Baptist Today Blogs

As a long time friend and fan of Kyle Matthews, I was delighted when Campbell University invited him to speak at its recent pastor's school. Though he is a singer/songwriter and worship leader by trade, Matthews was asked to speak on the subject of creative preaching. 
Preaching has power that nothing else has, Matthews said, and it ought to "sing," but seldom does. In his first lecture, Matthews said both songwriters and preachers could enhance their creativity by giving time to meditation, and learning to recognize inspiration.
"If you want to be creative, you need to get an inner life," Matthews said, not just a busy outer life: "creativity is rarely the product of stress." God set the example by including rest, the Sabbath, as an important element of creation, Matthews said. Thus, preachers must be disciplined about finding ways to get away from people for quiet meditation so they'll have something to give back. In quiet moments -- even when half-asleep -- the brain is able to access creative thoughts or ideas that would never make it to the surface in the course of a busy, stressful day.
Sermon writers can't hope for "inspiration on demand," Matthews said, but they can learn to cultivate ways to seek and recognize sources of inspiration, even in daily life. Inspiration is often the result of a change in perspective. As a good sculptor learns to envision the statue waiting to be set free from a block of granite or an artist looks at a subject from different sides, preachers can learn that gaining a different perspective can "set inspiration free." 
Creative preaching is like holding a picture frame over situations or stories that others have "always seen, but haven't seen it like that." The real voyage of discovering inspiration "is not in seeking new landscapes," Matthews said, "but in having new eyes."
In a second lecture, Matthews compared the art of preaching to the art of song writing. Like other artistic efforts, he said, they both rely on an intermingling of unity and interest. Unity is often demonstrated through repetition of a common theme or thought, while variations in the pattern add interest. 
Many preachers try to package several sermons into one and thus lose their audience, Matthews said: "All you need is one worthy point" and a way to apply and communicate it. One way to combine unity and interest is to try conveying an idea through all five senses, engaging the hearers' imagination and connecting with people who have different learning styles.
Matthews also offered "an inside trade secret of song writing." While many people might think that unlimited freedom is the key to creativity, "Creative freedom is often an enemy of creativity," and "limitations can be your friends." 
Commercial song writers know they have to work with limited templates for song design and a maximum of three-and-a-half minutes for their songs to be acceptable, he said. Citing Eugene Peterson, he said the application of limitations can apply pressure needed to produce an explosion of creativity. Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat, for example, was inspired by an editor who required Seuss to use words from a very limited list. 
Thus, self-imposed rules can actually improve one's preaching, he said, forcing one to "put a lot in a little" and thus inspiring creativity. "It is the daily limitations of the Christian life that produce the fruit of our life's ministry," he said.
I'd love to reprise the central points of Matthews' third lecture, but I was unable to attend. So, if you want the rest of the story, you'll need to invite Matthews for your own series of lectures. You can contact him at kyle@kylematthews.com. 

The discovery of what some are claiming may be the oldest known inscription that refers to Christ has been announced by a team of scientists led by French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio. The inscription is on a bowl or wide cup dated to between the late 2nd century B.C. and the early 1st century A.D., however, so it could predate Christ and refer to something else. The bowl was found in underwater ruins from the ancient city of Alexandria, Egypt.

The vessel was engraved with the Greek phrase dia chrstou o goistais -- maybe. The letters are clear, but there is no vowel in the first word, and where the breaks are between words is not so clear. If the interpretation above is correct, the meaning could be something like "through (or by) Christ (or Chrest) the magician."

The speculation is that the bowl could have been used by a fortune teller, perhaps to read the patterns of oil on water. The inscription suggests a possible intermingling of Christianity and paganism.

It's also possible, however, that the "o" (which alone would mean "the") should be read with the following word, so that the inscription may indicate that the bowl was donated by someone named Christ or Chrest, who may have belonged to a postulated religious group called "ogoistais." It is known that some people of the time worshiped a god named "Osogo" or "Ogoa."

The evidence at present is not sufficient to answer the question definitively. The inscription may refer to Christ, or it may not. It's a very interesting find, but unlikely to have any impact on the Christian faith.

