the Proclaim & Defend Podcast

I’m basking in the “afterglow” of our Annual National Meeting held last week at Faith Baptist Church in Taylors, SC. The FBFI got its start in 1920 as a pre-convention meeting as a subset of the old National Baptist Convention. ((See here to find the last message of that meeting along with an index to the rest.)) Over the years the Fellowship changed in response to the changing ecclesiastical landscape of North America. We had several name changes along the way reflecting those changes.

In the early days, the reasons for gathering centered on concern over rising liberalism in the NBC. Many years of controversy called men to gather in response or to provide encouragement and direction to fellow pastors beset by changing times.

These days, with most of us pretty well settled in our positions, little controversy drives attendance at our meetings. Rather, our emphasis now is on shared ministry philosophy and fellowship. When I was a “tent-making” pastor, I was in the business world. For a time, one of the buzz-words of business was “networking.” Whether that’s a current term or not, networking makes up a lot of what we do.

Various ministries are represented by exhibitors, among our speakers, and in the attendees at our meeting. From mission boards to ancillary church services to Christian colleges and universities to many local churches — all kinds of leaders from various organizations gather together. It really is an amazing time to connect and re-connect with old friends and fellow workers in the ministry.

The preaching and workshops were good, but that’s not the most important thing about the meeting. The most important thing (in my opinion) is that opportunity to meet new and old friends, catch up on their ministries, and learn about things to pray for among our many like-minded friends.

You should plan to attend the annual fellowship meeting next October 12-14 at Maranatha Baptist University in Watertown, WI. Mark your calendars and make your plans. You will come away refreshed.

In the meantime, through the year we have regional fellowships meeting, including two coming up later this month: October 24 the New England brethren will meet in Dover, NH; October 26-27, the Central Region brothers will meet in Yukon, OK. Check here: Fellowships - Foundations Baptist Fellowship International for other regional fellowships through the year. These meetings provide the fellowship we find at the National meeting but on a smaller scale. They are well worth attending.

One of the great verses on the strength of fellowship is Ecclesiastes 4:12:

And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

We need the encouragement we can provide one another.

We could go on, but we will give you a little flavor of this years meeting with links to the main sessions below:

* The Church Recovered in the Word - Dr. Craig Hartman

* The Church Recovered in Its Shepherds - Dr. Bruce McAlister

* The Church Recoverd in Its Courage - Lt. Col. Nathan Mestler

* The Church Recovered in Its Loyalty to Christ Alone - Pastor Caleb Phelps

* The Recovered in Its Mission - Dr. Patrick Odle

* The Church Recovered in Its Order - Dr. Kevin Bauder

* FBFI 2026 Annual Fellowship - Panel Discussion

* The Church Recovered in the Home - Dr. Mark Herbster

Stay tuned for the audio from the workshops, we will make links available in a future post. We are hoping to post the audio of all sessions as a series of podcasts on the P&D podcast platform as well.

May the Lord bless you in your place of ministry. We hope to see you next year.

We continue to discuss our September/October edition of FrontLine, on the topic “Getting Ready to Vote.”

Today’s guest is Michael Riley, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Wakefield, Michigan. He is a regular in FrontLine and on our podcast. His article this time is called, “Can We Vote for the Lesser Evil?”

In a day when we increasingly see candidates whose personal character and/or political viewpoints just don’t match our own, we have to wrestle with voting decisions. Should we vote for one of the major candidates who matches our viewpoint more closely than the other major candidate, despite serious disagreements with the “lesser evil” guy’s platform? That is the question.

There are times when we might choose to vote for a candidate who has no hope of winning, one outside the leading candidates. We might want to send a message to the group we normally would support, and that is simply, Do Better!

On the other hand, we might have to make a decision based on the most important political issues of our day. If we have a flawed major candidate who nevertheless is right on most of those issues, or enough of those issues, then we may choose to vote for him or her.

These decisions are difficult, and Michael helps us think through the issues both in his article and our conversation.

Before we get into the discussion, let me remind you that Michael’s article is available on our Substack right away for paying subscribers. We have previews for everyone else. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.

The Article:

Can We Vote for the Lesser Evil?

The Contents & Editorial for the July/August FrontLine:

Getting Ready to Vote | FRONTLINE - Proclaim & Defend

This seems like such a 21st century topic. It sounds like I am joining the modern legions who are preoccupied with and find comfort in discussions about their mental health. But the springboard for this discussion comes from a text written 150 years ago. It was a recognized problem them, and it still is today—maybe even more so.

Every preacher should go back and read Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s Lectures to My Students. Too often students preparing for ministry read it in college or seminary and then fail to pick it up again. After a decade in ministry (or more) it strikes a more familiar chord than for seminary students. In this article, I am focusing on chapter eleven—“The Minister’s Fainting Fits.”

Discouragement is common among those in ministry.

Here is how Spurgeon so eloquently admits that he struggled with what we would today call depression. …

Read the rest of the article here, or just listen to the podcast.

We are discussing the September/October edition of FrontLine called, “Getting Ready to Vote.” Of course, we are writing in light of the upcoming elections in the USA and, as it happens, we are having elections here in the province where I live as well, so our topics seem very timely to me.

Today’s conversation is with Ryan Martin, pastor of Columbiaville Baptist Church of Columbiaville, Michigan. Ryan is a long-time online friend so I enjoy talking to him on the podcast. He is writing this time on “Welfare, Collectivism, and the Christian Vote.” What he is doing in the article and in our interview is to help us think about this issue and how to look at candidates for office. How closely do our candidates reflect Christian thinking on this issue? We will likely not find candidates who fully embrace the Bible model for caring for the needy, but the more we understand about the Bible point of view, the better we can analyze those who want our vote.

I hope you find the conversation helpful.

