Patty McCord, “Powerful”

I’m sitting in Dallas, TX, preparing to attend a few days of the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. On the flight from Springfield (MO) to here, I finished Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility by Patty McCord, who served for fourteen years as the Chief Talent Officer at Netflix. She is also the…

The Art of Persuasion

I never tire of trying to persuade people that the University of Kentucky has the greatest basketball tradition in the history of collegiate basketball. Whenever the subject comes up, I repeat, without hesitation, the necessary arguments to make my case. Are you persuaded? Over the years, I’ve gotten pretty good at making all those arguments…

Faith and Assurance: John Calvin vs. Westminister

Yesterday a friend of mine sent me a question one of his students had asked him in class. The student wanted to know how to reconcile Calvin’s definition of faith with that of the Westminister Confession of Faith (WCF). Here is how Calvin defines faith. “Now we shall possess a right definition of faith if…

Why Did Plural Eldership Decline in Baptist Life?

This past week I had the chance to give a lecture on leadership in the NT here at Southwest Baptist University. Of particular intrigue to me (and many) is why a plurality of elders fell out of favor among Baptists in the 20th century. Thankfully, Baptists today often have a plurality of elders leading their…