Randy Stinson, president of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood said Tuesday afternoon that he is both grateful and hopeful after Zondervan announced earlier in the day that it will revise its New International Version (NIV) translation of the Bible to correct the "mistake" it made in publishing a gender-neutral version of the NIV.

Evangelical scholars associated with CBMW were concerned with more than 3,000 changes that appeared in the TNIV when it was published in 2002, changes that flattened gender language, eliminating many references such as "son," "he," "him," "his," "father," and "brother," references that diverged from the original Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic.

Translators from Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society), admitted in a press conference announcing the new NIV that many concerns regarding the faithfulness of gender-neutral translations to the original languages were legitimate and that such translations had divided the evangelical community. In his comments, Biblica CEO Keith Danby referenced the gender-neutral NIVI which was published in 1997 in the United Kingdom.

"It is very humble of Zondervan and Biblica to admit mistakes and acknowledge the controversy that they brought to the evangelical community over the past several years," said Stinson, who also serves as dean of the School of Church Ministries at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

"We are grateful for the godly approach to try to reconcile this. We are hopeful for the new product. I don't have any reason to believe that they are not sincere about their willingness to revisit the more than 3,000 gender changes to which we were opposed."

Stinson said he has been in conversation with scholar Doug Moo, chairman of the Committee on Bible Translation (the committee that is responsible for the new translation) and believes that the evangelical concerns over the accuracy of so-called "gender neutral" language will be taken seriously.

When Zondervan first announced a revision of the NIV in 1997, a group of evangelical leaders and scholars including CBMW, Focus on the Family, God's World Publications (publisher of WORLD) and others, met in Colorado Springs and developed a set of guidelines for biblical interpretation as it relates to gender language.

The guidelines were to serve as a baseline for translation of the gender language in the TNIV, but translators did not abide by them. Stinson said he is encouraged that the translation committee for the newest NIV may at least loosely follow the Colorado Springs Guidelines.

"It is my understanding that the Committee on Bible Translation does not see themselves as obligated to the Colorado Springs Guidelines, but still may end up translating some of those passages or maybe many of those passages in a way that is commensurate with those guidelines when they revisit their decisions from the past," Stinson said.

"We will reserve judgment and we are going to be watching this closely with hope and giving the benefit of the doubt to the people revising the NIV. We will evaluate the product based on things like the Colorado Springs Guidelines and other parameters we think are important in the debate.

"It sounds like they are very genuine about involving other scholars who would have been in opposition to the changes to gender language in the TNIV and who desire to engage in genuine dialogue."

This is the second post of a seven-part series running each Friday. Bill Henard serves as assistant professor of evangelism and church growth at Southern Seminary and as senior pastor of Porter Memorial Baptist Church in Lexington, Ky. Henard is co-editor of Evangelicals Engaging Emergent: A Discussion of the Emergent Church Movement.

First position/length. Eagan Baptist Church, Eagan, Tennessee.  Eight months-I was a 20-year-old college student, in way over my head.  I had never even attended Vacation Bible School until I led my first one myself.

Early mistakes/lessons. I called on someone to close the service in prayer and he responded, "No, thank you."  I learned that not everyone is on equal ground spiritually or in service.  Be careful to know your people before you put them on the spot.  It was a small mistake (the first of many), but it was one that could have had an adverse effect on my leadership ability if I repeated the same mistake in a much larger venue.  It taught me to start with where people are, not with where they ought to be.

Words of wisdom. Personally visit your leadership and listen to their dreams.  Work on your people skills.  Be a people person, but not a manipulator.  Be humble and thankful for the position you have.  Learn to love your people and sincerely tell them that you love them.  Pace yourself.  Don't die on every hill; some are not worth dying on.  Don't be a church hopper, looking for the next bigger and better deal.  Don't go in with both guns blazing; you will hit some innocent people when you do.

Danny Akin calls it "Saturday night fever" and prefers to stay away from it, Mark Dever embraces it and the great Charles Haddon Spurgeon became famous by following the strategy: preparing to preach Sunday's sermon on Saturday.