Before we get into the discussion, let me remind you that Ryan’s article is available on our Substack right away for paying subscribers. We have previews for everyone else. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.

The Article:

Welfare, Collectivism, and the Christian Vote

The Contents & Editorial for the July/August FrontLine:

Getting Ready to Vote | FRONTLINE - Proclaim & Defend

The Problem is Muslim Nationalism, Not Christian Nationalism

Christians are debating Christian nationalism constantly these days, and the political and theological left are fueling that debate. The contours of the argument are difficult to understand because the definitions of Christian nationalism vary widely.

The political and theological left seek to disregard any honest discussion of the of the Judeo/Christian thinking that formed the basis of our Republic. They also forbid any participation of Christianity in the public square. The problem with this is that the ethics of Christianity create an unavoidable societal fabric that is inseparable from government and governing if Christianity is genuinely held.

Certainly, some are wary of the danger of raising partizan support and patriotism above fealty to Christ—and such a concern is warranted. Peter’s response to the Jewish leaders in Acts 5:29 clearly identifies our ethical limits as believers. However, this does not preclude us from being thankful for the government God has given us, however flawed, because it is still His gift according to Romans 13:1. We also should be loyal to the nation God has given us as good citizens (1 Peter 2:13-14). It is even permissible for believers to be enthusiastic in our thanks and loyalty.

What about Muslim nationalism?

Islam, wherever it resides, longs for Sharia Law—regardless of which branch of Islam. Sharia Law, and the Constitution of the United States of America are in direct conflict with one another. The reasons for the conflict are found in the differences between the two religions. …

Read the rest of this post here, or just listen to the podcast.

Today we begin our look at the September/October edition of FrontLine which is on the topic, “Getting Ready to Vote.” We are thinking about current political issues and how we as Christians should approach them as we decide which candidates to support. The issues aren’t always clear cut, but we hope we can provide something of a Biblical perspective.

We will be publishing interviews with our authors in the order of recording, not the order they appear in the magazine.

Our first author is Preston Mayes, who is tackling the issue of Immigration in his article, “Immigration: A Biblical Perspective.” Dr. Mayes is professor of Old Testament at Central Baptist Seminary. He introduces us to the subject notably through the eyes of the Old Testament prophets, translating those views to our present circumstances as Christians within a secular state.

The topic is a complicated one, and I am not sure we have achieved “the final answer” on the subject, but we hope that at least you can take the Bible in hand and think about the issue of immigration from the Bible perspective.

Before we get into the discussion, let me remind you that Preston’s article is available on our Substack right away for paying subscribers. We have previews for everyone else. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.

The Article:

Immigration: A Biblical Perspective

The Contents & Editorial for the July/August FrontLine:

Getting Ready to Vote | FRONTLINE - Proclaim & Defend

All ministries seem to have a shelf life. It doesn’t have to be that way, but it most often is. The failure that comes at the end does not discount the great accomplishments for Christ over a long history of faithful ministry. However, our desire is to see Christian ministries—especially churches continue to prosper spiritually and in their effectiveness for Christ for as long as possible.

One way to persevere in effectiveness is to consider the messages to the seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3 and hear the warnings directed toward them. Here are seven reasons that church eventually fail. …

Read the whole post here, or just listen to the podcast.

1 Corinthians 6:1-7 says the following.

Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?

If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!

Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren.

The FBFI is no stranger to controversy. Our fellowship was born out of a reaction to the doctrinal compromise of the Northern Baptist Convention during the fundamentalist/modernist conflicts of the early 20th century.

We have also been very vocal over the last 70 years or so regarding the compromise of New Evangelicalism, as well as compromise and errors within broader fundamentalism and evangelicalism.

However, with the advent of the internet, social media, and even this blog site, we have had to seriously consider about how we approach conflicts between Christian brothers and how we approach them. …

Read the whole post here, or just listen to the podcast.

We are finishing up our conversations on our July/August edition of FrontLine, which was on the subject of building the church: “Built to Grow: Understanding and Advancing the Mission of the Church.”

Our guest today is pastor Will Cover, from Houston, TX. His article was called “Shaping the Church from the Ground Up.” One of the unique features of Will’s ministry is his approach to small group Bible studies. I really appreciated the conversation we had. We aren’t offering Will’s ideas as the “only way” to “do church” — whatever that means — but we are giving it as an example.

You might not use every idea Will shares, but I am sure you will come away with something that will be a help for your own ministry of building disciples.

Before we get into the discussion, let me remind you that Will’s article is available on our Substack right away for paying subscribers. We have previews for everyone else. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.

The Article:

Shaping the Church from the Ground Up

The Contents & Editorial for the July/August FrontLine:

FrontLine: Built to Grow: Understanding and Advancing the Mission of the Church

This seems to be a hot topic these days. After all, it is easy to read someone else’s message on Sunday morning. And AI can write sermons. Also, AI tools now can examine every word every preacher speaks for unattributed quotes or content. It’s daunting to think that members of congregation can be using tools on their phones to evaluate the words of the preacher as he speaks. This can lead to unrealistic expectations and a misunderstanding of the nature of preaching verses the published word or academic paper. So, a few words are in order now, and a fuller development of the subject should follow later. Please read or listen to the end before you criticize.

Originality in preaching should not be an expectation.

The word of God has been exegeted by hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of preachers over the 2000 years of church history. Libraries are filled with books that explain passages both directly and indirectly. The Word we are commanded to preach is finite in content—bound within the 66 books of the Bible. We are commanded to preach the word of God—not our own creative thoughts or ideas. What should alarm a congregation on Sunday is not when their preacher says things that others have also said, it is when he says things that no other has ever said (someone else said this before me, but I don’t know who). …

Read the rest of the article here or just listen to the podcast.