March 26 2012 by
Dan Lang, Gatesville, N.C.
In Dudley Stallings’ letter (March 3) he said he did not think pastors should preach about the marriage amendment. Yes, it can cause some controversy, but preachers should stand for what is right according to God’s Word.
To illustrate what can happen: In 1989 I changed my membership to a new church. We called a new pastor in 1993, and some time later we voted to change our affiliation from the General Baptist Association of Virginia to The Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia. There were a number of families who left. But after a dip in attendance, we began to grow fast.
When this pastor came the average attendance was 135; now it has reached near 700. This church has planted three other churches that are growing steadily. If you follow God’s leading you can grow.
Dan Lang
Gatesville, N.C.
3/26/2012 4:02:34 PM by
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March 12 2012 by
J. Hubert Street, Columbus, N.C.
I want to commend Erik Stanley for his inspirational and informative article in the Feb. 18 edition, urging churches to do what any Christian and church should do concerning the state marriage amendment. It is refreshing to see people taking a stand for the Bible’s mandate of morality in marriage. I also want to respond to the letter in the March 3 edition, Tar Heel Voices: “Asking for trouble,” by Dudley B. Stallings. He stated that, “pastors who preach and promote the marriage amendment will cause problems for the pastors that do and may very well split churches.” He is right that anyone can have their opinion about the marriage amendment, but if their opinion is not in line with the teachings of the Bible, their opinion is wrong.
The New Testament Christian martyrs, such as Steven, the Apostle Paul, Apostle John, Apostle Peter, John Bunion in the Bedford Jail, etc., were not afraid to speak out about the moral issues and standards of their day. Why should pastors and Christian leaders do any less? If it causes problems and trouble for pastors to stand up for the truth of the Bible, so be it. The rewards are out of this world! And if churches split over moral issues that the Bible clearly, plainly teaches are wrong and sinful, then they ought to split. It is very easy to talk Christianity, but it is different to walk as a Christian. Jesus Christ, God’s Son and Savior of the world, has the last word about the marriage relationship and human morality. “And he answered and said unto them, have you not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, for this cause (marriage) shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they two shall be one flesh. Wherefore they are no more two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” Matt. 19:4-6
J. Hubert Street
Columbus, N.C.
3/12/2012 6:22:52 PM by
J. Hubert Street, Columbus, N.C. | with
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February 27 2012 by
Dudley B. Stallings, Knightdale, N.C.
The Erik Stanley [guest column] in the February 18 BR urging pastors to preach promotion of the marriage amendment will cause problems for the pastors that do so and may very well split churches. Churches have no business promoting the passage of this controversial and polarizing amendment. As you well know, many clergy are totally against such an unnecessary action. He can have his opinion about what pastors should do and what they are permitted to do by the IRS but to urge pastors to preach, encouraging congregants to vote for the amendment is asking for trouble in the churches.
Dudley B. Stallings
Knightdale, N.C.
2/27/2012 2:04:42 PM by
Dudley B. Stallings, Knightdale, N.C. | with
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February 13 2012 by
Carson D. Hilburn, Forest Acres Baptist Church, Lumberton, N.C.
The question should not be either/or. In the guest column (“SBC needs greater focus on revitalizing dying churches” by Paul Roberts) of the Biblical Recorder on January 21, the writer was discussing resources and energy being spent on church planting versus revitalization of dying churches. It should not be either/or, but it should be both/and. The matter should always be about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ whenever, wherever, and however we can do so.
Do we have plateaued, or dying churches? Yes! Should we be planting new churches? Of course we should! What about our existing churches? Here is where we face a real challenge, but also have a great opportunity. We look at a congregation that has aged. Many of its younger members have moved on. Hope of church renewal in the congregation is dwindling. Now we face a stern challenge that none of us ever hope to face. We are posed with the following question: does this necessitate the need for the congregation to disband, and for this church that has served its community to close its doors forever? Maybe! However, if we flip the coin, so to speak, and we see this as an opportunity, then perhaps this is not the correct course. What if the answer to the challenge for the plateaued, or dying church is in fact an opportunity to return to its original dream? Proverbs 29:18 tells us “where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”
We live in a changing world, in changing communities, but one need remains: people need the Lord. All churches need to see this. Pastors need to have a vision and a burden for the lost, and must be brave enough to communicate this to their flock. Every Christian in every church should be committed to that growth: inward and outward. Rather than looking around in our communities and back yards and saying, “it cannot be done anymore,” we should be praying, believing, training, witnessing, and stepping out in faith.