When I learned of the bowl's discovery, the first thought that sprang to mind had nothing to do with archaeology. Rather, I thought of how many contemporary people could have the same phrase on their wide-mouth coffee mugs, because they think of Christ as a miracle-working magician who will protect them or make them rich, rather than as a Lord who calls them to service.

Maybe they should check the bottom of the bowl for cappuchino residue.

[Photo from http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/10/01/jesus-bowl-zoom.html]

The Board of Directors of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSCNC) approved a proposal Sept. 30 calling for the convention to scrap the four cooperative giving plan options it now offers, and return to a single plan.

The BSCNC offered only one plan until 1990, when an optional plan was approved that allowed churches to reduce the percentage sent to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and divert the difference to other ministries. By 1999, four separate plans had evolved, including one (Plan C) that sent 10 percent to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) instead of the SBC.

If messengers approve the measure in November, the BSC would return to a single giving plan in 2010.

Options would remain, however. The proposed plan would continue to allow churches to exclude up to three line items, and would include a check-box allowing churches to forward the first 10 percent of their gifts to the national CBF organization. Similar boxes would allow churches to designate two percent of their gifts to the “Adopt an Annuitant” program and/or to scholarship support for theological education at non-SBC schools. Most of the scholarship support would benefit students in the divinity schools at Campbell and Gardner-Webb universities.

Currently, 10.9 percent of gifts to Plan B and Plan C go to theological education in N.C. Baptist divinity schools, and 0.5 percent goes to the Adopt an Annuitant program.

Contributions to any of the three optional causes would not be counted as Cooperative Program gifts.

The remittance form, as now, would include lines for special offerings and missions including the North Carolina Missions Offering, the SBC world hunger and missions offerings, and offerings for N.C. Baptist Hospital and Baptist Children’s Homes. Neither the recently-revived Heck-Jones Offering for Woman’s Missionary Union of North Carolina nor the annual offering for Baptist Retirement Homes are included on the proposed form.

Board members were told “the Convention will not act as a pass through for gifts to organizations not in the Convention’s budget,” according to the Biblical Recorder.

The proposed plan is designed to provide a framework for future budgets, beginning with the 2010 fiscal year, and does not include specific amounts or items to be included in the budget.
The current budget includes several causes typically favored by moderates in Plans B and C, including the Baptist World Alliance, Associated Baptist Press, the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, and the Baptist Center for Ethics. Whether those items continue to be included will be up to future budget committees.

The proposal calls for Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute, which receives 5 percent of all Plan D gifts, and Partnership Missions, currently included in Plans B, C, and D, to be fully funded within the newly structured single budget.

The proposed revamping of the giving plans came to the board from a 15-member "Giving Plans Study Committee" that was approved by messengers at the 2007 convention and later appointed by Executive Committee chair Allan Blume. Ed Yount, pastor of Woodlawn Baptist Church in Conover, is chair of the committee.

The committee conducted surveys and cited research showing that about 60 percent of BSC churches currently use Plan A, that "most churches" think the multiple giving plans are confusing, and that "most churches" favor some type of options. Churches were evenly split on the question of whether the SBC allocation – currently 33.5 percent of Plans A and D – should increase or decrease.

The proposed return to a single giving plan reflects what I have been predicting since last year’s convention – that the BSC would return to a single plan, but with some options for churches that have preferred the optional plans. It’s a common-sense proposal from a committee that took its responsibility seriously and did the best it could given the current realities of BSC life.

The proposal will be popular with many conservatives, though some will certainly object that CBF remains as an option. I will be surprised if no one offers an amendment to remove that option when messengers consider the matter in November -- and would not be surprised to see it pass.

Moderate churches will find little to cheer about in the proposal, but also little motivation for excessive complaining. The option of contributing to CBF remains, along with an option of contributing to theological education at non-SBC divinity schools, though the percentage is considerably smaller than at present.

Even so, moderates will probably need to find other channels of giving, such as the CBFNC Missions Resource Plan, if they want to continue supporting the Baptist World Alliance and other causes favored by moderates without writing separate checks to each one: it is unlikely that they will be included in future budgets. And, if churches want to continue supporting WMU-NC or Baptist Retirement Homes, they’ll have to contribute directly to those organizations, which have become nearly persona non grata in the BSC family.

