Archive for PPL
Revisiting Tongues and the Conference on the Holy Spirit
Posted by: | CommentsIt has been said that the blog world of SBCers has become boring. For me, it is just the opposite as I have found myself more engaged with other sites that are defending theological and moral points rather than attacking personalities. Yet, one of the items of times past that set off a firestorm was the guideline of the International Missions Board to restrict those who practiced praying in tongues. As the controversy hit an apex, a Conference on the Holy Spirit was held at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington Texas. The 28th of this month will mark the two-year anniversary of that conference. Dr. Bart Barber and I were asked to participate in that conference which included many continualists. In fact you may say we were the lone non-continualists of the bunch. ☺
I have many fond memories of that conference, especially the graciousness of the people at Cornerstone Baptist Church. It was also a joy to work closely with Bart and deepen our friendship. I also remember sitting on the front row when a women next to me started to speak out ecstatically at a high volume and seeing Ben Cole and Art Rogers up on the platform smiling and kind of laughing. Frankly, they helped me see the humor in the whole incident. I also remember reading my paper and going over my time limit. Thinking back on it now, I should have just presented 1 Cor. 14 expositionally. In fact I was weighing on whether I would read the paper or just preach that chapter. I should have just preached. Anyways, the overwhelming memories of that conference were the graciousness of Cornerstone and the opportunity to collaborate with a top-notch pastor/theologian like Bart.
Since that time, the fury over the guideline has subsided (at least in blog world). Other areas of interest have come and gone, but the guideline still remains. Many who were involved in SBC politics at that time have either turned their attention elsewhere or have walked away from the SBC blogging scene altogether. As things play out over the next ten years, it will be interesting to see what impact, if any, the movement against the IMB guideline on praying in tongues will have.
I am reposting the paper I presented at the conference. You can click these links: Title Page, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Bibliography.
Getting the Facts Straight: Hershael York
Posted by: | CommentsIn a post on his blog, Dr. Hershael York, who is a trustee of the International Mission Board, gets the facts straight and corrects some of the misinformation concerning the attrition rate of missionary personnel:
Interestingly, the attrition rate has actually declined since the IMB passed the policies on baptism and private prayer language that some people find controversial. Another way of putting it is that the attrition rate has dropped since John Floyd became chairman of the IMB. Now, do I think Dr. Floyd can or should take credit for that? Of course not. But I think it just as foolish when some critics of his or of the board simplistically blame the board or Dr. Floyd when missionaries leave.
You can read his post in its entirety by clicking here.
The Private Prayer Language of Jesus
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We are pleased to welcome back as a guest writer at SBC Today one of our more frequent commenters, Chris Johnson. Chris is currently the Pastor of Grace Church at Hermitage which is located eleven miles east of downtown Nashville. He is a full-time employee of Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s largest dialysis provider, with headquarters in Bad Homburg Germany. Chris is the Manager of Information Systems specializing in Network Architecture and Engineering for over 2200 clinics serving 175,000 patients.
In a day where there seems to be confusion about prayer, it is important to understand the model for prayer as commanded by Jesus Christ to the founding members of His body, the Apostles, who were filled and led by the Holy Spirit. Preceding the apostolic questioning of Christ about prayer, Jesus spoke in public to those who are called out by God, who will soon serve His body in a new profound way as an advance on the commonwealth of Israel in the world. (Matthew 6) They were commanded to pray in the manner that Jesus has commanded. Jesus Christ is the supreme commander of how to pray in the Spirit of God, and teaches all of His followers the language of private prayer. Is what Christ offers as instruction for prayer sufficient for communion with Him? A simple question to ask yourself when you pray….. “Do I pray as Christ has commanded me to pray or am I offering to Him more than he commands?” Read More→
