A Recovering Baptist in South Carolina

Recently the SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) has made a stand that they believe is based on Biblical standards about women pastors.  There are many complicated aspects to this issue, some biblical and some non biblical.  First of all let’s see what the Bible says.  In 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 Paul instructs his protégés on the qualifications for pastors.  The word Pastor can be interchanged with other terms but I will use the word Pastor because it is what we in the American church use to reference the leader of the church.  The first qualification is that the leader must be the husband of one wife.  This implies that this person is an adult male who is married.  I believe that both aspects of this are important for the leader of a church who is composed of families.  God had created men to be the leaders in the home and in society.  It is a natural position for men and it is designed by God that way on purpose.  Today people focus on t...

  One thing that you will learn about me if you hang out with me very long is that I love NASCAR and racing.  Growing up I was a Jeff Gordon fan.  When he retired he was replaced in the #24 car by Chase Elliott and so I claimed him as my new favorite driver.   The first weekend in February NASCAR had the clash at the LA Coliseum where they created a ¼ mile track.  One of the challenges of a short track like the one they made in the LA Coliseum is that there is a lot of bumping and banging.  Bumping and banging leads to hurt feelings and race car drivers have very long memories.  Specifically Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace got their feelings hurt at the Clash in LA.  This becomes a challenge that the race this weekend is the Daytona 500 which is at a 2.5 mile track where the cars run inches apart at nearly 200 Miles together.  Hurt feelings and the Daytona 500 don’t mix.   Qualifying for the Daytona 500 was on Wednesday evening an...

In Part 1 I mentioned that I listened to an audio book about the history of Baptist in America.  That book was “Baptist in America by Thomas Kidd and Barry Hankins.  In the last chapter they come to the conclusion that in order to be a Baptist one must just call themselves Baptist.  Baptist over the years have run the gauntlet and have held to almost every theological position.  They are both reformed and dispensational.  They are Calvinist and Armenian.  They are both pro and anti missionary.  Baptists were racial integrated and became one of the most segregated denominations.  They are both Charismatic and Cessations , Old and Young earth Creationist.  If anyone can be a Baptist, then why do I identify as Baptist when there are so many people who identify as Baptist who I disagree with?  The reason I am Baptist is due primarily to the core beliefs of believer’s baptism and their Congregational church government.  The church I cur...

One of the podcasts that I listen to and one that has meant a lot to me is the Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast.  Brian, Nate, and JC are always focused on the Gospel and one of the things that they do on their podcast is they ask their guests to explain the Gospel.  Everyone has a different perspective on the Gospel based on how Holy Spirit has worked in their life.  So this is my perspective on the Gospel. This last Sunday pastor Adam preached on I Corinthians 11:17-34, which is the passage on the Lord's Supper.  One of the purposes of observing the Lord’s Supper is for us as Christians is to remember what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross and rising from the tomb.  This is the Gospel.  The Good News that the debt of my sins is paid.  For me the Gospel starts with understanding the God to whom I had a sin debt.  The passage that best shows is Isaiah 6:1-5. “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and li...

Most years I watch the Super Bowl and have to go to work the next day, and I usually work the day before and sometimes the day of the Super Bowl.  This year I have a long weekend off, Saturday through Monday.  So this year we are going all out and doing some different things for the Super Bowl.  I wanted to go up-scale and hearty with steak and potatoes with creamed corn.   For appetizers we fried some fresh mozzarella cheese balls.  They were coated in seasoned flour, egg wash, and then panko and fried in peanut oil.  These cook very quickly and only need like 30 seconds to cook.  Our friends who we invited over brought some amazing grass fed steaks from the Swamp Rabbit Café.  These were absolutely amazing cooked medium rare! We roasted some potato wedges in the oven that were coated in olive oil, garlic powder, and dry basil.  The beer cheese creamed corn made by cooking a bottle of Extra IPA and reducing it by half.  Then a bloc...

  Over the last five years I have analyzed and re analyzed my beliefs and have compared them to what the Bible says.  For a couple years I shunned the Baptist name although I knew that many of my beliefs were still held by Baptists .  Last year I read, or rather listened, to a book on the history of Baptists in America.  After listening to this book I came to the conclusion that I am still Baptist theologically even though I reject many of the practices and applications that Baptists have held to and practiced for the last couple generations.   First let me go over the Baptist distinctives and what defines the modern Baptist.  As Baptists so often do they either alliterate or do acrostics.  This time they have done an acrostic.   B iblical authority A utonomy of the local church P riesthood of all believers  T wo Ordinances (believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper) I ndividual soul liberty S aved and baptized church membership ...

