Barnabas File

Robert Parham died March 5.  I knew Robert for almost three decades.  When we were first introduced, he was a staff member with the Southern Baptist Convention’s Christian Life Commission, one of that denomination’s premiere organizations.  As Parham observed the shifting Baptist landscape, he left the CLC in 1991 to found the Baptist Center for Ethics, and independent voice for ethical concerns.  Both in personal conversations and observing Robert’s leadership over the past 25 years, I learned much about innovation and a positive response to the emerging opportunities in our culture.  When BCE was launched, the organization adopted the pattern set by the CLC--offering conferences, newsletters, and other printed resources that addressed moral and ethical issues.  Parham and his team saw that this strategy was not achieving the desired results.  BCE moved toward curriculum resources, first offering them in a printed form and then...

After a year’s hiatus from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship  General Assembly , I was able to attend the recent meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina.   Over the next several days, I will post some observations about the meeting. Of course, these are personal responses and reflect only my own opinions.   Today, I will comment on the people present. I continue to be pleased with the rich diversity of those attending the General Assembly.  There are still some gray hairs like myself, but I was impressed by the youth of the group—both single and married young adults.  Someone commented that one of the biggest challenges was finding stroller parking spaces!  There were many present with young children and babies, a sure way to grow the Fellowship. The diversity also extended to the racial and ethnic mix.  There were a number of African-American and Hispanic members of the Fellowship present and many are in leadership roles.  The ...

After a recent capital campaign in our church, I reminded our pastor of the comment that makes the circuit on a regular basis. It is the comment of the leader who stands before the congregation and says, “We have all the money we need. The problem is that it is still in your pockets.” I was reminded of this statement when I read an article by Robert Parham, executive editor of EthicsDaily.com, on a recent meeting of Baptists at Callaway Gardens. Parham’s comments were very candid, and I accept his quotes, although unattributed, as providing an accurate portrayal of that meeting. He quoted one participant as saying, "We don't have enough money, enough constituents, enough readers, enough students, enough volunteers. As we've said today several times already, enough money, enough money, enough money.” Friend, it may be that we have what we deserve. People give to those things they believe in and value. They believe in and value things only when they hear the story and b...