In his must-read work "Lectures to My Students," Spurgeon revealed that most of his sermon preparation took place on a tight Saturday night deadline.

"I confess that I frequently sit hour after hour praying and waiting for a subject, and that this is the main part of my study," he wrote. "Much hard labour have I spent in manipulating topics, ruminating upon points of doctrine...I believe that almost any Saturday in my life I make enough outlines of sermons, if I felt at liberty to preach them, to last me for a month."

God blessed Spurgeon's Saturday nights remarkably, but many preachers prefer to assemble the sermon throughout the week.

Preparing to preach

While there are probably as many different approaches to sermon preparation as there are preachers, professor/pastors on faculty at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary demonstrate that there are two attributes common to all solid sermon prep: composing the sermon and readying the preacher.

"Being prepared to preach the Word involves much more than just analyzing the text -- although it takes that for sure," said Bill Cook, professor of New Testament at Southern and pastor of Ninth and O Baptist Church.

"It includes being a man passionate for the Lord Jesus Christ. I think in the preparation of the sermon each preacher needs to find the approach to sermon preparation that best suits him. I think this will vary somewhat from person to person based on one's abilities and personality. But sermon preparation and delivery involves both the heart and mind from beginning to end."

Hershael York, professor of preaching at Southern and senior pastor of Buck Run Baptist Church in Frankfort, Ky., said he typically assembles a working outline for the upcoming sermon on Monday. York's goal is to have the sermon completed by Thursday so he can send the final outline to his assistant and media team to be published in the church bulletin.

"That imposes a discipline on me that keeps me from procrastinating," he said. "I will tweak and finalize illustrations and other elements on Friday and Saturday, but the basic outline is done at least three days before I preach it. That gives me time to digest and ruminate on the text and the message before I stand to preach on Sunday."

Veteran pastor/scholars such as York, Jim Orrick, Bill Cook and Tom Schreiner have been preparing for Sunday's sermon for as many decades as they have been studying the Bible.

Orrick has been committed to memorizing extended portions of Scripture for many years and has memorized numerous books of the Bible. He memorizes the biblical text, but also commits every sermon to memory and preaches without any notes, taking two to five hours to arrange and customize his thoughts for the particular congregation he is addressing.

"I preach without notes, and this forces me to be thoroughly prepared and thoroughly textual," said Orrick, who serves as professor of literature and culture at Boyce College and has been preaching for more than 30 years.

"The possibility of rhetorical disaster is always near at hand when preaching without notes, so I am forced to depend heavily on the Holy Spirit. I nearly always forget something I meant to say, but I nearly always think of something while preaching that I never prepared to say. Often it moves me deeply. I know that if I want my hearers to be deeply moved, I must first be deeply moved myself. God deliver me from being a preacher who fakes it!"

Schreiner typically spends one day per week preparing sermons. He begins by reading and meditating on the passage several times and seeks to understand it deeply so he will be able to offer penetrating, Gospel-centered application.

"I try to soak myself in it," Schreiner said. "I pray for insight in terms of understanding and application. After I have written a rough draft, which I usually do on Monday, I let it sit a few days, and then I go over it about 10 times on Friday and Saturday and make changes as I meditate on the sermon."

While serving as a pastor, Billy Graham School Dean Chuck Lawless said he spent up to one-half of a typical week in sermon prep. Like most Southern profs/pastors (and unlike Spurgeon!), Lawless preached book-by-book, verse-by-verse expository sermons and had no need to "divine" topics each week.

For Lawless, as for the others, preparation of his own heart to step behind the pulpit and undertake the solemn task of proclamation is a vital element of preaching.

"Heart preparation is a daily event," he said. "Getting ready to preach is not about suddenly preparing our hearts for Sunday; it is about walking with God every day so that we hear His Word properly in our study, order our sermon well in our preparation, and apply the truths well in the context of our congregation."

