I would not expect many to know about that these days. But, Guinell Freeman? If you haven't heard of her, you have missed out on knowing one of the finest, most elegant Christian ladies of our generation. She went home to be with her beloved Lord Jesus this week, at the age of 83.

Guinell Freeman was Educational Director of First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida for forty years. God used her to build one of the largest Sunday Schools and Christian discipleship ministries in the nation. And, oh yes, she followed Flakes Formula.

Guinell never married. She literally gave her life to the Lord and His work at First Baptist, Jacksonville.  On many, many occasions when I would be returning at night from a preaching engagement, I would go by the church and find Guinell still there, working. 

Dr. Homer Lindsay, Sr., brought her to Jacksonville right out of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In those years she, and her fellow staff member, Fran Hawk, were required to make and give a written report on 50 visits per week. You read that right. Not per year. Not per month. Per week! 

It was a sight to behold to watch her work with her lady directors. I lovingly called them "Guinell's Guerillas." She led them into battle for the Lord. You'd best not get in their way!

Ms. Freeman was not only a dedicated servant, she was an elegant Christian lady. Always impeccably dressed, she epitomized what a Christian woman should be. She dearly loved Janet and me, and our children. We dearly loved her.

I believe Guinell Freeman will be listed as one of our Southern Baptist "greats" alongside Lottie Moon, Annie Armstrong, and a host of unnamed and unsung "Marthas and Marys" who have made the Southern Baptist Convention what it has been and I pray what it shall continue to be.

Goodbye for now, Guinell. We'll have a great time in Heaven, shouting on the hills of glory.

Flakes Formula? Probably won't see that in Heaven.

Guinell Freeman? Don't miss out on seeing her!

A book not widely read (but should be) “In The Name Of The Father: The Rhetoric of the New Southern Baptist Convention,” (Kell and Camp, University of Tennessee Press) takes the position that the conservatives won the battle for the Bible because they had the strong preachers. I think the assessment is correct.

The 1979 Pastors’ Conference certainly had an array of preachers. Jim Henry, Bobby Welch, Bill Ricketts, Richard Jackson, Eddie Martin, Jimmy Jackson, James Robison, Charles Stanley, W. A. Criswell, James Robison, Adrian Rogers and yours truly were among the preachers. That’s enough preachers to beat down any opposition!

Baptist Press said “the previous year’s conference drew a rash of negative comments from readers of state Baptist newspapers who said pastors were unduly criticized by preachers at the sessions and not uplifted.” So president Homer Lindsay, Jr. said the conference would “encourage the pastor.”

After a day and a half of rousing preaching and God-honoring music W. A. Criswell electrified the audience Monday night when he said it was great to be in Houston, if for no other reason than to elect Adrian Rogers president of the SBC.

Most of you know the rest of the story.

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. And as you can see, precious little was available for the non-SBC personalities. What I learned about putting on a program that preachers and others would like served me well in the future years of our Pastors’ Conference at First Baptist, Jacksonville, Florida.

I had my pastor, John Tippett, Jr. and Homer Lindsay, Jr. on the program. Homer had graciously spoken only 10 minutes right before me the previous year, giving me a full amount of time. I also had evangelists Sam Cathy and Carliss Odom to speak. And, of course, I had R. G. Lee and W. A. Criswell. I had them out of respect and the pastors’ desire to hear Southern Baptists’ mightiest preachers.

R. O. Stone led the music, using his sons and several other outstanding musicians, including my wife, Janet. R.O. and I also sang. I always had wanted to sing at the SBC! It was a combination of Josh Groban, Rascal Flatts, Justin Bieber and Slim Whitman. I was offered several record contracts, but the call to preach was too strong!

The Conservative Resurgence was just beginning. Baptist Press and other convention outlets criticized me for using some non-Southern Baptist speakers. I had Stephen Olford, Clyde Narramore and Warren Wiersbe. If you’re going to take flack, that’s not a bad group for which to catch it.

