Disqus - Latest Comments for chuckwarnock

Re: O'Reilly: I'm 'annoyance' for Obama

chuckwarnock — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 12:56:18 -0000

Bill is an annoyance for everybody.

Re: Sermon Preview: Coming to Peace

chuckwarnock — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 15:30:20 -0000

Chad, good thoughts. I like the Johnny Cash illustration. Enjoy following you on FB. -Chuck

Re: Baptist conservatives should celebrate quickly

chuckwarnock — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 17:44:05 -0000

I disagree with your faint praise of McCarthy. History has discredited his political witch hunts and vindicated those blacklisted by McCarthy and his minions. I'm not sure where your information originates, but McCarthy deserves no place of honor in our political memory.

Re: SBC leader: Women’s equality ‘false gospel’

chuckwarnock — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 19:22:37 -0000

Obviously Moore was preaching to the choir in this interview, but I find some of his remarks rather bizarre, or awkwardly stated at best.

Re: A Comment on No Comment

chuckwarnock — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 18:26:05 -0000

My point is not that there is no criticism, but that because of the conjoining of American Christianity and partisan politics prominent spokespersons on both sides are reluctant to go off message for their ideology. Ask Richard Cizik what happened when he struck out into uncharted territory. Because everyone sticks to their party line, on both sides, their positions are predictable, therefore not credible.

Re: A Comment on No Comment

chuckwarnock — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:06:45 -0000

I think you have identified the situation that plagues American Christianity today. It is an amalgam, on both the right and left, of theology and partisan politics. Those on the left do not speak out against our government's use of a worldwide spying network or assassination by drones because President Obama is the best hope of progressives. Similarly, conservative evangelicals do not want to embrace a cause (ACA) that is championed by Democrats. The Church has no credible voice (or even voices) in our civic dialogue on this or any other public policy issue.

Re: Does your pastor need a doctorate?

chuckwarnock — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 19:49:09 -0000

The article covers a lot of bases. First, I do agree that the MDiv is a long program, but I'm not sure what I would have cut out of my MDiv study. As it was, I discovered there were great gaps in needed-knowledge between my education and my subsequent church experience. Secondly, I pastor a small church, and while the congregation did not require I gain a doctorate (DMin), they have supported and applauded my efforts to do so over the past 7 years--as they did several previous pastors. That's unusual and for that I am grateful. I know my ministry is richer and deeper, and I hope our congregation has benefitted from my study. But, Mark is exactly right -- prestige is not the right reason for either a church or a pastor to pursue an advanced degree. For one thing, it's too much work!

Re: Celebrating Small

chuckwarnock — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 16:57:51 -0000

Great insights into the value and unique qualities of small churches. Plus, there are lots more of them which means more diversity, more voices, more points of view, more ministries, etc!

Re: Chick-fil-A flap didn’t hurt profits

chuckwarnock — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:56:59 -0000

What a great story! Dan Cathy is to be commended for truly being a "follower of Jesus" in this instance.

Re: Associated Baptist Press - Black Baptist pastor says SBC should repudiate and/or replace Richard Land

chuckwarnock — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:01:58 -0000

Jack, I'm not playing the "race card" here (where did that expression come from?). Land made this a racial issue when he engaged in such an offensive manner that even the president of the SBC asked him to apologize, and the Executive Committee decided to investigate him.

But, read my entire comment -- "the SBC continues to be dominated by old white men (okay, I'm one of those, too) that have no real interest in racial reconciliation if it means sharing the power they have gathered to themselves." That's my opinion which I believe is supported by the age of institutional leaders and the lack of minorities in positions of leadership in the SBC. By the way, as I admit, I'm an old white man (63) who realizes that things are changing and that the reins of leadership belong equally to women, minorities, and those younger than we are. However, you are free to disagree with me.

By the way, interesting that all your "old white men" stories come from the 1940s and 1950s. Those were decades of power for old white men. Fortunately, some old white men used the power they had to change society, not to preserve the status quo of inequality. I don't see that courage or conviction in current SBC leadership. That's my point. Oh, and the Duke lacrosse team was implicated by a white district attorney, just to set the record straight.

Re: Associated Baptist Press - Stand Your Ground sponsor sees no contradiction with his Baptist faith

chuckwarnock — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:36:19 -0000

Baxley astounds me with this statement: “You have to be involved with these children or you will see them anyway,” Baxley said. Otherwise “they’ll be robbing your house, raping your wife and stealing your property.” But that statement is only exceeded by Baxley's concept of armed Christians as "light" in the world. I remember reading that Jesus said something about "If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" (Matthew 6:23b NIV)

Re: Associated Baptist Press - Black Baptist pastor says SBC should repudiate and/or replace Richard Land

chuckwarnock — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:09:29 -0000

My prediction is that the SBC will neither repudiate nor replace Land. McKissic's previous SBC resolution regarding the lack of racial diversity in the SBC hierarchy went nowhere and neither will this one. Perhaps African-Americans in the SBC will see Land's comment and the SBC's lack of action as revelatory of the fact that the SBC continues to be dominated by old white men (okay, I'm one of those, too) that have no real interest in racial reconciliation if it means sharing the power they have gathered to themselves.

