DownshoreDrift

Ben Cole, pastor of Parkview Baptist Church in Arlington, TX wrote a response to the position papers of the International Mission Board's Board of Trustees on the issues of private prayer language and baptism.  This response is devastating and it completely dismantles the argumentation of the trustees, in my opinion.  Admittedly, I am not crazy about his sarcastic tone as he addresses the issues, but it is obvious that he is passionate. When I am fired up about something, I come across REALLY STRONG in my writing, so I will give him some grace on that. Read it for the content and for the argumentation. Compare it to Dr. Hatley's views in his papers and decide for yourself. Here is the link to Rev. Cole's argument.  Also, read the comments if you can.

I am expressing my opinions guardedly on these issues on this blog. If you know me at all, you'll know where I stand - I am against these new policies. But, this is still the time for the making up of minds, so my main concern is to get the information out to establish a record. I am going to the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Greensboro, NC in June. Sometime before that, I will present a position paper on these issues to our church for discussion so that you can know the issues before the event. In that paper, I hope to present both sides fairly, although I will be honest about where I stand. I have no desire to withhold information that tilts the argument in my favor. Let truth be truth. We will have discussion and an opportunity for questions and answers.

I am holding off on documenting a firm position until all the information that is going to come out has come out so that I do not spend a lot of time reacting to rumors and presumption.  These previous few posts were meant to introduce you, the good reader, to the events surrounding these new policies.  Sometime soon, I'll post what I feel the result is of these policies will be and how they affect our involvement in missions, but for now, on this blog, let's return to the task at hand - where and how is God working in our lives?