCM.  Our students frequently worship together and hear the gospel message.  We still observe See You at the Pole because on that day thousands of students nation wide – and now even worldwide – meet together to pray.  At our school staff and students can meet and pray together, but in the public school setting the events are entirely student led.  We wouldn’t miss the chance to agree with those kids in prayer for anything.

*BCM is Baptist Campus Ministry.  The name changed in 2005 from BSU, Baptist Student Union.

An Interview with Phil Vischer

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I didn’t interview Phil Vischer, even if the title implies otherwise.  The Sept. 24th edition of World Magazine has a lengthy interview with Phil Vischer, creator of Big Idea and Veggie Tales.  Read the full article here.

I have been aware of Veggie Tales for years, and have seen several episodes.  I watched Jonah (after it came out on DVD).  Now with a 2-year-old in the house I have seen a lot more Veggie Tales… over and over again.  I recently made this observation: all the stories revolve around Old Testament characters.  There is always a moral to the story and a Bible verse at the end, but for all intents and purposes the whole thing could be just as Jewish as it is Christian.  My wife pointed out they have an Easter Carol, but that’s the exception to the rule.  A pretty recent exception at that.  I’ve listened to church pastors do basically the same thing as Veggie Tales cartoons, and that’s use Old Testament Bible stories to teach a moral lesson.  That’s why this statement from Vischer in the interview really popped for me:

I looked back at the previous 10 years and realized I had spent 10 years trying to convince kids to behave Christianly without actually teaching them Christianity. And that was a pretty serious conviction. You can say, “Hey kids, be more forgiving because the Bible says so,” or “Hey kids, be more kind because the Bible says so!” But that isn’t Christianity, it’s morality.

Vischer’s new project is called Jellyfish Labs.  It features puppet characters instead of cartoons.  He describes it as “Muppets gone to seminary.”  The interview is more about the failure of Big Idea than what Jellyfish is doing next, but I’m still looking forward to it.  It apparently takes a long time to wear out a DVD.

UPDATE: Visit the Jellyfish Labs website and see what Phil’s been up to.

The Newest International Version

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Print editions of the 2011 NIV will not be available until March of 2011, but you can find the text online now.  On November 1st, Bible Gateway (in my sidebar to the right) and the Biblica website (the new name for International Bible Society) switched to the new NIV 2011 text.  If NIV was your default version on Bible Gateway, it automatically updated your search results to return new NIV verses.  When released in print next spring, the name of the new version will simply be NIV, as opposed to NIV 2011 or some other indicative title.

According to the Biblica website, 95% of the biblical text remains identical to the 1984 version currently in use.  The 5% of verses that are rendered in a new way are not spread out equally, however.  Some Old Testament books are left virtually untouched, but Galatians is over 32% new and improved.  Well, perhaps “improved” is subject to interpretation.  You will have to read, compare, and draw your own conclusions.

The NIV is not my favorite translation, but you could certainly do worse.  I would rather a person read ANY Bible than not read the Bible at all.  I grew up reading KJV and have read the NRSV, which is very similar, in its entirety.  I had planned to make the NIV the next Bible I read through when I was introduced to the ESV.  My preference for the ESV should be clear.  My philosophy on Bible translations is to never rely solely on any one translation.  When I really want to understand a passage, I research the Greek (or Hebrew) words involved, read a few commentaries, and consider multiple translations.  I have studied enough history of the Bible, and am just bi-lingual enough, to know that translation is subject to interpretation.

If the NIV is your favorite, then you have probably known since late summer 2009 that a new one was coming.  Do some online browsing and see what you think.  For everyone else, the new NIV is what people are going to be talking about for the next few months, especially after March.  Before you talk about it, be sure to know something about what you’re talking about.

Stephen Hawking Settles Things Once and for All

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Stephen Hawking’s latest book, The Grand Design, goes on sale next week.  Here’s a preview:

“Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist,” Hawking writes.  “It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.” Continue reading →