Jonathan E. Swan

Associate Pastor @firstofallon, Executive Editor @CBMWorg, Adjunct Instructor @MBTS

[Jonathan E. Swan @JonathanESwan]

@WilliamWolfe Agreed: I am trying to do my part here in these posts addressed to the conservative base. I hope we can all come together to advance this amendment that gets us even further than the Law Amendment, which the conservative base supported previously.

[Jonathan E. Swan @JonathanESwan]

I completely understand those who were frustrated more influential voices did not support the first version. I wish they would have. Yet, this amendment still addresses the two primary concerns that we know unify the SBC: female's serving in the office of pastor and preaching.

[Jonathan E. Swan @JonathanESwan]

Fellow conservatives: this proposal, even with the recent change, is still stronger than the Law Amendment, which only addressed office. The TAUA specifies both office AND function. This is by no means a theological downgrade, but an additional step forward. #SBC26

[Jonathan E. Swan @JonathanESwan]

So, let's not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Let's secure a victory for our Convention as we continue to work together for theological fidelity and unity.

[Jonathan E. Swan @JonathanESwan]

Fellow conservatives: this proposal, even with the recent change, is still stronger than the Law Amendment, which only addressed office. The TAUA specifies both office AND function. This is by no means a theological downgrade, but an additional step forward. #SBC26

[Albert Mohler @albertmohler]

An important update on the Truth & Unity Amendment to the SBC as we get ready to meet in Orlando. We need to get this done and affirm the convictional principles of the SBC.

[Jonathan E. Swan @JonathanESwan]

GOAT

[Augie Nash @AugieNash]

- Bob Gibson had 255 career shutouts.
- The Cardinals collectively have 253 since 1986.

- Bob Gibson had 13 shutouts in 1968.
- The Cardinals collectively have 12 since 2018.

#STLCards

[Jonathan E. Swan @JonathanESwan]

An important data-point for diagnosing the state of Blue cities. There are of course wider ramifications.

[Jonathan Parnell @jonathanparnell]

The city of Saint Paul has officially determined the January 18 invasion of our church and the desecration of our worship to be a “peaceful protest.”

Here’s my question for Mayor Her:

[Jon Whitehead @jrwhitehead]

Glass half-full: lots of SBC moderates seem to support this move.

So it increases the chance the credentials committee will be instructed on the issue of women who preach to the assembled congregation.

That is a step forward.

[Seth Dillon @SethDillon]

Sesame Street announces their content is not suitable for children.

[Jonathan E. Swan @JonathanESwan]

Here we go again. MLB teams genuflecting to pay homage to the sex cult.

Make no mistake, this is a religious exercise.

[St. Louis Cardinals @Cardinals]

Happy Pride Month, Cardinals Nation! 🌈

We are excited to host our annual Pride Night at Busch Stadium this Friday, June 5! Fans with a Theme Ticket will receive an exclusive Pride-themed Cardinals cap!

More info at https://t.co/poONZq8Ss9

[Tom Ascol @tomascol @tomascol]

"I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; & Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived & became a transgressor."
—1 Tim 2:12–14

It's not complicated, just unnpopular.

[Dr. Maalouf ‏ @realMaalouf]

Paris is burning.

The fire reaches the Eiffel Tower.

The fall of the West.

[Jonathan E. Swan @JonathanESwan]

I miss RC.

[Ligonier Ministries @Ligonier]

What led Martin Luther to write his famous Ninety-Five Theses?

Watch as @RCSproul explains Luther’s pastoral concern over the sale of indulgences and his response to the Roman Catholic Church.

[Jonathan E. Swan @JonathanESwan]

Calling all @Cardinals fans.

#STLCards

[Jonathan E. Swan @JonathanESwan]

Of interest…

[Denny Burk @DennyBurk]

I’m just learning that Church Answers has a $1,500 program that certifies female interim pastors.

Also, the website offers resources to “equip” women to be “pastors,” among other things.

These activities are directly at odds with Scripture and the BF&M.

[Baseball’s Greatest Moments @BBGreatMoments]

Tim McCarver: “I remember one time going out to the mound to talk with Bob Gibson. He told me to get back behind the plate where I belonged, and that the only thing I knew about pitching was that I couldn’t hit it.”

[Erik Reed @ErikReed]

Liberal feminists like AOC cry handmaids's tale with any whiff of Christian masculinity. But will happily put on their hijab to pander to Muslims.

You can't make this stuff up.

[Jonathan E. Swan @JonathanESwan]

Talarico cannot define what a person is, nor can he define what a woman is.

Both are pre-requisite to run as a Democrat.

[Jonathan E. Swan @JonathanESwan]

The consequences of not moving the Truth and Unity Amendment forward far outweigh the *potential* “unintended consequences” of it.

Yes, polity decisions require tradeoffs, but, we must also not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

#SBC26

[Jon Whitehead @jrwhitehead]

There’s alternative history developing around the amendment already, which needs to be clarified.

The Amendment directly addresses a narrow aspect of function. But it does not define function, or say there is only one aspect of function the SBC might ever consider.

[Denny Burk @DennyBurk]

Trevin Wax points out the “novelty” of removing churches from the SBC—that we went through the entire conservative resurgence without doing it.

But if you want to understand why such attempts are so common now when they hardly ever happened previously, there’s really only one date on the timeline that explains our current situation. It’s 2019.

One development in 2019 explains why we had very few challenges in the past but have so many now.

In 2019 as a part of abuse reform, the SBC amended Bylaw 8 to make the Credentials Committee a standing committee. And they opened up a portal online through which anyone could report churches for being out of friendly cooperation. That one act is what led to the current proliferation of challenges.

Before 2019, the CC only existed for two days every year. Their responsibilities were largely administrative. After 2019, they exist all year round, receive membership challenges all year round, and have the power to recommend removal of churches between conventions.

Before 2019, a “membership challenge” required a messenger to come to the annual meeting and challenge the seating of another church’s messengers. After 2019, anyone can go to the online portal (which is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year) and make a membership challenge. They don’t have to be a messenger. They don’t have to attend the convention. They don’t even have to leave their home.

At the time in 2019, the rationale for this sweeping change was focused almost entirely on the ability to remove churches who aided and abetted abuse. It’s like no one considered the possibility that Southern Baptists might be interested in using the new structure to enforce close identification with the BF&M. But Southern Baptists have been interested in that, and here we are.

Had this structure been in place during the conservative resurgence, does anyone doubt that things would have proceeded much differently than they did?

When the history books are written about the SBC in our era, I predict they will identify 2019 as the key date that set in motion a chain of events that very few anticipated.