If the proposal is passed in its present form, it is unlikely to spark either a hoped-for spike in giving from conservative churches, or a rapid exodus of moderate churches. Giving from more conservative churches will probably hold steady, however, while the ongoing decline in moderate participation will continue for a number of familiar reasons, most of which have little to do with the giving plans.

That’s just the way it is in today’s BSC.

I couldn't help but be struck by the contrast between two recent news stories. On the one hand, the U.S. Congress seems poised to spend up to $700 billion on a bailout plan to rescue American banks (and their investors) from major losses incurred by major greed, major misjudgment, and a major lack of governmental oversight.

It's hard to comprehend what $700 billion would look like, except that it would look very big -- especially when compared to the money being spent to assist the world's poorest and most underprivileged people.

A day-long event held Sept. 25 at the United Nations raised pledges of $16 billion toward funding the U.N.'s Millennium Development Goals, designed to eliminate poverty and its negative impact on billions of lives by 2015.

Major commitments were announced Thursday in four key areas, according to the report: $3 billion for a program to control malaria and save more than 4.2 million lives between 2008 and 2015, $4.5 billion dollars in new pledges to get 24 million children into school by 2010, $2 billion next year (rising to $7 billion by 2015) to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health, and $1.6 billion to boost food security by helping poor farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and central America gain access to profitable markets.

The $16 billion raised won't do the whole job, but it can make a huge difference and save millions of people from misery and death. The entire project could be accomplished for a fraction of the $700 billion Americans are getting ready to spend.

The big number will keep the world's richest nation a bit more comfortable.

The small number could keep the world's poorest people alive.

But we know where our priorities are.

The online Chronicle of Higher Education (which requires a subscription) is reporting that protesters against the government of Thailand have been raising funds, in part, by selling $3 diplomas for a doctoral degree in insurrection.

Protestors have occupied the grounds of Thailand's Government House since August 26, when they took over the offices of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, whom they consider a puppet of the former regime. A Thai court has since removed Samak from office for conflict of interest after he appeared on a television show called "Cooking and Grumbling," but that has not satisfied protesters, who say they'll remain on the grounds until a crony-less new government is formed.

The $3 degrees are for sale from a makeshift tent called "Ratchadamnoen University," a pretend school named for the road where rallies were held to demand that Thailand's prime minister step down. It boasts a "curriculum to rescue the nation" where protesters can get a real political education.

Actress and activist Karnchanit Summakul, who came up with the idea, said thousands of Ph.D.'s have been sold since the sit-in began. Even one person described as "an education official from central Thailand" got in on the action. "I bought this certificate because I felt I was educated by activities here," said Wassana Boonme. "The rally has taught me politics in practice."

My first reaction was to think of how many church members I've known or heard about who could claim earned doctorates in insurrection for actvities aimed toward overthrowing their pastor.

In some cases, no doubt, they have done a good thing. Some pastors mislead their churches and ought to be overthrown -- which usually indicates they shouldn't have been called to begin with. In that case, the pastor may have earned a doctorate in "pulling the wool over their eyes" by pretending to be something he was not, or the search committee may have learned a painful lesson in failure to do due diligence.

In other cases, good pastors with prophetic vision face insurrection from members who have seen the church as a social club and don't to be faced with the challenges of Jesus.

Either way, in these economically challenging times for churches, they might want to consider the offering of doctorates as a fund-raising tool. For $10 and adequate experience, perhaps, one could be a "Doctor of Nursery Work," a "Doctor of Disaster Relief," or a "Doctor of Deacons."

Any of those titles would certainly be preferable to "Doctor of Division."

The online Chronicle of Higher Education (which requires a subscription) is reporting that protesters against the government of Thailand have been raising funds, in part, by selling $3 diplomas for a doctoral degree in insurrection.

Protestors have occupied the grounds of Thailand's Government House since August 26, when they took over the offices of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, whom they consider a puppet of the former regime. A Thai court has since removed Samak from office for conflict of interest after he appeared on a television show called "Cooking and Grumbling," but that has not satisfied protesters, who say they'll remain on the grounds until a crony-less new government is formed.