Carson D. Hilburn
Forest Acres Baptist Church,
2/13/2012 4:40:59 PM by
Carson D. Hilburn, Forest Acres Baptist Church, Lumberton, N.C. | with
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January 30 2012 by
Tam Hutchinson Jr., North Wilkesboro, N.C.
I read with great interest the article by David Roach entitled “Pastors unconvinced about evolution, split on earth’s age,” in the Jan. 21, 2012 edition of the Biblical Recorder.
The author did a good job of recording the facts and giving statistical analyses.
Some of the pastors’ answers in the article seem to indicate a conflict in their minds.
My purpose is to encourage readers who are confused by conflicting messages about the Bible.
Suppose one chooses to believe the Bible is correct as written. Does the Bible indicate a recent creation – within the past 10,000 years? Yes it does.
Luke 3:34-38 gives the ancestry of Jesus from Adam (about 2,000 years – Genesis 5:3-32 and 11:10-26, except for Cainan) to Abraham (around 2,000 B.C). That means God created Adam around 4,000 B.C, which was about 6,000 years ago. Also, the Ten Commandments affirm that creation took six days (Exodus 20:11).
Does the physical evidence also support a recent creation? Yes, it does.
There are only enough people on the earth for a few thousand years of existence.
The R.A.T.E. Project has consistently shown that there is enough helium (a byproduct of nuclear decomposition) remaining in Zircon crystals for only about 6,000 years of diffusion.
Dinosaur remains that still have blood cells in their bones have been found on the north shore of Alaska. Blood cells can only last 5,000 to 10,000 years in those conditions.
If one can show that the earth is less than 10,000 years old, there is not enough time for macro evolution from one kind of thing to another.
In conclusion, if one takes the position that the Bible is correct as written; the evidence does seem to support that position very well.
Tam Hutchinson Jr.
1/30/2012 2:45:59 PM by
Tam Hutchinson Jr., North Wilkesboro, N.C. | with
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January 17 2012 by
Jack Marshburn, Tar Landing Baptist Church, Jacksonville, N.C.
According to a guest column in the December 10 BR, if we change our name from Southern Baptist Convention, and if we cease being known for our opposition to immoral practices like homosexuality, and if we avoid any common ground that may be shared by some in political circles, then more people will like us.
Is that so?
Where in the book of Acts do we see the believers laboring to get people to like them? I do not mean that they were trying to be disliked but that being liked was not their priority.
In Acts 5:13-14, Luke gives us interesting insight into the early church. “None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,” Acts 5:13-14 (ESV). While many would not dare be associated with the church, many others were getting saved!
If only we were more interested in what the Scriptures say rather than the pollsters.
The author refers to the supposed stigma of the word “Southern.” However true that may be, if we change our name we will not change our past. Did the Apostle Paul seek to conceal his past as a persecutor of the Christians? No. Instead, he used that to speak of God’s grace and mercy (Acts 22; 26; 1 Timothy 1:12-15; 1 Corinthians 15:8-10).
I was present in 1995 when the formal apology was made. That was the right thing to do – to publicly acknowledge the wrong in the beginning of our convention. That was a matter of integrity. Changing our name in an attempt to camouflage our past seems deceitful.
Well, what about “Baptist,” will we delete it also? For whatever reason, some churches no longer wish to be identified as a Baptist congregation. As a convention are we so ashamed of our Baptist heritage that we will abandon the name? I hope not.
Brothers and sisters, there is something far more offensive than the words “Southern Baptist.” It is the truth of the gospel. Oswald Chambers is reported to have said, “There is nothing attractive about the gospel to the natural man. The only man who finds the gospel attractive is the man who is convicted of sin.”
The concern I have is not about the changing of a name. What bothers me is the reasoning I am hearing. The December 10 article sounded very seeker sensitive and focused on man.
The author claimed that a name change will “inject the body with a new energy.” Apparently, he believes that but I do not.
The Holy Spirit is the one who empowers the Church. Hanging out a different shingle never will.
Jack Marshburn
Tar Landing Baptist Church, Jacksonville, N.C.
1/17/2012 3:57:21 PM by
Jack Marshburn, Tar Landing Baptist Church, Jacksonville, N.C. | with
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January 16 2012 by
Doug Ewing, Belmont, N.C.
Why change? In the December 24 edition of the Biblical Recorder, Erin Roach reports that the MAJORITY have a favorable impression of Southern Baptists while only 40 percent are unfavorable.
Why should we have to change the name for those that don’t like us? Is it the name or the doctrine? Jonathan Merritt wrote in the December 10 issue, “What’s in a name?”
