Archive for Seminary Issues
Podcast Episode 23
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This week’s podcast is our longest yet, at just over forty-four minutes, but hopefully the discussion will prove worth the time. We didn’t even cover all the topics we intended to address. In times past, such long-windedness would have been laid squarely at the feet of Bart Barber, but since he’s not around to blame, we’ll have to come up with another excuse. We began by addressing the response by Dr. David Allen to a review by Dr. Tom Nettles of a book by Dr. William Dembski. If you think you’re confused now, wait until you hear our discussion. We finished the podcast discussing tithing, antinomianism, and Les Puryear.
Listen to the podcast by using the player below, or subscribe in iTunes by clicking the image in this post or the link in the sidebar. We’d love to hear your ideas on how we can improve the podcast, and we’d also appreciate a review or a rating on our iTunes page. Thanks for listening.
Links to some of the items discussed:
- A Reply to Tom Nettles’ Review of William A. Dembski’s The End of Christianity: Finding a Good God in an Evil World
- Les Puryear’s original “storehouse tithing” post
Enhanced Podcast: Podcast Episode 15
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This episode of the podcast features Greg Hall. Greg is the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Cleveland, Oklahoma, and the founder of CREEK Ministry in the Warm Heart of Africa. The name CREEK is an acronym for:
- Caring for the people
- Reaching the population
- Equipping pastors
- Encouraging participation
- Kneeling in prayer
This ministry supports a seminary, medical clinic, and orphanage in the southeast African country of Malawi. In our discussion today, Greg shares how this ministry began and what they do to support seminary students in a country that has a desperate need for trained pastors to lead churches. The seminary is presently facing a financial shortfall that threatens its continued existence, and Greg shares the details of that crisis in the podcast as well. If you or your church would like to help meet this need, the best way to do it is to send a check to the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Make the check payable to “BGCO,” and write “Malawi Seminary” on the memo line, then send it to:
Cindi Robinson BGCO 3800 N. May Ave. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112
You can also send support directly to the CREEK Ministry. Make your check payable to “CREEK Ministry,” and send it to:
First Baptist Church Creek Ministry P.O. Box 656 Cleveland, Oklahoma 74020
You can listen to the podcast using the player below, or you can subscribe in iTunes by clicking the image in this post, or the podcast link in the sidebar. Please leave a comment here if you have a suggestion for how we can improve the podcast, and while you’re on our iTunes page, give us a review or just click on some stars (the more, the better) to give us a rating. Thanks for listening.
A Brief Visit with Dr. Paige Patterson
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One year ago yesterday, we posted an interview with Southwestern Seminary president Dr. Paige Patterson, as Tim Rogers talked with Dr. Patterson in Jacksonville, Florida. Today, we present another.
Dr. Patterson was in Hugo, Oklahoma for the Frisco Baptist Association‘s annual evangelism conference, and I was able to talk to him briefly after the conference had ended. We talked about issues ranging from ecclesiology to ecumenism, the characteristic passion for missions that has always defined Southwestern, to the future legacy of the seminary as envisioned by the school’s eighth president. We even talked a little about some of the silly rumors generated by recent tabloid blogging.
You can listen to the interview right here in the post, or you can pack it onto your iPod for later use. Just click on the iTunes button in the sidebar under “Podcast.”
Stop the What ifs!
Posted by: | CommentsWe can stop the what ifs as it appears that a decision is coming before long. See Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood for further details.
What would happen if….?
Posted by: | CommentsI want you to take a little trip with me into our legal system. As we traverse the terrain let me assure you that I am not a lawyer and am not qualified to give legal opinions. However, neither are most of the people that sit in congress and they are the ones that make the laws. But, be that as it may, according to this recent ruling it appears that neither are the three justices that sit on the California Court of Appeals. But I digress.
I want you to read the argument below and tell me what would happen within the SBC if this argument prevails. The argument is one set forth by Dr. Klouda’s high profile, big money, team of lawyers. In “Klouda’s Brief,” on document page 11, you will find the following argument.
c. Patterson’s Alleged Belief Should Not Be Attributed To Southwestern
From the evidence, it is also questionable whether Defendant Patterson’s alleged “religious” beliefs are held by Defendant Southwestern. Even if Defendant Patterson was genuine in his beliefs, he certainly differed in his interpretation from his predecessor and the Board of Trustees, who, although of the same faith, found Dr. Klouda worthy of election to faculty and a tenure-track position. Dr. Patterson acknowledges that there is a view opposite to his that is held within the Southern Baptist Convention.
I believe that if this lawsuit is settled in favor of Dr. Klouda, then we will have allowed a secular court to effectively turn back the Conservative Resurgence. This argument gives the ability for every pre-Conservative Resurgence professor to sue the SBC because the trustees changed the president and the president did not hold the same interpretation of scripture as the former president. Some may want to argue that the Conservative Resurgence was about changing trustees and Dr. Patterson came into a board of trustees that had already hired Dr. Klouda. There is one problem with that argument: Dr. Patterson claims, and his claim is supported by Dr. Craig Blaising, that a number of trustees approached Dr. Patterson with their concerns. Notice how the above argument effectively separates the president from the entity. When a president is called to an entity that entire board of trustees knows what they are getting and how the president’s views will either align, or not align, with the entity.