Re: Associated Baptist Press - Richard Land cries media bias

chuckwarnock — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:38:42 -0000

I thought his comment was well-stated. No hatred there, just observing the obvious.

Re: Associated Baptist Press - Richard Land cries media bias

chuckwarnock — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:37:28 -0000

Land's attempt to claim the moral high ground by saying he authored the 1995 resolution on slavery fails. By suggesting that 650,000 African Americans joined the SBC because of that resolution, Land exposes his paternalistic attempt at racial reconciliation for what it is -- a cynical ploy to boost SBC numbers. Land might want to revisit the words he says he wrote about “commit[ing] ourselves to eradicate racism in all its forms from Southern Baptist life and ministry.”

Re: Associated Baptist Press - Richard Land says activists using Trayvon Martin to get out the vote

chuckwarnock — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:47:52 -0000

The difference in Richard Jewell, the Duke lacrosse players, and George Zimmerman is that Richard Jewell and the Duke lacrosse players didn't kill anybody. The shooting death of an unarmed black teen by an armed white adult male should be a cause for national reflection across the political spectrum. Land is right about one thing, in his own words: "Racism is still an issue in our country..." Land's attitude and language on this issue runs the risk of blunting any positive effect that may come if the SBC elects an African-American as its president.

Re: Associated Baptist Press - Tornadoes' paths not random, John Piper says

chuckwarnock — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:59:29 -0000

John Piper's theological explanation of the problem of evil and suffering is completely inadequate. These statements confirm it.

Re: Associated Baptist Press - Opinion: A letter to Franklin Graham

chuckwarnock — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:33:20 -0000

Zachary, good thoughts and thanks for taking this on. Your argument might have had more appeal if some of the outrage had been toned down a bit -- same points, but less fury. But that's my opinion. Franklin is a shadow of his father, on that we agree.

Re: Associated Baptist Press - SBC leaders propose name-change compromise

chuckwarnock — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:56:31 -0000

"Great Commission Baptists" fails to create an identity that those unfamiliar with the Bible would understand. This will only resonate within the echo chamber of SBC life, and will do nothing to help make the SBC "brand" more appealing to outsiders.

Re: Associated Baptist Press - Colson, George compare Obama healthcare mandate to Nazis

chuckwarnock — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:42:35 -0000

Well said.

Re: Associated Baptist Press - Baptist ethicist: There is no global war on Christians

chuckwarnock — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:00:53 -0000

I agree with Parham. There is no "global war" on Christians or Christianity, which is still the world's largest religion. Sowing seeds of hatred and division, which "global war" talk does, only plays into the hands of those who wish to dehumanize and marginalize people of other faiths. Are there hotspots of religious persecution around the globe? Absolutely, but Christians are often the persecutors, too.

Re: Associated Baptist Press - SBC leader questions judgment of Christians who support Obama

chuckwarnock — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:06:07 -0000

Richard Land accuses the Obama administration of being hostile to free religious expression. His evidence is that “They have done thing after thing after thing after thing.” That's what I like about Land -- he's very specific and articulate.

Re: Associated Baptist Press - Opinion: Winning with racism

chuckwarnock — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:12:45 -0000

Ron Paul sure thinks he's a Republican because he's running in Republican primaries for the Republican nomination for President.

Re: Associated Baptist Press - Opinion: Winning with racism

chuckwarnock — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:10:51 -0000

Laura, thanks for your insightful and well-written article. I am in the process of writing my Fuller DMin dissertation on reconciliation. To do so, I am revisiting the history of Virginia, the South, and the nation regarding slavery and race. Thank you for speaking up against what Duke's Eduardo Bonilla-Silva would call "racism without racists." Racism still exists, but often in subtle examples like you provided. Because racism is a national problem that thrives in our society, politicians of all stripes play to our deepest fears and insecurities when they invoke race as the cause of poverty, disadvantage, or the nation's ills. Ignore the critics, and stick with your convictions. Jesus expects no less from us.

Re: Associated Baptist Press - Pressler confab evokes bad memories for former SBC leader

chuckwarnock — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:42:12 -0000

One can hope that the irrelevance of the 150 is becoming apparent. Their guy barely registers in the polls and stands little chance of actually being the nominee.

What is more disturbing are the previous comments from people who have obviously wandered away from their own tribe and feel it their duty to attack in quite hostile terms those with whom they disagree. There was a time that Baptists, especially Southern Baptists, stood for separation of church and state, freedom of conscience, and religious liberty, not to mention the ability to read and interpret Scripture without having to toe a party line. Sadly, those days are over to a large degree in SBC life, and it is that loss Weldon Gaddy mourns. I join him in his lament that the characteristics that marked Baptists have been traded for a mess of political pottage.

Re: Associated Baptist Press - Documentary claims age-graded Sunday school harms families

chuckwarnock — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:10:25 -0000

Take a close look at the participants, producers, and interviewees in this film. Most of them represent extreme views on creationism, gender roles, and family relationships. While there might be a point or two worthy of discussion, pulling back the curtain on the combined agendas of those behind this film exposes the film and its backers for what they are -- religious extremists clearly out of the mainstream of church life and thought in America.