 I was listening to a podcast this evening and one line that stuck out to me is a phrase that the guest on said.  In reality it was part of a phrase, but she mentioned speaking life into someone.  I believe that this is a critical part of Christian growth.  I have seen it grow myself and my wife when life was spoken into us and I have seen the fire grown dim when life was no longer being spoken into our lives.  I will be the first to admit that I have not been the best at speaking life into others and it is something that I am working on and will be working on for the rest of my life.  What is speaking life into someone and why is it so important?  Speaking life, true life, is telling someone or sharing with someone the truths of God’s word that are positive.  Often we focus on the negative truths that are in God’s word especially when we see them in others.  We can easily point out even the minutest of sins and be critical of each other....

One of the favorite shows that Sarah and I like to watch is "Beat Bobby Flay" on the food network.  One of the things that happens when we watch it around supper time is that my creative juices start flowing and we cook supper creatively.  This evening's supper took less than 20 minutes to cook and it was outstandingly delicious.   We cooked skin on salmon in a cast iron pan.  I put a couple table spoons of butter in the pan to melt and then put the salmon flesh side down in the pan and let it cook for couple minutes.  My salmon was still frozen so I didn't want to just cook from the skin side or it wouldn't cook all the way through.  After a couple minutes I flipped the salmon to skin side down.  The flesh side was not crispy just warmed enough to be able to cook all the way through from the skin side.  I seasoned it with a lime, some white wine and some fish seasoning.  I cooked the fish till they started to get flaky on the top and th...

 For those of you who have been here before, it's been a while.  For those who are new, welcome.  Either way a lot has changed for me in the several years since I last posted.  I bought a house and land and left one employer for a rival employer who offered to pay me more.  One of the things that I want to do with this blog is to share some of the struggles and sometimes the solutions that I've found with growing up as an Independent Fundamental Baptist and then realizing that it's not exactly biblical.  If you have questions or want me to address a specific topic please leave a comment.  Please note, the opinions and views expressed here are mine, and they are not comprehensive nor exclusive.  Unkindness with not be tolerated. On that note, let's talk about my first topic, which time and time again I've seen as something that is consistently lacking in IFB circles and that is Love.  1 Corinthians 13:1-13  gives the big picture view of t...

1 Corinthians 12-14 is the longest discussion about Spiritual Gifts in the scripture. In chapter 12 Paul discusses the gift and how they all fit into the body of Christ. We can't all be eyes, or ears, or hands or feet. We do all, however, have our own part and each part is important. Part of the reason Paul was writing this was that the believers in Corinth were arguing over who's gift was more important. Paul makes all of this irrelevant with the transition from the end of chapter 12 to chapter 13 with this simple phrase. vs.12:31b "And I show you a still more excellent way." Something better than the Spiritual Gifts that they had been fighting over? Yes, there is something better than all of those God given gifts that puts all of us as Christians on equal footing. That one simple thing that make us all equal in our ability to serve God is "Love". Paul says "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a n...

Tonight was the first wedding of the season for us down here in Greenville.  Andrew and Megan Minnick were wed tonight at Mount Calvary Baptist Church and it was a beautiful God honoring wedding. This year as we enter the summer months and the many wedding that come in these warmer months, I have a different perspective this year.   Why? For the simple reason that next year I'll be the one up there on the stage vowing to love, honor and cherish the girl God made for me.  (no we are not engaged yet, but I am working on it!)  I no longer look at a wedding as an event that hopefully some day down the road will happen to me too, but it is something that is now on the horizon! If the next 10 months go by as quickly as the past 10 months have gone by I'll be hitched before you know it!  In all seriousness the reality of it is becoming more and more real.  I have finally found the one girl God has for me, the girl who was designed for me and was put on this eart...

I recently wrote an article for my girlfriend's "Ladies in Waiting"  magazine and then revised it for our church's college and career website  "The Road"  The article is longer than a what they normally post on "The Road" so it will be split up into several posts so keep coming back!

   So as my birthday approached this year nothing was really said about anything. A couple days before my birthday I dropped a little hint reminder for Sarah.  I had done something special for her birthday, although it was limited due to the fact that we weren't officially courting yet and I knew she would feel terrible if she forgot mine. She assured be that she indeed had not forgotten my birthday. As Friday neared (my birthday)  I told Sarah that I didn't have to be at work until 2 p.m.  She then asked me what I wanted to do and told her to surprise me.  I must say she did a very good job.  When I got off of work Thursday night Sarah informed be that I was to be at her house at 9 a.m. the next morning.  I promptly five minutes early. After Sarah prepared a sack lunch we departed in her truck headed south on 385.  I was driving but had no idea where we were heading!  After about 45 min of driving we arrived at Musgrove...

