TJB

@AdamPage85 I would like to know if there's a plan for becoming self-supporting. Some of the church plants are larger than rural churches who help fund them through CP giving.

One way to see way more excitement on the SBC church planting front is to do everything we can to make sure (through faithful state conventions) that we are not allowing affiliations of nondenominational churches who want to pretend to be SBC long enough to be properly funded during the planting period. I rejoice in more churches. I rejoice even louder in ones with solid doctrine planted with biblical wisdom and accountability.

@lvlytammy @BethCavete I don't think people understand that it's not that easy to lose weight when you're the cook; especially when what you need to eat is not what they need or want to eat.

@BethCavete My parents are the same. Even though my mom went from being very thin to doctors saying she should loose, my dad encourages weight loss but still says she is beautiful, even when she is not around. Partners should care for each other's health without being hurtful 🤍

Before I was married, an old family friend sat me down at her kitchen table for some frank talk. Picture a gray-haired mother of 7 grown kids, a former hippie known for her chipped front tooth and her fondness for "bear grease." I still remember her huge grin as she said about her husband of decades, "He thinks I'm so pretty. No matter how old, how many babies, he just finds me so attractive." I will spare y'all the risqué details that followed 😂, but she made her point, and I needed to hear it. It was the opposite of everything the world had told me as a young woman, but she was right. We women are so critical of our appearance. Healthy men just are not. A few years later I would read this line from a well-known pastor, and it would stay with me to this day. He put it this way, "Faithful men desire their wives." Married love is the gift of God. We just engage and enjoy it. It's a whole lot more sure and secure than the number on the scale, wrinkle-free skin, or a beautiful outfit. Prov 5:15-23 I love how Gretchen brings everyone to the kitchen table for truths that go down easy with a spoonful of humor.

@NateSchlomann My question to NAMB concerns continuing to fund church plants that are obviously much larger now than many rural churches across the convention who are self-sufficient. What is the criteria to continue funding?

I believe Kevin Mahaffy is a current NAMB church planter who is receiving NAMB funding this year, 2025. This is what we should expect, as Mahaffy is listed as a current Send Network Church Plant / Planter. I have additional evidence that there are current NAMB funds involved that I’ve been asked not to share publicly, but any SBC leader who wants can DM me about this. One would think some trustees would care about this. However, there is no reason that someone at NAMB cannot publicly confirm this. We shouldn’t have to wonder about who is and isn’t a currently supported NAMB/SEND church planter.

Ok, big NAMB and women pastors at church plants thread / update: Kevin Ezell has repeatedly stated that there are no NAMB churches with women pastors. NAMB has put out statements clarifying that this means pastors of any kind, not just senior/lead pastors. However, many instances of women serving as pastors at NAMB churches have been found in the past. Usually, NAMB does address this when pressured and the church is removed (at least publicly, internal information is not available). The deeper issue is that it does not appear that the leaders at NAMB care about our core complementarian commitments. They react when caught, and that is simply not good enough. It should be telling that no NAMB leader publicly supports the Law Amendment. We expect our church planting organization to be at the forefront of doctrinal fidelity, but sadly it is the opposite. So about that $10,000...

@agreatdayinnc @VirgisViews A book I read when we started homeschooling said something to the effect of - why do people send their children off for someone else to enjoy when you've gotten them through the hard parts?

@VirgisViews I am leaning towards this, I’m just so nervous. But I know K is like the easiest and fun to do so I kind of want to try it out

I keep on going back and forth on homeschooling or sending my kiddo off for kindergarten. I know K is the easiest and we could give it a trial run, but I also know she would LOVE school. Idk what to do

@ruima I've begun calling it "plastic egg pickup day". There's no hunt. And what's the purpose of having it for babies who can't even eat candy?

My mother-in-law was genuinely shocked that my 3-year-old came home with 46 (!!) eggs from the local park egg hunt yesterday. “Is this how it works now?” she asked. “When your husband was little, the eggs were actually hidden, and he’d be so thrilled every time he found one.” A friend from China who happened to be visiting with a 5-year-old was also stunned. “It was like how I imagine locusts eat through crops,” she said. She also pointed out how many parents ignored the rules entirely. In the 4-5-year-old section, parents were explicitly told not to enter the egg hunt area, and so they didn’t. But that did not stop plenty of tiger parents from charging in anyway with their tiger cubs. I truly do not understand this. Why has an egg hunt become such a competition that people are willing to brazenly ignore clearly posted rules? What exactly are you teaching your kids? Win at all costs? And then we wonder why there is so much fraud. We wonder why 40% of Stanford kids are allegedly faking a disability or whatever. And the “egg hunts” themselves are barely hunts anymore. The eggs are not hidden. They are just dumped across a flat field in plain sight, with zero challenge whatsoever. It is less a hunt than a herd devouring whatever is in front of them. We had originally told our toddler that, since they were on the older end of the 0-3 group, we should give away some eggs if it turned out other kids did not get many. But honestly, we had probably the average number of eggs. So it wasn't even like there weren't enough eggs. Not sure why the parents are still so competitive about it all. I don’t know. The whole thing feels like a pretty good metaphor for a lot of things I don't like about society right now. Is this unique to SV or is it like this everywhere else now too?

