Jerry Vines Blog
Last week I signed the “Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation.” I also wrote a response (“It is Time to Discuss the Elephant in the Room”) to...
Below is an interview I conducted with the editors of SBC Today.
In my last blog I recounted my astonishing election as president of the Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference. I was to preside at the Kansas City Municipal Auditorium Arena in 1977.
Our budget was huge--$9,000. We were very innovative with our stage—a flower arrangement, a pulpit, a piano and organ.Admittedly the rental cost of auditoriums has escalated considerably since then. Contrary to what some think, no honorariums were paid to Southern Baptist speakers or singers....
Fast forward to 1976.
The 1976 Pastors’ Conference was held at the Scope Convention Center in Norfolk, Virginia. My new friend, Adrian Rogers, was the president. He had been present when I preached a message entitled “Our Ascended Lord” at the Alabama Evangelism Conference earlier that year. He asked me to preach the same message in Norfolk.
Talk about scared out of my wits.
Janet and I arrived in Norfolk. I was clearly shook. My heroes, R. G. Lee...
Janet and I arrived a day early for the 1969 SBC in New Orleans. Our minister of music, Fred Barr, and his wife, Marjorie were with us. We checked in to our hotel and immediately headed to the French Quarter for some fine dining. We were puttin’ on the dog. We found a place named “The Ritz” (name changed to protect the guilty).
Upon entrance we were quickly seated and our table was surrounded by a host of servers in formal attire. With great fanfare they brought...
Janet and I attended our first Southern Baptist Convention together in 1969. Held in New Orleans, W. A. Criswell presided as president. The highlight for me was the Pastors’ Conference.
I heard quite an array of speakers. Wayne Ward and Gray Allison, Seminary professors. Testimonies and addresses by Miss America Vonda Kay Van Dyke, Alabama Governor Albert Brewer and Bob Harrington, the Chaplain of Bourbon Street. Young up and coming Alabama pastors Charles Carter and John...
I was saddened to hear of the passing of Dr. Clark Pinnock at the age of 73. Though Dr. Pinnock had retired from public life in March, announcing he had Alzheimer’s disease, he died unexpectedly as the result of a heart attack. His homegoing brought back a flood of memories from my own personal life.
Contrary to some articles, I did not have any classes under Dr. Pinnock when I was at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Nor did Dr. Adrian Rogers. Dr. Rogers actually...
I look forward to seeing you at the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando next week. If you are coming in before Sunday, let me invite you to meet me at Aloma Baptist Church for the Sunday morning service.
Anthony George, the young pastor, is one of my sons in the ministry. Anthony was reached for Christ by a youth Sunday School teacher in our First Baptist Church in Jacksonville.
He is doing a fabulous job as pastor at Aloma.
Dr. John Sullivan will be...
“For such a time as this” is a well-known biblical phrase calling attention to the magnitude of a moment.
We are at a momentous moment in Southern Baptist life. “For such a time as this” we need a servant-leader statesman as our next president.
Let me paint a picture of the kind of president we need.
We need a president who is godly and humble. He is neither interested in celebrity nor popularity. He preaches the Bible and is a faithful shepherd to...
My friend Warren Wiersbe said to me several years ago: “Blessed are the balanced.” I’ve thought about that statement quite a bit.
There is a tendency for us all to get out of balance. And the younger we are, the more we tend to extremes. I know that was true for me. At times my passion outran my understanding. I was sincere, but hadn’t lived long enough to have a more complete picture. I don’t claim to have the complete picture now. But, I have come to...
