TEXAS
From the Heights
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. Romans 12:3
The movie Mississippi Burning chronicles the details of racial unrest in the southern part of the state during the 1960s. As the FBI begins to close in on the KKK, one of them says, “Looks like the rattlesnakes are starting to commit suicide.” And rattlesnakes turning on one another has to be an absolutely hideous sight.
Sometimes I feel that way as a Baptist. It seems that I (and many other people I know) can be pretty quick to criticize and call out those with whom we disagree. Since none of us are Saints, it’s pretty arrogant to jump the gun in our critique of other churches who may have nothing in common other than sharing the name Baptist and the classification as Christian.
Then again, issues seem to keep coming up that demand a response, from all of us. One of those has occurred at Prestonwood Baptist, one of the “crown jewels” of the Southern Baptist Convention. It boasts over 20,000 members and the pastor, Jack Graham, has been there for over twenty years. Graham has also been president of the Southern Baptist convention, and he is one of the keynote speakers at the 2013 gathering.
Graham is also in the middle of what could be–and perhaps should be–a massive scandal.
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