I don’t believe it’s the region, but our doctrine. They say we are pushy. That has nothing to do with a name. I have witnessed in Ohio, South Dakota, Arizona, Colorado, Washington, Alaska, Maine and Vermont.
Some folks in Colorado cried when we left. People in some states want us back.
No time did they mention anything negative about us as Southern Baptist.
Do we need to change “Northern Tissue” because it is regional?
I have even heard people say we need to drop the name Baptist. I believe those 40 percent don’t like us because we are evangelistic.
Old Vance Havner said we shouldn’t change our doctrine to suit the world.
I have a suggestion for a name change: SCBC, Still Confused Baptist Convention.
Doug Ewing
Belmont, N.C.
1/16/2012 2:41:53 PM by
Doug Ewing, Belmont, N.C. | with
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December 21 2011 by
Anonymous
In response to the editorial, “
Pastors, do we get it?” (BR, Nov. 26) as a pastor in North Carolina, at first I was angered and frustrated by this question. Every pastor I personally know does “get it!” We emphasize missions and encourage participation in missions, and we lead by example toward fulfilling the Great Commission. As far as being “ensnared by routine church life” as a root of the problem addressed in the editorial, that is far from the case. Yes, it is easy to become almost overburdened with caring for the needs of a congregation, especially when there is a tendency for “inward” thinking among the congregation. But, to think that this is why some pastors “don’t get it” is not fair.
Some congregants reply to mission pleas with, “Why should I be concerned about people ‘over there’ when there are so many needs here?” It is as if the peoples “over there” are a plague upon the earth. I recall what David Platt mentioned in Radical, and realize that I have faced those kinds of remarks. I know more than one pastor whose job security has been threatened because of his emphasis of “missions.”
What is the problem? It comes down to a change of heart through Jesus. Without that, it does not matter how much emphasis a pastor places upon fulfilling the Great Commission, it will not happen. I have led the church I pastor to increase its Cooperative Program giving significantly, but motivating them to increase the giving to specific missions offerings has been like pulling teeth at times. It took several years to motivate church participation in a mission trip to another area of the U.S. Am I discouraged? Yes! Do I stop? Emphatically, NO!
We do “get it,” and I pray every day that others will as well!
Name withheld
12/21/2011 2:42:01 PM by
Anonymous | with
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December 20 2011 by
Roger Carlson
A very special “THANK YOU” to approximately 40 churches and associations who came to Pennsylvania this year to help us in the “fields that are white unto harvest and the laborers are so few.” Construction, backyard Bible clubs, sports camps, [Vacation Bible Schools] and prayer walking are just some of the things that these teams did. Many of the teams came through our North Carolina/Pennsylvania Partnership and others came because they have established a rapport with churches during the five years of our partnership.
If your church or association feels God calling you to Pennsylvania next summer, please check the Baptist on Mission web site and click “Pennsylvania” for listings from churches that need help. Maybe God is calling you to come and be part of His work here in the “fields that are white unto harvest!”
May God bless every one of you for what you do for Him.
Roger Carlson NAMB MSC
Construction Coordinator
Baptist Convention Pennsylvania/South Jersey
12/20/2011 1:29:33 PM by
Roger Carlson | with
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December 5 2011 by
John and Jenny McLamb
When we were fresh faced and new to the mission field, our then 8-month-old son was hospitalized and required surgery. It was our first week of language school. With all the challenges that came our way during those days, financial concerns were not one of them … thanks to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (LMCO). Years later, it was the LMCO that made sure our baby daughter got great care when she was born and later diagnosed with epilepsy while in Lima, Peru.
From putting food on the table to covering major medical procedures, those who give to the LMCO helped us get on the field and stay on the field.
The LMCO has been a blessing to my family, but has also blessed our ministry to the indigenous peoples of the Americas. We have studied language in Costa Rica, ministered to indigenous people in Peru and now in Southern Mexico. It is because of gifts given to the LMCO that we have been able to come, live and serve in Latin America.
LMCO gifts were at work when Nelsi trusted Christ and was baptized in a high Andean river. Because of the LMCO, lives were changed and small churches were formed in Lima, Peru. And the LMCO is currently making it possible for us to learn an indigenous language in Southern Mexico so that we can share Christ among an unreached people group.
We are so thankful to God for our home church, Union Grove [Baptist Church] in Salemburg, and the thousands of other churches that sacrificially give to the LMCO so we can continue making disciples among the indigenous peoples of the Americas. May these gifts be for the glory of our good God!
John and Jenny McLamb
serving in southern Mexico
12/5/2011 2:06:06 PM by
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