Well, the pastors gave the $9,000 I needed to meet the budget. A minor miracle in itself. We had preaching and singing and shouting and weeping. And a glorious time was had by all. 

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 and W. A. Criswell were preaching. Walter Judd, U. S. Republican congressman and Anita Bryant were featured. Homer Lindsay, Jr. and Richard Jackson were preaching.  Also, Ron Dunn and Peter Lord were to speak.

Did I say I was shook? 

Well, the Lord helped me get through the message. Relieved, we headed for lunch.

Upon returning to the Conference, we found seats high up in the Center. Exhausted, I was settling in for the election of my good friend, Bailey Smith, as president of the Conference. He was nominated. I was getting ready to vote for him. Then, a pastor from Alabama stepped forward to nominate someone else. I thought to myself, “Whoever that guy is he’s really going to be embarrassed.” As his speech progressed, I whispered to Janet, “I think he is nominating me!” I bolted down to the platform to withdraw my name. 

To my utter astonishment, when I got there they were taking my picture. I had been elected president of the Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference! And they say it was all cut and dried.

Thus started a remarkable journey into history.

Upon entrance we were quickly seated and our table was surrounded by a host of servers in formal attire. With great fanfare they brought cheese spread and crackers to our table. They didn’t serve that at the Green Front Café in my hometown! We helped ourselves.

Then came the menu. I looked at the prices and thought, “This is the big one, Elizabeth!” The prices were astronomical. But, we were too deep into the cheese spread to leave. So we ordered the cheapest items on the menu.

Then we started watching other preachers and their wives entering. Cheese spread. Crackers. Menu. It was a show almost worth the price of admission. SBCers can be really funny when they are puttin’ on the dog.

The next day I attended the NOBTS alumni luncheon. Seated next to me was a pastor’s wife who was sure enough puttin’ on the dog. She had been everywhere, seen everything, knew everybody. Then she turned to me, and in her best SBC voice said, “Could you recommend a fine dining place for our evening meal?”

“Why, yes I can,” I said, “It’s in the French Quarter. I think it’s called The Ritz.”

That’s been 42 years ago. I  would have spent the rest of my convention allowance to see her in the Ritz, puttin’ on the dog.

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 Bob Riddle. Black pastor Manuel Scott (I still remember his outline—we must EVANGELIZE the gospel, ETHICATIZE the gospel and ESCHATALOGIZE the gospel!!).

The preaching highlight for me was one of my heroes, R.G. Lee. He was an annual fixture in the Conference. Dressed in his white suit, he spoke for over an hour on the return of Christ. Talk about sitting in heavenly places! I resolved to attend every year he was preaching.

And the glorious music. Soloist Martha Branham and the First Baptist, Dallas, choir and orchestra. Talk about gospel music with a flare that lifted our souls heavenward! It was the first year of 40+ years of Southern Baptist Convention attendance.

Recently Dr. Roger Olson wrote a review of the volume. The contributors to "Whosoever Will" have written a response to Dr. Olson's review. You can find it here. I think it will be helpful to read this somewhat lengthy response.

Hope to see you at the Fall Bible Conference this Thursday and Friday at First Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia!

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Or you can click here to download the interview.

If you want to know more about this conference, please click here to find out information, to register, etc.

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 finished his Seminary education before Dr. Pinnock arrived at NOBTS. Rogers' reference to Dr. Pinnock as “my professor” at the Glorieta Conference on Inerrancy was probably an example of the gracious southern manner of Dr. Rogers or a reference to having read some of Dr. Pinnock’s published writings.

Dr. Paige Patterson was his student, taking two systematic theology courses and a Ph. D. seminar. Dr. Pinnock showed his young student (Patterson) the value of philosophy and logic and how to debate. Dr. Patterson used the skills he learned from his teacher to best him at the Ridgecrest conference on inerrancy.