The $3 degrees are for sale from a makeshift tent called "Ratchadamnoen University," a pretend school named for the road where rallies were held to demand that Thailand's prime minister step down. It boasts a "curriculum to rescue the nation" where protesters can get a real political education.

Actress and activist Karnchanit Summakul, who came up with the idea, said thousands of Ph.D.'s have been sold since the sit-in began. Even one person described as "an education official from central Thailand" got in on the action. "I bought this certificate because I felt I was educated by activities here," said Wassana Boonme. "The rally has taught me politics in practice."

My first reaction was to think of how many church members I've known or heard about who could claim earned doctorates in insurrection for actvities aimed toward overthrowing their pastor.

In some cases, no doubt, they have done a good thing. Some pastors mislead their churches and ought to be overthrown -- which usually indicates they shouldn't have been called to begin with. In that case, the pastor may have earned a doctorate in "pulling the wool over their eyes" by pretending to be something he was not, or the search committee may have learned a painful lesson in failure to do due diligence.

In other cases, good pastors with prophetic vision face insurrection from members who have seen the church as a social club and don't to be faced with the challenges of Jesus.

Either way, in these economically challenging times for churches, they might want to consider the offering of doctorates as a fund-raising tool. For $10 and adequate experience, perhaps, one could be a "Doctor of Nursery Work," a "Doctor of Disaster Relief," or a "Doctor of Deacons."

Any of those titles would certainly be preferable to "Doctor of Division."

So much has been written about Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin that she'll be a celebrity for many years, whether she gets elected or not. Two months ago, the number of people outside of Alaska who even knew who Palin was could fit on the island at the end of her famous "bridge to nowhere." Now she's the one who's famous, though with fame comes scrutiny, and her luster seems to be fading.

Many have commented on Palin's appeal to the Christian right, which is substantial. Lots of conservative Christians who were very lukewarm to John McCain (but would have held their nose and voted for him anyway) have been energized by his choice of Palin, whom they see as a savior of sorts, a living example (mostly) of values they hold dear.

One thing many folks have overlooked is that Palin's Christian faith appears to be thoroughly Pentecostal, a belief system that puts a lot of stock in modern-day prophecy and Spirit-led leadership. While her pastor has been quoted as saying some rather outrageous things, I didn't think it was fair to judge Barack Obama on the basis of statements his former pastor made, so I wouldn't criticize Palin for things that her pastor has said.

What Palin has said with her own lipsticked lips are quite sufficient cause for concern. Palin once told her church in Wasilla that the U.S. war against Iraq is God's plan, and asked them to pray that the plan would be fulfilled.

That's scary.

In the same speech, she also described a proposed new natural gas pipeline as God's will for Alaska, and asked them to pray for that.

I worry about anyone who paints every important issue in colors of "God's will" or "not God's will" -- especially someone who could potentially have her finger on the trigger of a nuclear arsenal.

J. Lee Grady, the editor of Charisma magazine, has declared in a recent article entitled "Sarah Palin and the Deborah Anointing" that he considers Palin to be "a prophecy to America" and a role model who wears the anointing of Deborah, an Old Testament leader "who rallied God’s people to victory at a time when ancient Israel was being terrorized by foreign invaders."

I'm a big fan of Deborah, too, and wish more people would recognize that she was a spiritual as well as military and political leader, an inspired woman who didn't let her gender get in the way of following God's leadership for her life. Grady is a strong proponent of women in ministry, for which I am grateful. With Palin, however, he seems most excited about what he perceives as her Deborah-esque warrior credentials: "Sometimes it takes a true mother to rally the troops," he wrote. "I hope that Palin, a woman who believes in prayer and is filled with the Holy Ghost, will take her hockey stick and smash the glass ceiling in American politics once and for all."

It's way to early for anyone to anoint Sarah Palin as a new Deborah. I doubt Deborah achieved her place of influence by distorting her own record and insulting her opponents, a mainstay of Palin's stump speeches, and I'm quite sure a hockey stick was not involved.

Pentecostal or not, people who rise to anoint modern day prophets make me about as nervous as politicians who insist their favored bills are God's will.