Russell D. Moore, senior vice president for academic administration and dean of the School of Theology at Southern, and teaching pastor at Highview Baptist Church's Fegenbush Campus, said he spends much of the week in preparation for the sermon and mulls over the text with friends and colleagues before putting together the final outline in the wee hours Sunday morning.

Moore prays throughout the week both for himself and his congregation. He prays that the Lord will keep both preacher and congregation from being mere hearers of the Word, from trafficking in unlived truth.

"I will think sometimes about specific people in my congregation," Moore said. "Then, because our flock is so large and I never know who will be with us on any given Sunday morning, I think about people who I've known over the years and how they would hear this Word, what might they misunderstand, what might drive them to despair, what might counter the ways the evil one would like to snatch this Word away, and then I ask the Lord to give me clarity, passion, love and the power of the Holy Spirit."

Towers had the chance to catch up with seven Southern Seminary professors who have served and/or currently serve in pastoral ministry. These seven men offered wisdom on pastoral ministry to first-time pastors (non first-timers are welcome to take a peak as well).

Each of the next seven Fridays, we will feature the responses of one of these men. This week, we hear from Bill Cook, professor of New Testament interpretation at Southern and senior pastor of Ninth and O Baptist Church in Louisville.

First ministry position/How long did you serve there?

Bill Cook: A pastorate in Montpelier La., a town with a population of approximately 350 people. Three years.

Your worst early mistakes/lessons learned from it:

BC: I think my biggest mistake was I mistook a good theological education for pastoral wisdom. I made numerous missteps because I lacked the patient wisdom of a seasoned pastor. I think that what I learned, and I'm still learning, is that I'm never quite as smart as I think I am.

Wisdom and humility, which are virtues seldom espoused in conferences and educational settings, are essential ingredients for a God-honoring ministry.

Words of wisdom for first time pastors:

BC: My advice to someone about to enter his first pastorate relates to what I said about humility. We may be the only person in the church with a seminary education but that does not mean that we are the wisest person in the church. I would encourage a first time pastor (as well as a seasoned one) to be humble, kind and caring.

In addition, preach the Bible to the congregation you have, not the one you wish you had. Spend much time getting to know the people and letting them get to know you. The better they know and respect you, the more open they will be to following your vision for the church. Church people can see through phoniness and pride.

So be humble, seek God's face, preach the Word and love the people.

The Southern Baptist Convention faces a critical crossroads and must move into the future with denominational structures and methods open to change or face serious decline, R. Albert Mohler Jr. told attendees of a forum on the future of the SBC held Wednesday at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Southern Seminary's president said the SBC in 2009 continues to operate largely out of a model that the denomination adopted from corporate America in the early 20^th century, a model that prioritizes efficiency over theological conviction in carrying out the task of missions.

"Certainly in business, efficiency can be a make or break word between profit and loss," Mohler said, "but when it comes to missions and the work of our churches and the work of the Gospel around the world, efficiency has a limited application.

"What this really marked, more than anything else, was an infusion of a business culture into the life of the denomination...Churches were now concerned with efficiency; decisions were made on the basis of efficiency."

In the 1950s, the SBC underwent a restructuring calculated to bring greater denominational efficiency, Mohler pointed out; this led to the adoption of a programmatic approach to ministry based more on corporate management practices than on theology.

The approach worked because in those days the SBC largely held the evangelical franchise in the deep South and its programs were so vast that a Southern Baptist would develop a "tribal identity" that defined his church life from the cradle to the grave; Southern Baptist children would participate in all of the age appropriate SBC programs from life until death, he said.

Though American culture, particularly in the Bible belt, has changed profoundly, Mohler said the SBC has continued to operate out of a 1950s programmatic mentality. He compared the denomination to two American institutions: the General Motors Corporation (GM) and the shopping mall.

For most of the 20^th century, more than half of all the automobiles sold in America were manufactured by GM. While the car-buying culture changed in the late 20^th century, GM continued to operate out of a business model that worked well in the 1950s. Now, the automobile giant has declared bankruptcy and has ceased to be a publicly-traded corporation.

