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[The Southern Baptist] convention built its legacy on reaching white people. But we’ve got to do whatever it takes to change this legacy. The gospel demands that we do so. God the Father sacrificed his son to reach the diverse peoples and tribes, and to bring them into gospel unity. As the USA becomes increasingly diverse, our all-white churches increasingly appear as a contradiction to the gospel. If we are not careful, public perception will be along these lines, “If you want racial integration and unity, rely on the US government. But if you want all-white gatherings that are bizarre anomalies in a diverse culture, go to a SBC church.”

—Bruce Ashford, in “Theology & Practice of Mission: An Interview with Bruce Ashford,”
Danny Akin, Between The Times [www.betweenthetimes.com]

The best way for a white church to serve alongside black pastors is to first think of themselves in a subordinate role—to first listen to what black pastors say the needs are and then to submit to black pastoral leadership. Far too often white churches approach black pastors assuming they know what is best for communities in which they do not live and for people they do not know. It is the same posture that is needed in international missions: Americans go to other countries and follow the lead of people who are there on the ground. Cross-cultural relationships in America are not different. This posture of humility will yield amazing dividends for the Kingdom.

—Anthony Bradley, in “The Black Church and the Black Community: A Conversation with Anthony Bradley”,
Trevin Wax, Kingdom People

Church-switching is pernicious. Not only does the church “market” breed selfishness, it also makes pastors market-oriented… We cannot build institutions when our focus is on building the self.

—David French, “Evangelicals’ Collapsing Cultural Influence,” National Review Online, March 14, 2011

Short, interpretively challenging, or both

One of the more interesting aspects of my life right now is leading a small community group for our church. Or, well, not so small – though attendance varies week to week according to people’s life circumstances, we have close to 20 regulars. We’ve been working through what I originally called “The Epistles Less Traveled,” getting our heads and hearts around portions of the New Testament most believers just don’t spend much time on. Our journey so far has taken us on an interesting trip. Read on, intrepid explorer →

…teaching headship and submission in marriage is only safe if we are also teaching women their responsibility to be an Abigail if married to a Nabal.

—Douglas Wilson, “How Jerks Define the Golden Line”, Blog and Mablog

On Missions and Parachurch Ministries

Missions and churches

Missions is not simply evangelism; it necessarily entails planting local churches. Consider: in every city where Paul preached, he established local congregations of believers. The New Testament, as has often been pointed out, does not know of “lone wolf” believers; its authors simply assumed that all believers are parts of local congregations. Nearly all of the New Testament letters are written to churches; those that are written to individuals are nonetheless written to individuals deeply embedded in the affairs of local churches.

When we consider the task of modern missions, then, it is clear that we should not just focus on evangelizing. We must also see to the second task: building healthy churches. Read on, intrepid explorer →

Deprived of our crutches

Our circumstances do not make us sin. They simply reveal the sin that is already present in our hearts. They give it opportunity, or strip away our social barriers, or decrease our emotional resiliency, and a fuller measure of our wickedness is suddenly on display.

Read on, intrepid explorer →