Though I did not have any courses under Dr. Pinnock, I have some special memories of him the one year I was there when he was there. Dr. Pinnock’s arrival at NOBTS took the campus by storm. Liberal professors had intimidated conservative students, suggesting they were intellectually inferior because they believed the Bible to be without error. Dr. Pinnock provided the intellectual foundation the students needed to undergird their belief in an inerrant Bible. 

At that time he was indeed a strong conservative and believed in the inerrancy of Scripture. I remember well the week we had Dr. Carlyle Marney speaking in chapel.

After one of the chapel sessions a number of us were having coffee in the dining hall. Dr. Pinnock, tall and gangly, with coke bottle glasses because of vision problems, came striding through the dining hall with umbrella under arm. “What ya think of Dr. Marney’s message?” one student called out. “He’s a  liberal,” said Dr.Pinnock, without missing a step!

I attended his prayer meetings at night in the prayer room of the Chapel. I can hear him now as he fervently prayed for the Seminary: “Lord, bless part of it and judge part of it.” He was referring to some of the liberalism that was taught at the Seminary at that time. His messages at the Southern Baptist Pastors' Conference and State evangelism conferences helped fuel the concerns many Baptist college and seminary trained pastors had about growing liberalism in our schools. It was a crucial component of the intellectual credibility necessary in the battle for the Bible now called the Conservative Resurgence.

That was the extent of my personal involvement with this brilliant young theologian. I was blessed by his first book on the inerrancy of Scripture. I was saddened by his second one. Through the years I watched with sorrow as he went further away from his earlier conservative convictions. Dr. Patterson has told me that Pinnock’s doctrinal departure started after he became involved in the Charismatic movement.

He had an impact on many of us who later became involved in the Conservative resurgence. There were many of us who knew liberalism was creeping into the Southern Baptist Convention. We had sat in Baptist college and seminary classrooms where we heard it loud and clear. I am thankful for the encouragement and reinforcement Dr. Pinnock provided me in those early years. Southern Baptists owe him a debt of gratitude for his contribution to our return to our conservative roots. I expect to thank him when I greet him in Heaven.

Anthony George, pastor of Aloma Baptist Church, Orlando, and a product of First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, will be preaching Thursday night. Brother George is one of our finest young preachers. He is a frequent, favorite preacher at FBC, Atlanta. You will be blessed to hear him.

Mark Gaither, with Logos Bible Software, will be offering training sessions on Logos Thursday morning and Thursday afternoon. For the price of registration you can take advantage of an expert with Logos, in addition to all the other features of the Conference. Such training usually costs several hundred dollars.

Registration is increasing and excitement is building! Friday night will feature a 700-hundred-voice choir. Dr. Stanley will be present for all the sessions. It will give you an opportunity to meet him personally. Some of America’s most popular preachers will be preaching.

Friday night I will be preaching my new message, “Who’s Going To The Marriage Supper?” It will be a glory, hallelujah time!

And, in case you're wondering about the menu for those who choose to sign up for the conference with the steak dinner on Thursday night featuring The Old Paths in concert, click here for a preliminary sneak peek. No dessert is listed just yet, but my preference would be something chocolate.

While we're on the subject of good food, Dreamland BBQ will be on site Friday afternoon to provide very affordable lunches to those in attendance who prefer to stay on the First Baptist campus between sessions.

Click here to learn more about the conference and how you can register today.

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Or you can click here to download the interview.

If you want to know more about this conference, please click here to find out information, to register, etc.

It’s rather disappointing to me. Just when I was getting out my old high school blue jeans, tennis shoes, and getting my hair(both of them) spiked and colored, one red and the other green! 

I have had grave reservations for sometime now as I have watched the trends toward “coolness.” I have tried to be as understanding and as tolerant as possible. But, more and more voices of concern are being raised  about the hip, edgy approach to doing church.