@megbasham @naomieppsbest The company was started by a man. Wonder if that makes a difference? Maybe he's more into community service but also knows if it looks and sounds Christian, people will support it without discernment.

@naomieppsbest I’m not trying to pick a battle. It’s just really surprising to go into there and see stuff like this while hearing Waymaker playing over the store speakers.

@rlesliemendoza @megbasham @Altard_State Shouldn't we desire younger women to be modest? There's a girl getting into pageants and her Dad can be heard on a recording saying he doesn't like her dancing around in the fitness part. The mom is laughing at him. He's right - it's not a good look.

@megbasham @Altard_State Some of their dresses and tops could definitely be more modest, they’re also designed for younger women… just some food for thought.

I really don’t understand @Altard_State. It’s supposed to be a Christian company—they play Christian music in the stores and sell all of this Christian-branded merchandise—and yet their clothes are as hoochie, if not hoochier, than anything I see at nonChristian retailers! It’s kind of the opposite of a good witness.

@jaysonyork What's really bad is taking unsaved and ungrounded people, usually youth, on mission trips.

Unpopular pastoral opinion #17 Most short term missions trips serve little/no benefit to anyone. Occasionally disaster relief or specific evangelistic outreaches are impactful. Most trips are Christian tourism or a form of international youth camp Mostly a waste of time/money

@Melo_Malebo @CptNash2 My husband needed three to replace him so they finally realized they needed to change up some things. He left with a lot of knowledge no one else was trained to do.

My cousin has been telling his manager for months that the scope of his role was too large for one person to do. They said they he needed to work on his prioritization and time management. He quit two weeks back and he found out yesterday that they replaced him with two people. Why do companies always do this ? 💔

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10 There were 23 people in our church last night; all older except one (late 30s). I looked at FB and there were so many activities people were at besides church. When do people get still for God for more than an hour on Sunday morning?

@rishab70113 @xevekiah Isn't that what the government does? Takes from some to subsidize the rest and we're supposed to be happy because we're helping other people. It's not just money. It's time in the idea of forced volunteerism being done to families thru school children and graduation requirements

@xevekiah Splitting the bill equally only makes sense when people ordered roughly the same. Otherwise it’s just one person subsidizing the other.

my friend ALWAYS tries to split the bill unfairly. we ordered food, i got fries for 435, she ordered a whole MEAL for 2870. when the bill came she goes, “let’s just split it.” split?? equally?? i had fries. you had STEAK. i told her let’s just pay for what we each ordered. she sighed and said, “that’s so complicated yaar.” complicated?? it’s literally basic math. so i pulled out my phone and calculated exactly what i owed. suddenly she got upset and said i was being cheap. cheap?? i’m being fair. you’re the one trying to make me pay for half of your expensive meal. i paid my amount. exactly. since then she’s been acting cold and posting passive-aggressive stories like “some people are so calculative.” yes. i calculate. i unfollowed her. she noticed and texted me. i left her on read. friendship ended over accurate bill splitting. and honestly? i’m at peace. 😌

@sarahpeathatsme @HeatherACofer My family dressed and made their beds. I imagine most of those we knew did the same. There was more accountability overall and much more disdain for it than now.

@HeatherACofer Did homeschoolers in our day actually do school in their pajamas? I have certainly heard this joke my whole life but we never actually did this. We always got dressed, brushed hair and teeth, etc. I wonder how common homeschoolers doing school in pajamas actually is.

As a homeschool mom, I’m gonna do some gentle pushing back on this meme (and others I’ve seen like it) about homeschoolers staying in pj’s all day. It’s something I’ve thought a good bit about; not a hill to die on, but something I think is worth pondering. One of the benefits of homeschooling is not just the freedom to educate our kids academically, but it also gives more space to incorporate broader life training as part of this education. For our family this has meant requiring our kids to get dressed everyday as part of their morning chores before school starts. I do the same. The exception to this is on sick days, and for me when I’ve had long nights with the babies. But our desire is to help establish healthy, daily rhythms that they can use as a springboard into adulthood. I’m seeing left and right these days people noticing and being bothered by the lack of care people are putting into their physical presentation. It’s even to the point banning pajamas from airports. Why? Because we know intrinsically that how we present ourselves does communicate something about us, and has an impact on the people around us. We’d all give a little gasp if, for instance, the White House press secretary came to a press conference in Bluey pj pants and an oversized tee with her hair in a lopsided messy bun. We would all see it as reflecting an attitude of carelessness about the job she’s been given and a level of disrespect to those who gave it to her. The Bible demonstrates the reality that clothing matters. Whether it’s the details of the priestly garments (Exodus 28), the description of a Proverbs 31 woman (or of the forbidden woman in Pro. 7), or Jesus using the understanding that certain garments were acceptable or unacceptable at weddings in a parable to point to a spiritual reality (Matt. 22), we see that it’s not arbitrary. It’s not to be made paramount, but it’s also not to be rejected as unimportant. I’m absolutely *not* positing we have to dress in a blazer and skirt and heels everyday. But I’m simply encouraging my fellow homeschool moms that we have an opportunity to teach and equip our kids in another aspect of life by training them about what clothing communicates about us and the importance of the work we’ve been given. I’ve always wanted my children to understand that my role as a mom and their teacher matters, which is one reason I put some care into getting dressed. Even though they’re just coming down to the dining room table, I also want them to get used to ordering their outward appearance to reflect the reality that their schoolwork is the good work God has given them to do, and therefore matters.