Similarly, shopping malls exploded in number over the second half of the 20^th century, but today, hundreds of the hulking complexes sit empty because businesses today want to operate outside of malls so their storefronts will have increased visibility.

In the same way, Mohler said the SBC faces a bleak future if it continues to minister out of a business model from the 1950s instead of one that is driven by theological and missional concerns, neither of which is susceptible to the shifting currents of culture.

"The question we have to ask is the same question that General Motors should have been asking for the last 20 years: What has changed and why have we not?" he said. "Or for those whose business is the shopping mall: Has the logic of this particular organizational pattern been eclipsed by something else?

"Are the people who are actually in our churches today and the people we are trying to reach today, are they attracted to that kind of logic or does it seem like an age gone by?"

Mohler said the SBC faces at least 10 questions, which he put in terms of dichotomies. Mohler said Southern Baptists in the future will be either:

• Missiological or bureaucratic. The denomination will be driven by the work of the Gospel mission as set forth in Scripture or it will die a slow death along a path clogged by bureaucratic red tape. "The missiological logic, I would suggest, is the only logic that fits the church of the Lord Jesus Christ," he said. "Unless the SBC very clearly asserts an unashamed, undiluted and ruthless missiological logic, we are going to find ourselves out of touch with our churches, with the generation now coming into leadership and with the world we are trying to reach, because the logic of bureaucracy will never take us where we need to go."

• Tribal or theological. The SBC must be driven by common doctrine and not a "cradle to death" ethos in which one is a Southern Baptist by virtue of being raised in a SBC church. The SBC "tribal identity" no longer exists because the cultural assumptions that underpinned such a nostalgic identity have disappeared, he said.

• Convictional or confused. The basis of cooperation among Southern Baptists must be a robust theology. Mohler said Southern Baptists must not be afraid to discuss and even debate theology: "If we avoid talking about theological issues, if we try to minimize the theological logic of this denomination...Or if we make every issue a first-order issue, we are going to have a very confused people," he said. "Southern Baptists are going to have to grow up theologically in this new age and we're not going to have any choice. Southern Baptists are no longer going to be insulated from the theological and ideological currents around us."

• Secular or sectarian. Southern Baptists are sectarian by their very nature, he said. Because of their allegiance to Christ and Scripture, Mohler urged that they must be qualitatively different than the world in their mores, ideology and convictions. In the mid-20^th century South, Southern Baptists did not have to be sectarian because they were "at home" within that culture, Mohler said, but no longer. "The South became the Sun Belt and the primary religion of the Sun Belt is materialism," he said. "We have gotten contamination from other worldviews and we are going to have to recover the sense that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is always, in a New Testament sense, sectarian. It is going to be made up of resident aliens who are never fully at home in the culture because the culture itself is a Genesis 3 culture and the church is called to a different worldview under allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ."

• Younger or dead. The SBC, Mohler pointed out, is losing two-thirds of its young people between adolescence and adulthood. He said Southern Baptists must reach the younger generation with a theologically robust vision of the Christian life to rescue them from a deadly therapeutic ethos that says God wants their lives to be worry-free, prosperous and happy.

• Diverse or diminished. Mohler said studies show that by 2050, 25 percent of all Americans will have a Hispanic grandparent. The denomination will have to become more racially diverse to reach America, he said.

• Missional or more methodological. "For a long time when you asked the question, ‘Who is a Southern Baptist?' you got a methodological answer," Mohler said. "You got a certain historical answer, a certain minimal theological answer, but by and large, it was a methodological answer. By and large, that's not going to be an option in the future. The church is not methodological, but is deployed for the cause of the Gospel."

• More strategic or more anemic. Southern Baptists must update their missions strategy at every level. Local churches will have to become individual missiological units to reach their communities, Mohler said. A fast-changing world demands that Southern Baptist be constantly rethinking their missions strategy.

