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Bart Barber

8 Nov, 10 tweets, 2 min read

In the experience of the Babylonian Captivity in the Old Testament, God chose, with no hesitation that I can detect, to reduce an entire nation and a house dedicated to Him to rubble in order to purify His people.

I'm a New Testament believer, not an Old Testament Israelite, and I'm not claiming that this set of historical events tells us anything about me or about us, but certainly it tells us this much about God: That His priorities are ordered in a fashion that undergirds that choice.

I didn't vote for President-Elect Biden—couldn't do so if given the opportunity in a hundred million elections—but I'm not convinced that this is the downfall of American civilization that way that some of my politically minded pastor-friends seem to think today.

We survived Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump, after all.

But, just for the sake of argument, let's assume for a moment that they're right. Let's assume that the Biden/Harris administration represents the wrong outcome in "THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION OF OUR LIFETIME!!!" Let's assume that this is the long-forewarned precipice.

If God would use it, in His wisdom that is higher than our own, to purify His church and advance the work of the Kingdom, what would we think of that? How would we react? If God has already demonstrated that He would readily and quickly make that trade, what about us?

For my part, I've seen some things on this Internet platform and occasionally in my own heart that are impure and wicked. President Trump's tone and demeanor have trickled into our churches, and it's unbecoming when we act more like the President than we do the Lord.

I think I could do a decent job making the case that the election of Biden-Harris is bad for the nation. I think I could also do a decent job making the case that the end of this particular brand of Republicanism could be good for the churches.

I know it's an emotional season, but could you set aside your anger and frustration for a moment and consider whether this is at all possible? And if it happens to be the case, what does that tell us about God's priorities?

And if even daring to consider that possibility makes us angry, what does that tell us about OUR priorities?

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More from @bartbarber

Bart Barber

@bartbarber

9 Nov

@JoeBiden

I applaud @JoeBiden’s call for greater unity and civility in American politics. For many topics, this should reasonably be within reach.

Immigration: there is no reason whatsoever for Republicans to oppose LEGAL immigration, as the Trump administration has done. Our economy thrives when we have healthy immigration policies, and the election results show clearly that many immigrants vote GOP.

Middle East: There is no reason for Democrats to dismantle President Trump’s very successful pro-Israel policy in the Middle East. Eschatology does not require a pro-Israel posture, but common sense does.

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Bart Barber

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9 Aug

Earlier today I received an email from a beloved church member that made me feel really, really good about my preaching (I'm trying to work through a big COVID email backlog right now).

It wasn't a, "Wow! You're a great preacher," email (although this dear saint would say that)

@fbcfarmersville

Instead, she very kindly said she couldn't tell what my view about the rapture was from my sermons through The Revelation. She was curious.

Maybe some of the rest of you at @fbcfarmersville have wondered the same thing.

For what it's worth, I am a Premillennialist who believes in a rapture before the Great Tribulation. What follows is an explanation of why that wasn't obvious to you.

Read 11 tweets

Bart Barber

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25 Jul

This week the CDC recommended that the country adopt a new approach to bringing back to work people who have had COVID—moving from a test-based strategy to a symptom-based strategy.

cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…

They have done this because they have identified a subcategory of people who keep testing positive after they are no longer sick and no longer contagious—so-called “permanent positives.” These may test positive for as long as 90 days after recovery.

Read 9 tweets

Bart Barber

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25 Jun

@BaptistNetwork

I believe that God often uses dissent in the SBC, and I think that some of the responses to @BaptistNetwork may represent some measure of a rush to judgment or an overreaction. But with that having been said…

I see two major differences between this group and the Conservative Resurgence.

First, with regard to the Conservative Resurgence, the identified problems were well documented. Southern Baptist professors did not believe in biblical inerrancy. Their published writings and recorded lectures said so. Their own statements said so, doublespeak notwithstanding.

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Bart Barber

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16 Apr

@KSPrior

This week @KSPrior announced her intention to vote third party in November. I completely understand. I did that in 2016. And I believe that she is 100% right to resist the accusation that she is "throwing away her vote" by doing so. That's a thin, thoughtless argument.

But I'm not where I was in 2016, and I thought perhaps it would be worthwhile to offer some public accounting for my change in thinking.

First, I reached a point of being glad that the candidate who received my vote was not elected. Third-party candidates simply aren't vetted the way that major-party candidates are. That's not a reason never to vote for one; it's a reason to discount enthusiasm for them.

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Bart Barber

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26 Jan

@joelascol

@joelascol "This may be the most critical vote the SBC has taken on the race issue."

I don't think I agree with @pastordmack here, because other votes have been important. But this is a judgment call. I don't think this sentence is "stupid."

@joelascol

@joelascol @pastordmack "This vote will send a strong signal that Black leadership and Black professors aren't allowed to lead."

This would be an unprecedented action (we didn't even rescind resolutions that the liberals enacted before the CR) taken against the act of Curtis Woods and others.

@joelascol

@joelascol @pastordmack A lot of the associated rhetoric over the past several months has involved combing through the statements of people like @w_strickland and taking pains to interpret them in the worst sense possible and to select only the snippets vulnerable to such misconstrual.

Read 13 tweets

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