McCracken says, “But are these gimmicks really going to bring young people back to church? Is this what people really come to church for? Maybe sex sermons and indie-rock worship music do help in getting people in the door, and maybe even in winning new converts. But what sort of Christianity are they being converted to?” 

Frankly, some of the current models have the smell  of the world. Historically, the church has had the most impact upon the world when it was least like the world. And, these “cool” methods are too young to fail. It takes a period of time to see if a method is really successful, in the biblical sense of success.

Dean Inge once said, “He who marries the spirit of the age will find himself a widower in the next.”

Could it be a generation of widowers is just ahead?

And, I have been nearly drowning in technology. I started having a number of problems with my computer. So, I made the decision to switch to a Mac. Best decision I ever made. But, it was really something making the change. Then, I got a new iPhone 4. Fortunately, I haven’t had the problems with it some have had. On top of all that, I purchased the new iPad. Talk about a miracle machine! I can do about everything but brush my teeth with that contraption! I switched from the Kindle to the iPad for a lot of my secular reading. The screen is bright and clear. I can adjust the font to help me read even better. 

Now my Mac, iPhone 4 and iPad are all synched! In an instant all my emails, contacts, music, books and whatever are scattered abroad! This technology stuff makes life move at an almost instant pace. 

But, technology can’t do some things. It can’t make me the person I ought to be. It can’t make me like Christ. It doesn’t contribute to my holiness. It takes time to do that.

So, the words of an old hymn come singing their way into my heart: “Take time to be holy, Speak oft with thy Lord; Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word; Take time to be holy, The world rushes on; Spend much time in secret With Jesus alone; By looking to Jesus Like Him thou shalt be; Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.”

And, oh yes. $100 to the first Minister of Music who leads that hymn in a service where I am preaching!

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 speaking at the 8:15 am service. Dr. Paige Patterson will be speaking at the 9:45 am service. I will be speaking at the 11:15 am service.

I hope to see you there!

This phase begins with I Corinthians and goes chapter-by-chapter through Colossians. There are also special lessons for Easter, Mothers’ Day and Christmas.

God willing, the last year and a half of the curriculum will be available by the end of 2010.

We are so pleased at the churches taking advantage of this chapter-by-chapter Sunday School study through the New Testament. Our renewal rate is virtually one hundred percent. The feedback we are getting is most encouraging.

I know of no better way to study the Bible than chapter-by-chapter. These leader guides will enable Sunday School teachers to give their students a clear, easy-to-understand study of these Bible chapters.

You can learn more about Vines By the Book by going here.

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 his people. He recognizes the Convention isn’t perfect, but he is committed to its core doctrines, values and ministries.

He understands how the Convention works. He has experience at every level of Southern Baptist life, from the national to the state to the associational to the local church level.

He doesn’t polarize people, but unites them. He is courageous enough to take unpopular stands. But, he does it with love and acceptance for those who have another opinion.

He will have to lead Southern Baptists in what I believe will be its most difficult, challenging years.

So, the ballot is before you. Punch the name of ____________, a servant-leader Statesman. “For such a time as this.”

God uses preachers of all ages to speak His Word to our hearts. It would be a mistake for us to think only those of a certain age have a message of God for us. Some of the great preachers who are older have really blessed and challenged me. I have been thrilled and helped immensely by young preachers.

The effectiveness of a preacher is not dependent upon his age. Rather, it is dependent upon his faithfulness to the Word of God, his surrender to the anointing of the Holy Spirit and his life and character which are consistent with the message he preaches.

I hope I am a better preacher now than ever before. Experience, growth in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and His Word should make us better. But, I experienced the power of God’s Spirit upon my preaching when I was a much younger preacher.

Make your plans to come to the 2010 Fall Bible Conference and hear the Word from the generations of preachers on the program!

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 believe that balance is important.

Blessed are the balanced in preaching. You can get so caught up in one theme of Scripture that you exclude other themes.