• More bold or more boring. "This is a generation that is not going to be satisfied with boring," Mohler said. "The kind of boring logic which is the same thing being said in roughly the same way every time - no surprises - is simply not going to work because that's not the way the New Testament is. The mission of the Lord Jesus Christ is so bold that it can never be boring. ... This means we are going to have to take risks."

• Happy or bitter. The SBC has gained a reputation for denominational crankiness, Mohler said, adding that Southern Baptists often seem upset, angry and frustrated even while claiming to be happy. "Crankiness often erupts on the floor of the Southern Baptist Convention," he said. "We criticize people who are not even there. We raise issues as if this is where the SBC should direct its energies. ... The risk here is that we will be cranky in all the wrong ways. If we stand by the Scriptures, we are going to have to say hard things to a culture around us that will consider us backward, unloving, intolerant, while having to stand by the truth. ...We cannot afford to waste our energy on being cranky about things that are irrelevant and unhelpful and extraneous to the life of the SBC. When we gather together there had better be evident joy and there had better be a unity of purpose and a commonality of heart or people will stop coming."

Update: Video from Dr. Mohler's presentation is available at: http://www.sbts.edu/resources/lectures/presidents-forum/video-the-presidents-forum-on-the-future-of-the-southern-baptist-convention/

Audio is available at: http://www.sbts.edu/resources/lectures/presidents-forum/the-presidents-forum-on-the-future-of-the-southern-baptist-convention/

Is human personhood defined by what one does or what one is? Is the human body merely a tent that houses the soul that will at last be set free in the next life? Can a person who has undergone "gender reassignment" surgery be saved?

Essayists in the latest edition of the Southern Baptist Journal of Theology wrestle with these crucial questions in an issue devoted to theological anthropology-the doctrine of man. Contributors include Southern Seminary professors Gregg A. Allison, William R. Cutrer, Russell D. Moore and Bruce A. Ware.

Some might see anthropology as dull or unimportant, but in his opening editorial, journal editor Stephen J. Wellum argues that the need for a biblically sound doctrine of man is fundamental to a Christian worldview.

Wellum points out that there are many competing ideas about human nature in the present postmodern culture, ideas that, if lived out consistently, lead to dangerous consequences.

"In the end, it is a theological anthropology which we desperately need today, given the anthropological crisis of our day," he writes. "Our world needs to be confronted afresh with the truth of who we are in light of God's Word."

The journal sets forth the foundational issues for the doctrine of man.

Allison, who serves as professor of theology, examines the body-soul dynamic that typifies every human being.

While some evangelicals unwittingly embrace a Gnostic notion that the body is less important than the soul, Allison argues that the Bible does not see it that way. Humans have bodies until death and will have bodies again into eternity following the resurrection of the dead. Thus, the body is an important element of personhood, he writes, one that must not be despised.

"Human beings are created holistically," Allison writes, "so that in this earthly existence, soul and body are an inseparable unity. Indeed, being made in the image of God entails the embodiment of the image bearers. Human embodiment, then, is according to divine design. Accordingly, people should embrace embodiment as a gift from God."

In an essay on human personhood, Ware argues that human beings are defined most fundamentally by their essence, according to their inherent nature as God's image bearers, and not merely by their function.

The functionality model, he explains, defines personhood according to a set of "human functions" that one must be able to carry out. The two views-functional vs. essential-have critical consequences, he explains.

For example, pro abortionists argue that the human embryo is unable to perform those functions that define personhood; therefore, abortion is not the killing of a human being and is morally permissible. Christians argue that a person is defined according to their essence, "their humanness," Ware points out; thus, they view abortion as murder.

"Because essential personhood is more basic and may stand independent of expressive personhood while expressive personhood is always dependent upon and extends out of essential personhood," he writes, "one's status as a human person must rightly attach ultimately and only, then, to whether or not one possesses essential personhood."

