Sweet Fancy Moses

For those who are "Seinfeld-ignorant" it's an expression of shock and amazement. Some are tempted to think it violates some biblical command not to take the names of the Patriarchs in vain, but I can't find that one in there. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough.

Anyway, the reason for my shock and amazement? Mrs. Suprdaviss just discovered that we are expecting our 3rd child. Yee. Haw. We're looking at a late February/early March delivery. Let's get ready to rumble.

Brazil 2007 (Part the First)

On Monday, June 25 I arrived home from a full week of ministry in Sao Luis, Maranao, Brazil. To both of you who read my blog (thanks, mom), I want to take the next few days and share some of the details of our trip. It was beautiful, exciting, scary, emboldening, and heartbreaking. It caused me to weep over the lostness of men and rejoice in the goodness of God who extends His grace to undeserving sinners. You are probably not going to read things here that are deep and profound, but I pray that as you read my words that you would be encouraged to draw near to the heart of God and challenged to let your light shine before men.

I set out from Nocona, TX on Friday afternoon, June 15 with two of our senior adult women, Travis and Rosita. We arrived at the DFW airport where we met our other two team members, Steve and Lynn. Steve is a frequent flyer and a member of the Admiral's Club, so he was able to get us into a more comfortable place to wait for our flight.

We boarded the flight and I ended up on the very back row next to a Brazilian woman. Being 6'4", airplane seats are never confortable for me, but on an overnight flight next to a perfect stranger they are almost unbearable. I managed to doze for a few minutes at a time throughout the night. Sunrise on the flight came early, but when it did it was spectacular. It was so bright that it blasted orange beams of light through the windows and onto the other side of the plane. As it continued to rise we could see the lush green valleys filled with the early morning mist and fog. From the very beginning we were treated to glimpses of God's glory in creation. We got into Sao Paulo at about 8am.

We had to go through customs, but thankfully no one got stopped or searched. We then had to maneuver through the Sao Paulo airport to recheck our bags and find our next flight. Thankfully we had a long layover to get this accomplished. I did get to use my first Portuguese to tell a woman, "Eu nao falo Portugues (I do not speak Portuguese)." For the first time in my life I really felt like a foreigner. All the signs were in Portuguese. Everyone was speaking Portuguese. Airline officials were shouting directions in Portuguese. Maybe it's because I'm a self-centered American, but it was tempting to expect everyone to understand me. It was good for me to be forced to adapt to everyone else.

Our next three flights were short, to Recife, Fortaleza, and then into Sao Luis. Thankfully all our bags arrived! The Fore family (Michael, Cynthia, Chris, Joseph, Carilee, and Jenny) met us at the airport and greeted us like family. I could tell that they missed "home folks." We met our bus driver for the week, Orlando, loaded up and headed for the hotel. We got checked in and headed to bed. Sunday would be a full day.

As I lay in bed and reflected on the first days of our trip a couple of things struck me. First, with all the things that could have gone wrong, very little actually did. Rosita did get stopped at every security check, but none of us were stopped at customs. All of our flights were smooth. There were no flight delays. We made all of our connections. We arrived with all of our luggage. I know that this was no accident. It may be a small thing, but I'm thankful that God is sovereign even over the details.

Second, during the 45-minute drive from the airport to the hotel God began to plant in my heart a burden for the people of Sao Luis. Even though I only watched through a bus window for a few minutes, I saw street children, thugs, partiers. I saw people without Christ and without hope who are destined for hell unless God saves them. I prayed that the love of Christ would compel me to be bold in sharing the gospel.

Third, I knew that I was going to preach Sunday night at the church service in Sacavem (a neighborhood within Sao Luis). I wanted to be sure that I preached a simple gospel message that would be a call to the lost and a challenge to the saints. I prayed that I would have a clear idea what I should preach.

Also, I really started to miss Catherine and the kids. More to come...

Making disciples of all nations...

This Friday night I will fly from Dallas to Sao Luis, Brazil for a week of evangelism, preaching, and church planting. Four of my church members will be going with me. We will be partnering with a couple of IMB missionaries who were formerly on staff here at our church.

If you read this blog, please pray. Pray that our presentation of the gospel would be accurate and clear. Pray that we would be both bold and compassionate. Pray that God would draw sinners to Himself. Pray that we would be obedient to the command of Scripture and the prompting of the Spirit. Pray for our families as we are away. Pray that the name of Jesus would be exalted and glorified.

I'll post an update when I return.

Integrity, Enforcement, and Double Standards

Wade Burleson has consistently held that he affirms and supports the BFM2K, but with a couple of caveats. One of these is in reference to the condemnation of infants before they actually sin themselves. Wade has stated his belief that Scripture teaches all men are condemned from birth because of Adam's sin. He believes that this understanding conflicts with the statement in the BFM2K. Others have argued that the BFM doesn't contradict the affirmation (held, for instance, by the Abstract of Principles) that all men are condemned from birth. They say that these two documents complement each other. I believe it was Dr. Greg Welty that explained that these two documents speak of two distinct condemnations. But my post isn't about these two documents and whether they conflict. Wade Burleson believes that they do conflict, and so in the interest of integrity and full disclosure he stated his agreement with the AoP and disagreement with the BFM. Others believe that they don't conflict, and if that is the case, why should Wade's statement on this particular issue matter? He has stated what he believes, yet most of those who would call for his dismissal say that his disagreement is really no disagreement at all. So for the sake of this argument, let's set the issue of infant condemnation aside.

The issue that remains, then, is the issue of closed communion. The BFM states that baptism is prerequisite to the Lord's Supper. Some define this as "closed" communion. I have heard others refer to this as "close" communion. Wade seems to indicate that his church invites all born again believers to participate in the Lord's Supper. Because of this conviction, again in the interest of integrity and full disclosure, he has stated his disagreement with the BFM on this issue. Because of this, many have called for his removal as an IMB trustee.

So my question is this: how many current SBC agency trustees have affirmed the BFM2K without reservation or written caveats, yet practice the very same kind of communion practiced by Wade Burleson's church? In other words, is there any way to determine how many affirm BFM in print and deny it in practice? Does it show a lack of integrity? Is there a way to enforce it? What about those who make a statement about being baptized before partaking of the Lord's Supper and then do nothing to ensure that this actually happens? Do they actually practice closed or close communion as outlined in the BFM? Or are they in violation of it? And if it is found out that some who have affirmed the BFM2K (including apparently every SBTC church) practice open communion, will there be the same call to remove them from boards and castigate them for their lack of consistency? Will this be a double standard?