I heard about a preacher who got hung up on the account of the woman at the well. He was speaking on Numbers 22:21, “Balaam…saddled his donkey.” He said, “First, I want to speak  about the usefulness of donkeys. Second, I want to speak about the details of ancient saddles. Then I will close with a few words about the woman at the well.”

Preaching through Bible books helps the preacher to stay balanced in his preaching.

Blessed are the balanced in preaching.

Blessed are the balanced in doctrine.

There is a beautiful tension between many Bible doctrines. In Scripture our finite mind encounters the infinite mind of God. We surely understand we can’t have complete comprehension.

Take Divine sovereignty and human responsibility, for instance. Both are taught in Scripture. Systematic theologies leaning too far in one direction to the detriment of the other get biblical truth out of balance. Neither extreme Calvinism nor extreme Arminianism represents biblical theology.

Blessed are the balanced. 

Blessed are the balanced in church ministry.

The New Testament makes it clear that churches aren’t to focus on either local or global ministry to the exclusion of the other. The New Testament pattern isn’t either/or but both/and.

As a lifetime Southern Baptist I think we are in desperate need of some balance these days.

I believe strongly in the autonomy of the local church. No central authority over a church dictates to it. No convention can tell a church how to conduct its ministry, to develop its programs, or how to give its money. Each church congregation makes those decisions under the Lordship of Christ and the leading of the Holy Spirit. But, I do believe it is important for churches to cooperate with one another in carrying out our Lord’s command to witness to the whole world, from our local “Jerusalem” to the global “ends of the earth.”

Blessed are the balanced.  

There must be some balance in how we use our funds. Obviously we can’t carry on our local work without using much of our tithes and offerings there.

The local church should constantly evaluate the need for and necessity of some of its buildings, staff and programs. We must also be mindful of the opportunity to share with other churches of like faith and order in local, state, national and worldwide causes. If you are going to be part of a convention of churches, you should have some kind of financial commitment to it.

If you want to be independent and do everything as a local church, fine and God bless you. But, if you are part of the Southern Baptist Convention, there should be some kind of financial involvement there.

If you want to be a part of the leadership, setting the course of the SBC, you should lead in financial commitment. A man in your local church probably won’t get placed on the finance committee if he designates $50,000 a year to the music ministry (maybe led by his son!), but only gives $500 annually to the church’s unified budget. He’s free to give his money that way. But, I doubt you would give him the opportunity to make decisions affecting how the bulk of the church’s money is used.

Blessed are the balanced.

During the years of the Conservative Resurgence I was criticized for my church’s low percentage of giving to the SBC’s cooperative program. I just took the criticism and didn’t get mad about it. The issue of liberalism was the primary impediment.

Many of us said, “We don’t want to support the liberalism.” As we began to resolve that issue, the record will show my church steadily increased its gifts. I feel you have to put your money where your mouth is.

Now we hear the criticism, “We don’t want to support the bloated bureaucracy.” Well, I’m sure there is enough bloat in our Convention, entities, and yes, our churches, to go around.

Examine? Sure.

Eliminate all the bloat we can? Yes!

But, blast and blame? No.

It just boils down to this: If you intend to be a Southern Baptist, work through the system to bring about the change you desire. It won’t happen over night.

The SBC boat is a big one and doesn’t change course quickly. It took ten years for us to utilize our trustee system to address the problem of liberalism. If you aren’t willing to take the time and the SBC doesn’t fit your idea of what a convention of churches should be, then seek another. And God bless you as you go.

Blessed are the balanced.

This is the first Bible Conference at First Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia. Our Pastor, Dr. Charles Stanley, expressed to me some time ago his desire to have such a conference. 

We have put together a program of Bible preaching and superior gospel, evangelist music.

If you register before August 1st, you will save $10.00/person off of the registration fee. Also, only the first 700 who register will be able to reserve a place for the Thursday night steak dinner.

Take advantage of these savings, and register now. Pastors, sign up your staff and laypeople. They will benefit greatly from this Conference.

