Christian, husband of @christiecrawfrd, dad to 5. Senior Pastor @tbccordova. Middle school soccer coach. Adjunct for @UnionUniversity. Podcast: @PastorintheMid
Grace operates in the lives of Christians from the first day of belief until the day of Jesus Christ.“
- Tom Schreiner, Tyndale Commentary on 1 Corinthians
“The gifts they [believers in the Corinthian church] possess cannot be ascribed to their own wisdom and spirituality, but represent God's kindness in Jesus Christ. The God who called them to faith by his transforming grace will empower them to persevere until the end.
I spent the whole day with @sendnetwork church planters in Syracuse to discuss partnership with our church. Talk about men who are plowing away in tough places! I am so encouraged by the mission of God being carried out faithfully through local churches being planted where there is such a need. Great city, 2% evangelical. They are all committed to our cooperation as are many more across the country whose names you might not know, but they are getting it done for the long haul. This is the SBC.
Dan looks like a manatee. His excess body fat creates an ecosystem of high estrogen, which is why he acts like a hysterical woman.
“Real men [insert a bunch of stuff single mothers, Lesbian Subaru drivers, or a grandma can do and would cry about]…”
During my years as a biblical counselor, I met with hundreds of workaholics and the families they left in the dust.
These men and women were followers of Christ, members of a local church and readers of the Bible, but fundamentally dysfunctional when it came to their work. This shouldn't be surprising: because "the office" is such a significant dimension of our lives, it's very easy for our sin to infiltrate this environment. It impacts us in three common ways:
1. The office can make us feel able and competent.
2. In the office, even if it's over just one person or project, we get to flex our muscle and command co-workers and budgets.
3. Our culture paints the good life with lavishly furnished homes, luxury cars, overflowing wardrobes and flashy jewlery. If money is the key to unlocking those things, and the office is the doorway to money, no wonder we spend the majority of our time there!
Don't be afraid to be ambitious with your career; don't be afraid to take a role of authority at your workplace; don't feel guilty for enjoying comfort after a long day of work. But, don't look to those things for your identity. Live in awe of God and let that impact everything you think, say and do in the office.
Leaving Orlando grateful for:
➡️ 63 new missionaries commissioned
➡️ Seminaries equipping the called
➡️ NAMB advancing church planting, evangelism, chaplaincy & relief
➡️ The Cooperative Program ~ the engine that fuels it all
And many friends laboring for the glory of Christ.
SBC OPTIMISM (updated) #SBC26
I am thankful and generally enthusiastic about where we are in the SBC. I am just one man and I don’t claim to speak for anyone else.
10 reasons I am optimistic:
1. We have a strong cohort of hard-working, theologically solid, evangelistically minded pastors in churches of all sizes. Very encouraging.
2. Many of our SBC churches of all sizes are growing and multiplying. There is unprecedented interest in spiritual things right now in our country - especially from young men. I’ve never seen anything like it. Praise God!
3. Many of our state conventions are becoming stronger, more connected, more strategic, and more visible. Glad to see it. The more local the connections the better I think.
4. We have a solid confession that clarifies important doctrines and unifies us - the BF&M 2000. That document provides the boundaries of our big tent. @albertmohler’s amendment will bring greater clarity on the title, office, and function of a pastor. I’m all for it.
5. Our seminaries and mission boards are headed by clear, unapologetic conservatives. I don’t worship these guys and I disagree with them from time to time but I am thankful for every one of them. They have difficult jobs.
6. Our mission boards are doing excellent work. They are not perfect. But I believe they are effective. I am proud of their leadership and proud of the thousands of missionaries and church planters that we get to support through NAMB and IMB.
7. Our seminaries are a tremendous asset. Again - not perfect - but overall - effective. I was educated at SBTS. Almost all of our pastors at Family Church have degrees from SBC seminaries . I am grateful and supportive.
8. I do not believe the SBC has a widespread problem with feminism, liberalism, racism, sexual abuse, or women pastors. I definitely do not believe there is any large-scale “leftward drift.”
9. Every pastor I know wants to protect kids every way that we can. Every pastor I know wants to offer the gospel to every person regardless of ethnicity. There is near-universal clarity and biblical unity on gender, sexuality, and family structure.
10. If an entity leader is out of step (as some have been)? They can be corrected by their trustees. If a church is out of step (as some are)? They can be corrected at the associational, state, and national levels. Ultimately churches can be voted out. The SBC has a proven willingness to disassociate with churches (even large churches with famous pastors) in egregious and consistent violation of the BF&M2000.
Must we be vigilant about articulating and guarding our conservative commitments? Absolutely.
Are we perfect? Of course not.
Can we make adjustments or tweak certain things to get better? Of course.
The thing I am most excited about for our Convention of churches is the unprecedented opportunity for gospel advance. It’s happening right now.
We live in the greatest and freeest and most prosperous country in the history of the world. The SBC is the greatest and most influential network of evangelical churches in the Western World. There is a highly unusual openness to spiritual things in our culture right now. And we have a powerful gospel that really saves.
What a time to be alive. What a time to be Southern Baptist. What a time to serve Jesus.
@WilliamWolfe@dwight_easler@rhett_burns@WillyRice Does this mean you will stop telling another pastor on this app that he needs to get on the treadmill? There are many other examples of times your “speech conduct” has been shameful. If you’ve decided to leave that behind, great!
You’ve been wrong for a long time about how much “liberalism” there was in the SBC, William. Now that people are finding agreement, you still push back because you’ve made a platform out of outrage. I’d encourage you: step back from that ledge & rejoice in movement toward unity.
If the SBC Platform Loyalists, moderates, soft egalitarians, and vocal opponents of the Law Amendment are cheering for something…
Real conservative complementarians in the SBC should at least pause and ask why that is…
My Dad is my hero, my best mate, & the strongest man I know. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from him, it’s how to face challenges with courage, humour, & dignity
The treatment is going well & he’ll handle this the same way he’s handled everything else in life
Love you, Dad ❤️
Resentment fuels a lot of SBC Twitter, but not SBC real life. We are actually pretty nice and fun to be with in person. I'm looking forward to gathering next week in Orlando.
Many cool moments from baptisms today. A man baptized his brother after leading him to Christ. We also had a FSU professor baptize his student. Just so cool. And many more!
If senators are going to vote to shut down the government and prevent millions of federal workers from getting paid, they ought to have the same skin in the game.
My resolution passed the Senate today to ensure they do.
That's common sense.
https://t.co/TDNJxAiISk
Exhibit A.
I’m a conservative inerrantist, fully affirm the BF&M 2000, a graduate of Criswell & SBTS, a committed Southern Baptist for 25+ years, & was just compared to a virgin-birth denying liberal.
This is what fundamentalists do. No one is ever conservative enough.