@NateSchlomann @rhett_burns I started looking up NAMB missionaries and so many are church planters, and many in churches larger than ours, yet we pay our pastor and bills without help. I support mission work but at some point these churches should be self-supporting.

SBC financial transparency - what do people want to know? There should be a list of every single church that NAMB is funding each year, and how much that funding is. We don't need to know individual entity salaries. We should know how many employees (total number) an entity has that make over 100k a year, and what the total block of salary is for those employees. That would solve 90% of the mistrust.

@MichelleDLesley No on the first two questions. I'm not sure about how many times. We went over a year without it when we didn't have a pastor. I think the interim could have done it but maybe it was for the best as he did a few things that caused confusion we're still not over.

+ Is it OK for women to administer the Lord's Supper? + What about observing the Lord's Supper at a parachurch gathering? + How often should a church observe the Lord's Supper? ...and more! michellelesley.com/2026/02/24/the…

@mitchellchase I think the point is to be careful and not favor one group over another. Pastors and families need friends they can trust but they can't always take their sides in a situation just because they are friends.

A pastor once told me, "A pastor shouldn't be friends with people in his church." But that's dumb. Ignore that advice. You can't be close friends with everyone. But have friendships with people in your church.

@HaraldGormsson @Chicago1Ray @LeaderJohnThune We need more like that in my opinion. Same on the state level.

@TJB28959469 @Chicago1Ray @LeaderJohnThune A bill isn’t always restrictive. Many bills introduced reduce restricting proposing that past restrictions have suffocated freedoms or growth.

They're not doing their job 🚨 Trumps first year in office has seen the lowest amount of bills passed in modern American history Trump- (38) Biden- (122) Obama- (125) Bush - (109) I'm calling on @LeaderJohnThune to resign as Majority leader, he's not cut out for this role

@HaraldGormsson @Chicago1Ray @LeaderJohnThune I'm not sure that not passing bills is a bad thing. Maybe the bills passed need to be those repealing rather than adding new restrictions on the American people.

@Chicago1Ray @LeaderJohnThune What you don’t know is that each bill is often loaded with a bunch of small bills. Take for example THE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL. That has 25 single issue bills consolidated within that one alone.

@MichelleDLesley The curriculum I use with kids right now is chronological, not topical. We have covered so much because they ask questions and make comments and we're reading straight from the Bible. It just makes so much more sense

Yes, I've visited a few charismatic "churches" where this happened. I've also had the misfortune to sit under SBC pastors who functionally did this. They'd read a verse or two at the beginning of the alleged sermon, close their Bibles, and then proceed to tell stories the rest of the time. Actually, this is also the structure of most of the "Bible" "studies" offered by Lifeway Women.

@John_Brian_K @themoviedadsc What I've seen from people gifting their adult children too much is lack of financial responsibility from the recipient. I see a spending problem more often. While we are saving, they have to have subscriptions for the latest, expensive coffee, eating out more than at home, etc.

I cannot speak for everyone, but my parents want to make sure they have enough money to take care of themselves until they die....giving away their money to kids before they are gone kinda puts the financial burden on the kids to take care of them later...I kinda see both sides, but to me, practically speaking it makes more sense to hold it until you croak....unless your expenses (even exaggerated) for all the years until you turn 100 is a fraction of your net worth. Then you can gift away...

I’m a BIG advocate for parents gifting inheritances early instead of waiting until death. Buying your 29-year-old daughter (just married w/twins) a new van changes her life 10x more than a $250K+ check at 63. Money is most life-changing between 25–35 when families are building.

@BasedZillenial I've lost so many books from lending to others. It's really annoying.

OMG an adult stole one of my movies when I was a kid too! 🫠 He was a random dude from our church who came to fix our furnace and saw The Lion King on a shelf in our basement and was like “Oh is this The Lion King? I love this movie, can I borrow it?” and my dad let him borrow it. 🙃 Then he MOVED TO CALIFORNIA and never returned it. I’m still bitter over two decades later.