Over the past 9+ years Mount Calvary Baptist Church has been seeking God's leading on expanding our current facilities to accommodate our growing congregation.  On October 10th, 2010 we broke ground and this past Sunday evening we finally had our dedication service.  We praise the Lord for his leading and provision throughout this project.  The highlight of the dedication service was the singing of our favorite hymn, Hallelujah for the Cross! You and watch it by  clicking here .  There are also many other resources concerning our building renovation on our church website .  We pray that God will continue to use these new facilities to spread his word in Greenville and around the world!

 What happens when two people fall in love and they know they are going to get married and yet marriage is still over a year away? It's to early for engagement cause you just started dating less than two months ago and yet you want to make this permanent.  What can someone in this situation do?   This was the situation Sarah and I found ourselves in not to long ago.  If you've been here before you know that Sarah and I started courting on Christmas day.  We both entered this relationship certain that we were meant for each other.  That confidence has never wavered even once! We also wanted to make sure the Lord remained at the forefront of our relationship.  Once we officially became boyfriend/girlfriend our relationship took off!  We couldn't wait to see each other (we still can't but we can control ourselves a little better now) and each and every time we were together became more and more special.  I knew that we w...

The search for a Girlfriend began as soon as I started college in 2006. I wasn't however looking for a girlfriend just to have a girlfriend. I was looking for the girl God wanted me to marry, so I wasn't going to be casual about finding the right girl. Over the past five years I've show interest in several girls and always God shut the door. Until I met Sarah Ann Ekberg!  Our story is long so sit back, get comfortable as I share how God has worked in our lives. This is not going to be the complete version as that would be the start of a novel! If you have any questions feel free to comment, but please keep the comments on the blog and not on facebook so that we can keep all the comments in one place.    Sarah and I were in school together in the spring of 2007 at Bob Jones University. We took New Testament Messages together with Nathan Crockett, but I don't remember seeing her. (the class had over 400 students in each session) although she vaguely remembers see...

Not to long ago I was talking to a gentleman from my church about the topic of relationships and he made a statement that I found very intriguing and one that has lead to a lot of contemplation. He said "Love is not something you fall into, it's a choice". This is difference is at the root cause of the massive number of broken homes in our country today. To often couples "Fall" into what they think is "Love" when in fact all it is simply infatuation and the want to have physical desires fulfilled. Love is in fact a choice one makes. A choice to Love someone no matter what that person does, no matter how much that person hurt you, and no matter what happens to that person. Love is waiting for marriage. Love is obeying those in authority whether it be parental, pastoral, or governmental. True Love is unconditional. This leads me to think about what God did over two thousand years ago. He "Chose" to love us and send his son to be born i...

In one week most people will be either traveling somewhere or getting ready for family or friends to arrive so that they can celebrate "Thanksgiving". But what should we be thankful for? Of course we need to thank God for the food, a house to shelter us from the elements, cloths to keep us warm and freedom to celebrate the holiday as we see fit. Many will be thankful for football (and thankful that we have a football season), sports, cars, entertainment, technology, toys (both big people toys and little people toys). The list of things to be thankful for is endless and it isn't wrong to be thankful for these thing because God is responsible for allowing us to have them. As Christians we need to be thankful for the Bible, Salvation, a Church family and the Freedom to worship as we please. In the midst of all this thanking we often forget who we are thanking. It the LORD God, Jehovah, YHWH! This is the Creator of Heaven and Earth. We often just say "Thank you ...

Last night Bill Knipe preached a sermon on missions and then Pastor Minnick gave an invitation for those who were willing to totally surrender to where ever the Lord would have them go, either onto the foreign field or to stay in Greenville. The real challenge (for me) though was in the message of the invitation song "Lord Send Me Anywhere". And it's not even the anywhere that scares me most of the time. It's the third line in the chorus. "Server any tie, save the tie that binds me to thy heart" Am I really willing to let God take away something that I love, even a Godly thing. It could be a place where I have many good memories, an ability that God has used but decides to take away. a family member who I'm very close to, or a friend who means everything to me. Am I willing to give up these things to go or stay where God wants me? Am I using any of these things to not let God use me the way I know he wants to use me? The answer to these question...