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Shepherding Thoughts
by Pastor Ben Francis
Welcome to Shepherding Thoughts: An inside look at a Southern Baptist Pastor's comments on navigating popular topics in Christianity and Religion.
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New Testament Deacons: Servants in the Household of God. Where Do Deacons Come From?
In our last post on Spiritual Leadership in the local church, we noted, “So, if Pastors are not expected to be managers and CEOs, who is...
Ben Francis
Aug 4, 20214 min read
On the Chopping Block: The Hyde Amendment
As of today, August 2nd, 2021, the United States House of Representatives has passed a federal budget and it is currently being...
Ben Francis
Aug 3, 20213 min read
The Leadership of New Testament Elders
New Testament Elders: God’s Shepherds From our brief survey of the 3 biblical titles used for the office of Elder, we can put together a...
Ben Francis
Jul 13, 20215 min read
Sexual Abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention
SBC 2021 in Review: Part 5 Sexual Abuse in the SBC The Story Breaks... In 2019, The Houston Chronicle Newspaper ran a series of stories...
Ben Francis
Jul 11, 20217 min read
The “Dirt” of Life
Did you know that buckets make dirt? You read that right. Buckets make dirt. In his essay, “The work of Local culture,” Wendall Berry...
Ben Francis
Jul 11, 20214 min read
Who Can Be an Elder?
New Testament Elders: God's Shepherds Part 2: Who Can Be an Elder In our first post, we looked at what an Elder is according to the...
Ben Francis
Jul 9, 20218 min read
Critical Race Theory and Race Relations
SBC 2021 in Review: Part 4 Critical Race Theory and Race Relations Race continues to plague the SBC just as it does the wider culture....
Ben Francis
Jul 5, 20214 min read
Southern Baptist Convention: Presidential Uncertainty and Factionalism
SBC 2021 in Review: Part 3 Presidential Uncertainty and Factionalism One of the reasons why this year’s meeting was so well attended was...
Ben Francis
Jul 1, 20213 min read
What/Who Are Church Elders?
New Testament Elders: God’s Shepherds Part 1: What/Who is an Elder? In this series of posts, I want to explore what the Word of God says...
Ben Francis
Jun 29, 20213 min read
What is the Southern Baptist Convention?
SBC 2021 in Review: Part 2 What is the Southern Baptist Convention? In one sense, the Southern Baptist Convention consists of churches...
Ben Francis
Jun 27, 20215 min read
The 2021 Southern Baptist Convention In Review…
Many things were swirling as messengers from thousands of Southern Baptist Churches made their way to Nashville, Tennessee for the 2021...
Ben Francis
Jun 26, 20211 min read
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