He was exactly correct, of course.

What the brother failed to understand is that God sometimes re-assigns his servants.

Dr. Charles Swindoll spoke at the Thomas Road Baptist Church “Refuel” conference last week. Swindoll is said to be the second most influential living preacher, after Billy Graham, in a recent LifeWay Research survey. The 75-year-old preacher said some interesting things (for a more complete article on his message, check out Friday’s Vines Lines membership section).

Among them, he said he had no plans to retire. He challenged pastors against pursuing the American dream of retirement.

Swindoll said, “I don’t want to hear a one of you say ‘I’m living for the day I’m going to retire.’ A pastor doesn’t retire.”

Speaking from the Bible picture of a pastor as a under rower, he said, “We got to keep that oar in the water. When they think of you let them remember you kept your oar in the water.” (The Christian Post, 5.20)

Of course, Swindoll himself has been re-assigned on a few occasions. From his church in California to the presidency of Dallas Theological Seminary and now again to a pastorate.

I resigned as pastor of First Baptist Church, Jacksonville. Does that mean I have resigned from the ministry? No.

Have I retired from being a preacher? Nope. It just means I have been re-assigned.

I have “re-tired” and I’m still rolling for Jesus!

One of the real strengths of Brother Brooks’ ministry is his ability to put together a musical program that is thrilling beyond compare.

He currently is presenting “The story behind the Song” special nights. These are absolutely spectacular.

In Jacksonville one of the highlights of the annual Bible Conference was the concluding Grand Finale. They were masterful productions indeed.

In September Brother Brooks will conclude the conference with a Musical Spectacular. I can guarantee you it will be worth far more than the registration fee. If for no other reason, come to the conference to be blessed by the Musical Spectacular!

I’ve been in some wild ones. I was there in 1979 when Adrian Rogers was elected and shook the convention. I was there in 1985 when Charles Stanley was elected as president and caused great alarm in the moderate camp. I was there in 1988 when I was elected president! Pretty lively and interesting conventions. The election of a new president this year will create a great deal of interest.

This year’s convention will also feature the report and recommendations of the Great Commission Resurgence task force. The report has already been released and is being studied by Southern Baptists. I would encourage those planning to attend the convention to be as well informed as possible. We do not want to be an Acts 19:32 convention - “Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.”

There will be special sessions about all areas of church ministry. Special school courses for credit will be offered. Great Bible preaching and heartwarming music will be featured. 

Now, just who should come to the Conference?

This conference is for pastors, staff members and lay people. This is not just a “pastors only” conference. This conference will be a blessing to anyone who wants to attend.

I want to encourage pastors to bring your staff, of course. But, I also want to encourage pastors to bring large numbers of your people. They will be blessed, inspired and challenged. They should return to your church on fire for Jesus!

Click here for more information about this conference.

Impressed?

I am!

God used him at crucial times in Southern Baptist life. During a very tense convention session, Dr. Gambrell was called upon to pray. He reportedly prayed, “Lord, we Southern Baptists aren’t much, but we’re the best you’ve got.” It is said his prayer greatly reduced the tension in the convention hall.

I’m sure such a  statement would be debated by other Christian groups. But, he was stating something many of us believe today. For all our failures and faults, God’s people known as Southern Baptist are a people who have been used  to win millions to Christ, both at home and to the ends of the earth.

I certainly cherish the label, Christian, above that of Baptist. And above that of Southern Baptist. But, I’m grateful to God one Sunday night I heard a faithful Southern Baptist preacher tell me about Jesus, and I was saved.

I’m thankful I received greatly reduced in cost educations at a Baptist University and a Baptist Seminary. I was blessed to serve several wonderful Southern Baptist churches.

So, there is a lot of truth to the statement. We need to keep this in mind as we approach the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando. “Lord, we Southern Baptists  aren’t much”—that should keep us humble. “But, we’re the best you’ve got”—that should make us grateful.