Thursday Threes: June 2, 2016
Sam Rainer
Three notable articles I read this week:
Facts and Trends – More Americans turn to Google than prayer for making decisions. “In the internet age, fewer than half (45 percent) spend time in prayer and personal religious reflection before such a choice, but 82 percent say personal research provides guidance, according to Pew Research.”
Travis Smalley – So-called “smaller” churches and the future of the SBC. “As Southern Baptists move into the future it is important to understand the significance of the smaller church.”
Joe Carter – How to glorify God by being a generalist. “One of my vocations is to be a generalist. Yet I almost missed my calling because I didn’t realize it was something God would call me to be.”
Three people worth following:
These three leaders and the institutions they head have influenced me tremendously.
Paul Chitwood. Paul leads the Kentucky Baptist Convention. When I was in my 20s, I served as a lay person at First Baptist Church Mount Washington, KY. Paul was the senior pastor at the time and mentored me. I was ordained and licensed under his leadership. More importantly, I met my wife at FBC! You can connect with Paul on Twitter or his blog.
Tommy Green. Tommy leads the Florida Baptist Convention. My church is part of this convention. We have a long history of partnering with them. The future looks even brighter. You can connect with Tommy on Twitter or Facebook.
Al Mohler. Most of my audience is likely familiar with the influence of Dr. Mohler and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Of any one institution, Southern has the greatest influence on me personally. We lived near the campus when my Dad was in seminary, and he later become the founding dean of the Billy Graham School when I was starting high school. One of my first real jobs was working on the grounds crew at Southern. I’m proud to say I once mowed Dr. Mohler’s yard. I went on to get my master’s degree at Southern. I’m sure you’re already following Dr. Mohler, but just in case you’re not, you can connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, or his website.