Whether or not you believe a woman can teach theology to a man isn’t my concern in this post. My concern is that this one argument, which has nothing to do with gender inequity, has the potential to decimate the SBC. You have my concern. What are yours?
Interview with Dr. Paige Patterson
Posted by: | CommentsWhile most of us are laboring away in colder climes, Tim Rogers is enjoying himself in the Sunshine State. He’s attending the annual Pastor’s Conference at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, and on Saturday he was able to sit down with Southwestern Seminary president Dr. Paige Patterson.
Dr. Patterson talks about the New Baptist Covenant Celebration, the lawsuit brought against the seminary by former professor Dr. Sherri Klouda, and his vision for the future of Southwestern Seminary.
The interview runs about 20 minutes. You can listen to the interview directly from this page, you can download it by following the instructions below, or you can access it along with all of our other interviews by visiting our “Interviews” resource page. Check back later in the week for more interviews from the conference.
Standard Podcast [20:43m]: Interview with Dr. Danny Akin, Links to Resources
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One of our aims at SBC Today is to be a resource for pastors, and this post is perhaps one of the best we’ve yet had at accomplishing that goal.
Monday, Wes Kenney and I had the opportunity to sit down with President Danny Akin of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. After the interview, Dr. Akin told us about his website, dannyakin.com, which is packed full of free resources, from sermon audio to complete publications. It is an outstanding source for pastors and anyone else interested in studying the Bible with the help of one of the leading theologians of our day.
During the interview, we talked about a variety of topics, from confessions of faith to expository preaching to the emerging church. Recently Dr. Akin led Southeastern in sponsoring a conference that focused on the emerging church. One of the main speakers was Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Dr. Akin had the opportunity to talk about why he helped in sponsoring the conference and he gave some of his thoughts on Mark Driscoll and the ministry Driscoll has in Seattle.
Thanks to Micah Fries (pronounced “freeze”) for his blog that led me to a great site, sponsored by Driscoll’s Mars Hill Church in Seattle, for helping pastors, laypeople, and students with their New Testament Greek. Re: Greek is a site that will be a major help in studying your Greek Bible, especially for all you seminary students who don’t have major bucks to drop on a Greek parsing program. That’s because Re:Greek gives you the parsing. Of course, to keep us out of hot water with our former Greek professors, we add the disclaimer that all New Testament Greek students should strive to memorize and apply all those parsing charts and use programs like this only as a back up. I would like to thank those who put this program together.
The audio from the interview is available below. Enjoy the Greek tool, Dr. Akin’s resources, and the interview.
Interview with Dr. Albert Mohler
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Robin Foster and I, along with blogger, pastor, and fellow Okie Scott Gordon, sat down this afternoon with Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Mohler was in Oklahoma for the Pastor’s Conference preceding the 101st Annual Meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, and was gracious enough to spend a few minutes talking with us.
We covered a variety of topics in the limited time we had, from his recent health issues to what he does to relax. He talked about supposed conflicts between the Baptist Faith & Message and the Abstract of Principles, and addressed the adoption of an anti-Calvinism statement by an Oklahoma association (Click here for the details).
We also visited this morning with Dr. Danny Akin of Southeastern Seminary, and we’ll post that audio in a couple of days. We appreciate Dr. Mohler making time for us today. Click below to listen to the interview, which was recorded using the second-best digital audio recorder Wal-Mart has to offer.
The Trustee System – Working as Designed
Posted by: | CommentsIt seems that each time one turns around there is another leader under fire. For many that do not believe the trustee system works, these two articles should put that fear to rest. Our trustee system is doing what it was designed to do. They are holding the leaders accountable and they are assuring Southern Baptists that our various entities operate with full integrity.
This first article is the Baptist Press story from the latest Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Board of Trustees meeting. Notice how that issue was resolved: It was handled within the board and they dealt with it behind closed doors.
The next article is a news release from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary‘s semi-annual Board of Trustees meeting. They have affirmed the leadership of their president, Dr. Paige Patterson, and have explained the truth behind many of the absurd accusations about financial mismanagement that have been made in the last several months.
It is a great day to be a Southern Baptist. We have a trustee system that works, allowing our entities to pursue their Kingdom ministries while assuring the churches that support them that their work is done with integrity.
Yes, SBC Today Loves Dr. Russell Moore
Posted by: | CommentsOne cannot get enough of the young Southern Seminary Vice President. There is only one thing better than an audio recording of Dr. Moore, a video of him preaching.
Dr. Moore preached at Southwestern’s chapel last week Thursday, September 13th. Thanks to John B. (in a comment) for alerting SBC Today to this timely message. To watch it, click here.
Dr. Moore reminds us that allegiance to God and His Word is more important than seeking personal vengeance. SBC Today highly recommends the video from one of our Southern Baptist Statesmen.
