Author: billjones20

Church & State:
Voting Christ’s values – a perspective, part 1: The Beatitudes

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Some evangelical leaders have been quoted as saying our nation elects “a president, not a pastor,” explaining that – in electing a president (and, presumably, other government officials) – they are willing to ignore Christian values in the interest of electing someone who will “get things done,” in other words, further their own political agenda. Read more . . .

Baptists:
TBC’s legacy, my own journey, and a few of the key people in both (remarks to my retirement dinner)

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(Click here for video of the entire program.) First, a few thank yous to: • George Mason and Wilshire Baptist Church, for hosting this dinner • Heather Mustain, for facilitating all of the preparations • Chef Elizabeth Ferguson and your staff, for the wonderful meal • David Hammons for taking care of the sound and Read more . . .

Baptists:
BGCT “unified” in conformity, returning to the Southern Baptist Convention, Part 1

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A few days ago, the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) held its annual meeting. It was the second self-styled “Family Gathering” – now held every 5 years – in which the state’s Hispanic and African-American conventions meet simultaneously with the BGCT. Last week, Ethics Daily published an Op-Ed by JACKIE BAUGH MOORE, titled “New Read more . . .

Baptists:
Memo to Jimmy Draper: your friend James L. Sullivan exposed the truth behind your ‘conservative resurgence’

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On July 21, 2018, the Sullivan Tower in Nashville – former headquarters of LifeWay Resources, the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) publishing arm – was imploded. In an article dated July 23, Baptist Press reporter ART TOALSTON covered the building’s demise and wrote about its namesake, Dr. JAMES L. SULLIVAN, longtime president of the Baptist Sunday Read more . . .

Baptists:
SUZII PAYNTER: Planting seeds, bearing fruit

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This week, SUZII PAYNTER announced she is retiring after 5 years as executive coordinator of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF). I first met Suzii in the late 1990s during my visits to First Baptist Church, Austin, with my dad, JASE JONES, who was a member there. However, where I truly got to knowing Suzii was in Read more . . .

Baptists:
CBF & SBC in Dallas – separated by more than just a 15-minute walk . . .
Part 3 of 3: CBF 2018 – Diversity, equality, unity: A long and winding road

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For me, CBF began – as it does almost every year – with the T. B. Maston Foundation’s CBF Maston Scholars Retreat. I’ve been privileged to serve on the Maston Foundation Board of Trustees for the past 10 years, and the annual student retreats at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon Seminary in March and CBF in June Read more . . .

Baptists:
CBF & SBC in Dallas – separated by more than just a 15-minute walk . . .
Part 2 of 3: SBC 2018 – “Mixed signals” says it all

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Though I missed the spirited debate over the invitation to Mike Pence, which occurred about an hour before I arrived at the SBC gathering Tuesday morning, I did hear a motion proposed to limit any such speaking invitations in future years to local political leaders. The most interesting motion I heard discussed was to defund Read more . . .

Baptists:
CBF & SBC in Dallas – separated by more than just a 15-minute walk . . .
Part 1 of 3: Returning to the SBC Annual Meeting after 50 years

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Last week, Downtown Dallas hosted both the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) General Assembly AND the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Annual Meeting. No, there was no bloodbath in the streets, though I did hear of a few awkward encounters, in hotels & restaurants, between those wearing CBF badges and those adorned with SBC badges. In one Read more . . .