Give us Preachers, not Shepherds!
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do...
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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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Ben Francis
- Apr 5
- 11 min
Is the Southern Baptist Convention Overstepping its Authority?
A discussion of Creeds, Authority, and Autonomy There is a growing discussion in some corners of the SBC that the Convention is preparing...
564 views2 comments
Ben Francis
- Mar 18
- 7 min
What Are Pastors Doing During the Week? 10 Things...
I often get a lot of questions about how I spend my time as a Pastor. People are understandably curious about what I do. Some people are...
222 views0 comments
Ben Francis
- Mar 5
- 5 min
10 Leadership Lessons from the Movie: Greyhound
In 2020, the Movie Greyhound was released on AppleTv in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was a groundbreaking movie for several...
103 views0 comments
Ben Francis
- Feb 23
- 13 min
What's Happening when the Pastor is Preaching?
Every single week, 52 weeks per year (and more if you include Sunday nights and Wednesday nights), Pastors rise to speak the Word of God...
88 views0 comments
Ben Francis
- Jan 26
- 8 min
Our Responsibilities in Baptizing Our Children
In Matthew 19:13-14, we read these words, “Then children were brought to Him that He might lay His hands on them and pray. The disciples...
180 views0 comments
Ben Francis
- Sep 21, 2023
- 7 min
How God is Saving Me from Preaching
Thoughts from a growing Pastor-Shepherd… I'm a Pastor-Shepherd, and I preach and teach every week; multiple times each week. And by God’s...
359 views0 comments
Ben Francis
- Feb 23, 2023
- 5 min
Was Disfellowshipping the Right Move? Yes.
On Wednesday, February 22, 2023 the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention reported out that it had voted to Disfellowship...
216 views1 comment
Ben Francis
- Jan 31, 2023
- 5 min
What I’m Reading: January 2023
Well, another year has come and the pages continue to turn! I have been encouraged lately that many of my friends have posted about their...
83 views0 comments
Ben Francis
- Dec 22, 2022
- 7 min
The Fragile Mission of the Church...
Can We Keep It? “The Church exists for a mission. Jesus did not give a mission to His church; He formed a Church for His mission…”. -...
138 views0 comments
Ben Francis
- Dec 2, 2022
- 8 min
The State of the SBC: A Mid-Year look…
This post will be lengthy, but I hope to provide an accurate summation and overview of SBC happenings at present… Things Going Well… 1 -...
75 views0 comments
Ben Francis
- Oct 31, 2022
- 3 min
What I'm Reading - October 22’
October is my favorite month of the year, mainly because of the Autumn season and the changing of the leaves. October has also brought a...
62 views0 comments
Ben Francis
- Sep 5, 2022
- 6 min
Is In-Person Preaching better than a Screen?
With the advent of new technology, new possibilities are introduced to the human experience. The rise of computers, the internet, and...
128 views0 comments
Ben Francis
- Sep 1, 2022
- 11 min
Has Big Eva Made Too Much of her Human Leaders?
“Big Eva” …Big Evangelicalism. The structures and Institutions that make up American Evangelicalism with all of its power, prestige, and...
95 views0 comments
Ben Francis
- Jun 19, 2022
- 9 min
SBC 2022 Follow-Up Thoughts
First things first: Southern California is beautiful! Tera and I thoroughly enjoyed our time in Anaheim. The weather was in the upper...
530 views1 comment
Ben Francis
- Nov 1, 2021
- 5 min
Can the Southern Baptist Convention Change?
Organizations and Power: A Question for the Southern Baptist Convention. Do Grassroots Movements Work? Can an organization truly be a...
114 views0 comments
Ben Francis
- Sep 21, 2021
- 6 min
Marks of Healthy Preaching
In a previous post, we discussed the pressing need for good, healthy, Biblical preaching. In this post, we want to outline some of the...
67 views0 comments
Ben Francis
- Sep 20, 2021
- 8 min
What is Good Preaching? And Does it Really Matter?
Preaching is one of those words that, for the most part, makes us think of things like: Church, Sunday, a Preacher, etc. But, what makes...
160 views0 comments
Ben Francis
- Aug 21, 2021
- 5 min
Who are Deacons to Be?
New Testament Deacons: Servants in the Household of God. Who are these Deacons to Be? -In the last post on Deacons, we looked at the...
66 views0 comments
Ben Francis
- Aug 4, 2021
- 4 min
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...
103 views0 comments
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