In his compelling and provocative essay "Joan or John?," Moore, who serves as dean of the School of Theology and senior vice president for academic administration, poses an ethical dilemma, one that he gave as an assignment to his ethics class: as a pastor or Christian counselor how would you respond to a so-called "transgendered" person in your church who desires to be reconciled to God?

Moore unpacks his response and concludes by telling readers why the question has become so crucial in the 21^st century.

"We're going to have more so-called "transgendered" persons in American society, as the culture around us changes," he writes. "Now, we could always bemoan this and talk about how American culture is slouching toward Gomorrah.

"We should hope, if there are transgendered persons in the cities and towns and villages around us, that we will see them in our church pews. And we should pray, feverishly, that they will hear the gospel we're preaching as good news for them."

Cutrer and his son, Robert M. Cutrer, contribute an article that includes some practical suggestions for a wellness lifestyle.

John W. Cooper makes a case for "dualistic holism" as an answer to the current body-soul debate. Cooper serves as professor of theology at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. The journal also includes a panel discussion and a number of book reviews.

For more information or to subscribe to the journal, please write journaloffice@sbts.edu.

What are the distinguishing marks of a Southern Baptist and why is denominational identity important?

Several Southern Baptist theologians, historians and denominational leaders examine those and other questions pertinent to the current and future state of the SBC in a new book from Crossway, "Southern Baptist Identity: An Evangelical Denomination Faces the Future."

Edited by Union University President David S. Dockery, the volume contains a number of essays on Baptist identity from conferences on the topic held at the Jackson, Tenn., school. Contributors include three Southern Seminary leaders: President R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Theology School Dean Russell D. Moore and church history professor Gregory A. Wills.

In his essay, Mohler seeks to answer the question: "Is there a future?" for the SBC. He answers with a resounding "yes," while calling Southern Baptists to tread the the biblical paths upon which they have always sought to walk. Mohler calls upon Baptists to remember their non-conformist heritage.

"For all the challenges we will face in the future, this is a great time to be a Baptist," Mohler writes in his conclusion.

"We now have the opportunity to recover our nonconformist roots. That is where we began. We were outsiders, not insiders. When Baptist are forced to be nonconformists, we are forced to go back home. We have an opportunity now to think more clearly about what it means to be a Baptist, to be a covenanted community, and to be a Christian in communion with like-minded, Christ-professing, mutually-accountable leaders."

Moore contributes an essay on lessons from the life and ministry of T.T. Eaton, a 19^th century SBC leader and Wills provides a historical overview of Southern Baptist identity.

Other contributors include Danny Akin, James Leo Garrett, Timothy George, Richard Land, Paige Patterson, Thom Rainer among others.

(Editor's note: Buddy Gray has served as pastor of Hunter Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., for the past 23 years. He also served as a trustee at Southern Seminary for many years and was chairman of the board earlier this decade. Over the past few years he has helped his congregation to develop a robust Christian worldview by teaching them systematic theology, biblical theology, church history and other topics both through his preaching/teaching and reading groups. News.sbts.edu interviewed him during the recent meeting of the SBC in Louisville)

SBTS: What were you most encouraged about at the SBC annual meeting this year?

Buddy Gray: I was excited and thrilled that so many young people were there, so many young pastors. And the atmosphere was great in the things that were said, how they were said, the informal meetings that took place, the other meetings that took place with so many young guys - there was an air of excitement.

I'm thrilled with what the convention's doing, but one of the concerns has been, "Will the young pastors see the work of the denomination?" and I think some good strides were made this time.

SBTS: Most of our students are either serving as pastors or will be pastors, many for the first time. What words of wisdom would you give them as they leave here?

BG: I've had a lot of opportunities to talk to a lot of young guys, even over the last few days, just wonderful guys. They were asking the same kinds of questions. I just encouraged them to love the people that God has called (them) to pastor. Know that you are there to pastor and that means that you love them and lead them. And if you don't love them, you're not going to lead them.

