Hi and welcome back! Yesterday, I showed you a 2014 book by Thom Rainer, Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 12 Ways to Keep Yours Alive. As the title indicates, the book describes how evangelical churches wither away and die — and how to prevent that from happening to the reader’s own Read more
In essence, ‘Autopsy’ demands that evangelical churches become something besides what they are and always have been: gratification stations for the self-declared chosen elite ambassadors of King American-Jesus Superman.
Hi and welcome back! Today, our presses got stopped cold by some breaking news from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). It seems that last year, they suffered their single worst drop in membership in a century! The news follows the denomination’s struggles with money, an ongoing sex abuse scandal, constant Read more
The SBC tracks baptisms-by-age-group — and they’re alarmed about just how far teenage baptisms have plummeted. That trend doesn’t seem to be anywhere near reversing, either. Today, let me show you a decline that gives me a lot of hope for the future.
A while ago, we looked at Paige Patterson, a Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) leader who landed in very hot water thanks to his intense misogyny. Lately, he’s been trying to snake his way back into hucksterism–only to discover that SBC flocks are way less receptive to such comebacks than they used to be. Today, let’s cry tears of peanut butter for this reprobate and his difficulties–and then let’s see how his return to ministry’s progressing.
Thom Rainer just retired from LifeWay. Immediately afterward, he plunged full-time into his new old hustle. That hustle will benefit exactly one person: himself. I’ll show you what he’s up to and why it won’t help Christianity at all–and why he probably won’t care either way.
Hi! Today, I thought it’d be fun to take a day to look back at the blog’s history. Please enjoy this curated selection of posts from the blog’s past–and if you celebrate the 4th of July, then please have a great, happy, and safe one! American History A Thief in Read more
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) just had its big Annual Meeting this year. There, they featured three main messages. First, they registered dim awareness of the huge sex-abuse scandal engulfing their denomination. Second, they outlined their response to that scandal. And third, they drilled down harder than ever on their Read more
Last year, the SBC managed to slightly slow down its tanking baptism rate. It reminded me powerfully of something they tried some years back. Back in 2005, their top leader issued a firmly-worded Million Baptism Challenge. Today, let’s look at what that challenge involved, the context in which it was issued, and what happened at the end. And then, let’s look ahead.
Today, I offer up a recent blog post from none other than Thom Rainer, one of the biggest names of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). He wrote about how pastors should handle anonymous complaints. And y’all, his post reveals one of the most serious disconnects in the minds of authoritarian Christian leaders–and maybe even gives us a hint about why their churches have been doing so poorly for so long.