Wisdom for Your Weekend is your regular installment of what we’ve been reading (and watching) around the web. Presented to you by Chris Pappalardo, with occasional guidance from Pastor J.D., this is our attempt to reflect Proverbs 9:9: “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.”
Video of the Week
A Time of Chastening in the SBC, Pastor J.D. “To my brothers and sisters of the SBC, God is trying to get our attention.”
To my brothers and sisters of the SBC, God is trying to get our attention.
Posted by J.D. Greear on Thursday, May 24, 2018
Articles of the Week
The Wrath of God Poured Out: The Humiliation of the Southern Baptist Convention, Al Mohler. “Sexual misconduct is as old as sin, but the avalanche of sexual misconduct that has come to light in recent weeks is almost too much to bear. These grievous revelations of sin have occurred in churches, in denominational ministries, and even in our seminaries. … When people said that Evangelicals had a similar crisis coming, it didn’t seem plausible — even to me. I have been president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for twenty-five years. I did not see this coming.”
When Good Men Fall, Brittany Salmon. “You see, when one of our good men falls it’s easy to doubt if they were ever good at all. It’s easy to get angry, point fingers, and allow a seed of self-righteousness take root. But brothers and sisters, that Pharisaical mindset is futile. Give yourself time to be wounded, but a right view of sin knows that none of us are good at all. A right theology of sin and redemption knows that this side of glory, we are all broken people in need of a great Savior and until Christ comes again we are all susceptible to Satan’s lies.”
My Journey Back to the Southern Baptists, George Yancey. “I truly believe that God has a reason for bringing me back to this denomination. When I was in it before, I was an inexperienced graduate student. I had ideas, some good and some not so good, but no one wanted to listen to me. Now I am a professor with expertise in race relations and anti-Christian bigotry. I also have a vision of Christian community that I want to position myself to talk about more over time. This denomination needs to make a transition from some of the old guard, who did great things in their day, to the young guns who can guide the denomination into a post-Christian future. I want to be a voice to help make that transition a reality.”
On Peace and Progress in the Southern Baptist Convention, Trevin Wax. “There is no peacemaking without pain-taking. We will not see peace in our convention apart from true repentance, a deep desire for revival, and clear-eyed honesty regarding our sins and failures. We’re in a season in which God is bringing to light sin and selfishness, scandal and sorrow. Our scandals are public. We are being humbled. But humbleness is the right place for the disciple of Jesus. Our heads must be bowed low before Jesus will lift them.”