Don't try to make changes (too soon); I mean, if you know the church you're going to and you know that there may be things that need to change, be sure to get the big picture first. If you'd like to lead people to change over the next 10 years, you can do it; but if you want to change them by next year or the year after, forget it. You're going to mess things up and mess it up for whoever follows you.

Sometimes it's not worth it. If it's not illegal, immoral, unethical or unbiblical, leave it alone. Just work around it. Love them and just keep going. And plow the ground. I'm a big believer, not in manipulation, but in slowly educating people.

SBTS: It is well known that you are an avid reader, so what are you reading right now?

BG: One book I'm reading right now is "Dogs of God" by James Reston on Columbus, the defeat of the Moors and the Spanish Inquisition. I just read a book on the third crusade called, "Warriors of God" and I enjoyed that. I just finished "How a Monk and a Mallet Changed the World," by Stephen Nichols on the Reformation and it was really good.

SBTS: How do you recommend books to read to your congregation?

BG: I encourage people to get on one of our reading tracks. If you're reading systematic theology or church history or what we call biblical theology -- it's not exactly that but that's what we call it -- there are books that I recommend if you want to know more about a certain topic.

We have a very good book store in our church, so a lot of times in a lot of Sunday mornings I will say, "Read such and such a book" on a given topic. Usually it will sell out because we have a lot of readers in our church. It works both ways too; people will come to me with books and say, "Man have you seen this and this" and so I've got a stack of books on my desk that people in the church want me to read.

SBTS: Tell me about the reading tracks at Hunter Street; is that part of a formalized curriculum within the church?

BG: We call it "Theological Reading Groups" and we started several years ago with Wayne Grudem's "Systematic Theology." With Grudem, for example, we take a chapter a week, everybody reads and then we come together and discuss it.

We launched the reading groups a few years ago within the church and had more than 800 people read through Grudem's book. When people see how great God is and that the most important thing about you is your concept of God by going through that systematic -- and it takes about five or six months before the lights start coming on people's minds -- it is a great, great joy.

We added another track a year and a half ago and that was reading Mark Dever's books on the whole Bible, "Promises Made" and "Promises Kept," and people really enjoyed that. For the first time they were able to see that the Bible is one story, and how it all fits together.

This year we added a church history track where we're using Bruce Shelly's "Church History in Plain Language" and they are almost half way through that. After that, this group will read "How a Monk and a Mallet Changed the World."

One of the guys I was reading with - we were six months into it and he was 30 years old - said, "You know, I've been a Christian since I was 8 years old, and it has only been in the last few months that I've come to understand how great God is. I install kitchen equipment for a living, but the only thing I think about now is God and the greatness of God." I thought, "There you go."

People want to know God, and in order to do that they have to know theology. When you put theology on a level where they can get it and other people around them get it, they get really excited about the things of God.

Messengers at the 2009 annual meeting of The Southern Baptist Convention in Louisville on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a resolution proposed by Russell D. Moore promoting adoption and orphan care.

The resolution encouraged every Southern Baptist family to pray about whether God wants them to adopt or provide foster care for a child or children. It also called on Southern Baptist and other evangelical churches to devote a Sunday each year to emphasize "our adoption in Christ and our common burden for the orphans of the world."

Moore, who serves as senior vice president for academic administration and dean of the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, knows well of which he proposed; Moore and his wife Maria adopted two sons from a Russian orphanage a few years ago.

As the Southern Baptist Convention's flagship seminary celebrates its 150^th anniversary, R. Albert Mohler Jr. told attendees of the annual meeting that The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's story is one of "truth, legacy and vision."

In the annual seminary report to SBC messengers, Mohler, Southern's ninth president, said the institution is built upon a commitment to the truthfulness, inerrancy and authority of Scripture.

Southern seeks to preserve that commitment to biblical orthodoxy, Mohler said, by having faculty members agree to teach "in accordance with and not contrary to" Southern's confession of faith, the Abstract of Principles. This requirement was a part of the founding vision of Southern's first president James Petigru Boyce.