By Gerald Harris, former editor of the Christian Index Following the 1990 Southern Baptist Convention in New Orleans a host of conservative Baptists converged on the Café du Monde to celebrate another victory for the cause of biblical inerrancy. Paige Patterson, writing in the Southwestern Journal of Theology, proclaimed, “The aroma of café au lait and powdered sugar-covered beignets was discernible several hundred feet from the famous coffee house. “That night as the convention parliamentarian led the rejoicing conservatives in singing ‘Victory in Jesus,’ that coffee aroma was to conservatives the aroma of life unto life, but to scores of moderates who had tasted several years of defeat, it became the aroma of death unto death.” I have had over a month to process the events of the most recent Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas; and for me it was a Café du Monde experience. The only difference is that I felt like I smelled the aroma of death unto death – at least for the SBC I have known for a very long time. The Southern Baptist Convention is not just changing; it has changed. Many will consider it a blessed conversion. Others will feel disenfranchised, marginalized, and excluded. This convention confirmed that … [Read more...]

By Ron F. Hale Adrian Rogers probably stepped on more toes than any preacher in Southern Baptist history! We loved him for it because he always spoke the truth in love. Few sounded more like a first century Apostle than the pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, from 1972—2005. I first heard Dr. Rogers at the old mid-town campus. His rich, resonant voice was captivating. Every point, pause, and phrase pulled at your heart-strings. The power of Rogers came from his character, content, and connection with all firmly rooted in the authority of Scripture; those “golden pipes” helped! From his character you sensed that he had been with God and deep into the Word. From his content or the words that he spoke came the ring of truth with meaning for today. He connected with his hearers through a passionate delivery of words, interpretation, arguments, alliteration, and illustration that demanded a decision. Many young Southern Baptist leaders are ill-informed concerning the defining decades of the 1980s and 1990s in the Southern Baptist Convention and the price some leaders paid. Cicero once said, “To be ignorant of what happened before you were born is to remain a child always.” It is called the … [Read more...]