I am a complementarian, but this debate shows, to me, the need for an understanding of Christian essentials. If a doctrine isn't found in the Apostles Creed or the Nicene Creed, maybe we shouldn't make it an essential to the faith. This is the value of doctrinal triage. I am MORE than satisfied with making complementarianism (in general - not some extreme version of it) a part of our confession as Southern Baptists, but when we make it a test of inerrancy or fidelity to Christ, we err.

It is time for Christians who love God, honor the word, and believe in the Gospel to call on our brothers and sisters caught in this ugly spiral of Trumpism that enough is enough. He lost the election. He lost the recounts. He lost ALL the court cases. Joe Biden will be our next president. I am not thrilled about that but it is the fact.

I have never voted for a pro-abortion candidate. It is non-negotiable to me.

I fear though that abortion has become a bit of a dog whistle for evangelicals, or an excuse to avoid difficult issues. What shall we do about the ongoing effects of racism? Vote pro-life! What shall we do about abuse, about other key issues? Vote pro-life. What about economic injustice, dishonesty, corruption? Vote pro-life.

I am deeply disappointed in @ronniefloyd who used the @SBCExecComm system to send out a stump speech for Trump's reelection campaign.

He is supposed to represent ALL the SBC - including minorities and those who may not be enamored with He turned his back on SBC minorities to curry favor with the CBN and others.

It is stunning when the Executive Committee is turned into a partisan "Vote Trump" organ.

I have become a bit of a hard-headed codger. Over the years, I've noticed at funerals that when people talk about heaven, they speak of it as a giant family reunion. "I know that Grampa is rejoicing today because he is reunited with Grandma and Uncle Buford and Aunt Beatrice." I understand the idea. We miss our loved ones and the idea of heaven is strange to us. Even John had trouble explaining it. Mostly, he had to describe what ISN'T there. No this. No that. But still, isn't heaven in the Bible about seeing JESUS and worshiping around the Throne?

The modern American church has many problems, but among the worst of them is our tendency to venerate pastors and Christian leaders in an unhealthy way.

We give certain men (it is USUALLY men) a level of authority that ought to be reserved for Christ. We say we believe in the sufficiency of Scripture but we give an astounding level of hero-worship to Christian celebrities, megachurch pastors, or scholars.

When someone critiques them or disagrees with them, we respond as if Gospel fundamentals have been denied.

I have never, in 44 years of voting, cast a ballot for someone I knew to be pro-abortion. I decided, after seeing Schaeffer's series, "Whatever Happened to the Human Race?" that one who thought killing a baby in its mother's womb was fine would not get my vote.

None has. However, I am troubled that some may be using abortion as an excuse, a reason to avoid dealing with other issues.

Candidate A is an immoral jerk who treats women as his toys...but ABORTION.

Watched clips of the George Floyd killing. Then I read Twitter reactions to the footage - that was fascinating. Everyone saw what confirmed their views on things. We have lost all objectivity and nuance. To one side, this proves conclusively that Floyd was a drugged-up loser resisting arrest and the cops are exonerated. The press fomented riots with biased reporting To the other side, Floyd was clearly the victim of over-aggressive cops.

Eschatology is always tricky, but I'm studying and preaching Revelation, trying to look at the Big Picture and not get bogged down in the curiosities and the controversies. This week, I'm in Revelation 17/18 - Babylon is Fallen. Realizing that what is warned about there is already happening. An economic/political/religious amalgam that prostitutes the purpose of the church of Jesus Christ? Wow. The more I study the more I realize how timely this is...

Permit me another point on the SBC and political involvement- one which I assumed went without saying but clearly doesn't.

When I say that it is unfortunate for the SBC to be wclosely aligned with the GOP I am not advocating for us to become aligned in any way with the Dems. I am not arguing for switching party loyalty but renouncing the idea that being Southern Baptist requires being part of a particular party.

We, in the SBC, have so aligned with the GOP that the biblical orthodoxy of those who do not support Trump and the party is doubted.

People are labeled liberal for their politics - all in the name of the sufficiency of scripture.

Weird world. Following your conscience by not voting Trump doesn't make you liberal. Caring about immigrants doesn't make you liberal. Opposing racism isn't liberal. Seeking justice for abused women isn't liberal.

People bash social media. Fine. It is true. But these guys, my friends the @SBCvoices team, stand by me, support me, and I am proud to stand with them. They love Jesus and serve his church faithfully. (Sorry, Mike B.) They always stand the best looking in the middle. Well, not Doug.

I am struggling as I work thru how we as Baptists deal with the past. I am A-okay with removing monuments that celebrate evil. Seems like a no-brainer. The Confederacy was about slavery - read the docs - and we shouldn't celebrate that evil. I am less enthralled with cancel-culture. I am not a racist and I deplore it. It is a shame and a blight that stains our national and denominational history. But, I share a trait with the racist Founders of the SBC. I am a sinner. I have huge blind spots. Not there yet.

I said goodbye to one of my parents tonight, I think. Both are frail and are nearing heaven. I will see one again when the other passes. It was gut wrenching. Odd thing. I am 62 and other than our grandparents our family has not known death. Dad and mom's siblings and all their descendants are alive, except for miscarriages- we've had several of those.

I have lost friends but never a family member.

It will change soon.

I am seeing a lot of "Christians" who have no trouble condemning and degrading looters and rioters but had not a single word to say when a "peace officer" kneeled on the neck of a black man until he died. People are horrified when athletes kneel at the anthem and condemn them in loud voice but have NOTHING to say about a black man murdered by a white police officer.

I came to a point years ago - call it being woke if you like - where I realized that my experiences were very different than that of Blacks in our land. I have trained for and competes in marathons. I never worried a single time jogging thru streets about people hunting me down. I have been told by many that yes, racism WAS a problem in America but we have moved past it. I have been asked why we have to keep addressing it.

My church doesn't have a counseling budget. It doesn't have a visitation budget. It doesn't have a theological training budget. It pays pastors' salaries. The pastoral staff do the work. The statistics on the ERLC are being interpreted with hostility and to show things that are not true. They hire PEOPLE to do research and augment that.

Autonomy is a cherished Baptist principle. The failure to honor it is at the root of most of our conflict. Yes, we can share opinions about trends and maintain theological accountability, but our refusal to respect decisions churches make creates conflict. This inner drive to insist on control and conformity is natural, but it fails to respect the reality of the work of the Spirit within us. We begin our races at different places and are being conformed to Christ at different paces.

Matthew 18:15 does not require a private conversation before we criticize public policy and leaders actions in the SBC. I often try to notify someone privately out of courtesy, but the appeal to Mt 18:15 is more of an attempt to stifle dissent and bully critics. Expressing dissatisfaction with the actions of our elected leaders is Baptist polity. Twisting Mt 18 to stifle dissent is not.

Just spent an hour talking to a difficult kid from Bible Drill nearly two decades ago who is now making Christ known in a high security Muslim country. Many Americans hate Muslims abd even Christians view them as enemies. Evidently God disagrees. He loves Myslims and is saving them in unheard of numbers.

Spirit-filled people with a heart for God do not love to fight. They are willing to stand when necessary and are not going to compromise truth, but they value people over being right all the time (it is a challenge for all of us not to confuse winning arguments with discernment). Spirit-filled people walk in the Spirit and demonstrate love, joy, peace, patience, etc, eschewing a desire to quarrel over everything. (And no, I'm not claiming to have demonstrated the Spirit in all my social media dealings. Much to contrary. I have not. I am learning!)