Benji Ramsaur, a blogger friend and frequent commenter, emailed me the other day about the views of the 18th Century Sandy Creek Association of Baptist Churches on baptism. Wade, I don't know if you ever thought about it, but it looks to me that the Sandy Creek Associaiton Confession (1816) is in agreement with you on Baptism and the Lord's Supper being ordinances of Christ. Here is statement #8 from their confession. 8. That baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances of the Lord, and to be continued by his church until his second coming. (emphasis mine) I already knew what Benji pointed ..read more

Jimmy Carter is a member, deacon, and Sunday School teacher at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia. He is also the 39th President of the United States. I met President Carter for the first time two years ago on a visit to the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Since that initial meeting some of my friends have spoken to me about Mr. Carter and have condemned him for what they call his "lack of Christian character"--as if attacking him as a person would cause me to see the true evil nature of the former President. Allow me to set the record straight. I am a Republican. President Cart ..read more

On January 30, 2009, David Letterman apologized to a national television audience for the one and only time he ever censored a guest comedian on The Late Show.  Fifteen years earlier, on October 1, 1993, 32-year-old stand-up comedian sensation Bill Hicks found his routine entirely edited out of that night's Late Show broadcast.  The censorship, approved by Letterman himself, rankled Hicks enormously. The show would have been his twelfth and final appearance on Letterman.  Hicks died of pancreatic cancer four months later, on February 26, 1994.  Letterman's a ..read more

The Patterson Retirement Home Dr. Paige Patterson and his wife Dorothy, nearing retirement as President and First Lady of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, are having their retirement home built on the seminary property. The decision by the Executive Committee of Southwestern Theological Seminary's trustees to allow the Pattersons to live out their retirement years on the grounds of SWBTS needs to be questioned by the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention for many reasons. Before articulating these reasons, let me state that I personally like Pa ..read more

Dr. Sheri Klouda (Tom Strattman, Associated Press) Dr. Sheri Klouda served as Professor of Hebrew at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas from 2002 to 2006.  In 2003, Paige Patterson became President of Southwestern Theological Seminary.  Patterson eventually released Dr. Klouda from her faculty position at the seminary because she was a woman. I've written extensively on Dr. Klouda and the dark days she endured. Shortly after her termination, Sheri's husband had his leg amputated, and then in 2014, he died from his heart condition. Dr. Klouda ..read more

Rachelle and I and the four kids are on a cruise of the Caribbean (March 13-20, 2011) with Rachelle´s parents, several extended family members and a few close friends to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of Rachelle´s mom and dad. We departed Galveston early Sunday morning and had a wonderful time at sea Sunday and Monday, including Monday night when Rachelle and her sister put on an exceptional reception in the conference room of The Voyager of the Seas to honor their parents. Rachelle and I have looked forward to this cruise for a couple of years, not the least reason being it marks th ..read more

"The reason why offenders get away with what they do is because we have too many cultures of silence. When something does surface, all too often the church leadership quiets it down. Because they’re concerned about reputation: ‘This could harm the name of Jesus, so let’s just take care of it internally.’ Jesus doesn’t need your reputation! When somebody says that, it’s a lie. Keeping things in the dark and allowing souls to be destroyed by abuse, that shames the Gospel. Jesus is all about transparency.” Boz Tchividjian, grandson of Billy Graham and President of G.R.A.C.E.  On a pictures ..read more

  John Wilkes Booth The National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, D.C., and the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, possess three vertebrae specimens that, according to the government, come from the body of the man who killed President Abraham Lincoln.  The vertebrae were taken from John Wilkes Booth during the official autopsy performed on April 27, 1865.  Booth had been killed a day earlier, April 26, 1865, after being shot by Union sergeant Boston Corbett at Garrett’s farm in Virginia. However, there ..read more

 Cincinnati Water Front on the Ohio River (1838) America is no longer as it once was in terms of educating our children. This is more fact than judgment. Prior to the 1840's, wealthy Americans used private tutors to educate their children, or paid to send their sons and daughters to private schools. Children of the urban poor worked in factories, even as young as five and six years of age, their parents unable to afford their education. Farming families usually sent their children to the fields to work, or in some cases, to neighboring village ..read more

Sometimes the charge "antinomian" is leveled at me for my believe that Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law, and the only righteousness that counts before God comes to us via our faith in Him (Philippians 3:8-9). In my preaching and teaching I emphasize Christ and His fulfillment of the Law for His people. Thus, personal blessings come to us via the obedience of faith, not our obedience to the Law. However, I also believe that national prosperity comes from corporate obedience to a set of laws based on the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments. This belief of mine is why-- in spite of my convictio ..read more