Josh Powell

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SCBC History: A Quick Glance at the Last 60 Years

The history of Baptists in South Carolina begins in the late 17th century. The names of William Screven, Oliver Hart, Richard Furman, and W.B. Johnson are very familiar to Baptists in the South. These men, along with others like... Continue Reading »

President’s Perspective: An Historic Meeting

This year we will celebrate the 199th year of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. This will be our 200th annual meeting. When we look at the history of denominations, this is really an amazing feat that testifies to the... Continue Reading »

President’s Perspective: The Year We Needed

The year 2020 has asked more questions than most of us have answers. This year has brought about a seemingly endless string of difficult decisions, made all the more difficult by the small amount of information we have on... Continue Reading »

President’s Perspective: We Are Great Commission Baptists

Baptist identity has always been rooted in our shared beliefs. The discussions around Baptist identity over the last few decades have centered around “Baptist distinctives.” While Baptists share a majority of their beliefs with other Protestant Christians, they also... Continue Reading »

We Are Great Commission Baptists

Baptist identity has always been rooted in our shared beliefs. The discussions around Baptist identity over the last few decades have centered around “Baptist distinctives.” While Baptists share a majority of their beliefs with other Protestant Christians, they also... Continue Reading »

President’s Perspective: Furman and the Spirit of Revolution

Richard Furman is arguably the most important figure in early Baptist life in America and unquestionably the most important foundational figure in South Carolina Baptist life. Another well-known contemporary and important leader in his own right, W.B. Johnson, said... Continue Reading »

President’s Perspective: S.C. Baptists and the Soul of Christian Education

Southern Baptist higher education is rooted in South Carolina. It found its soul here as well. It began deep in the 18th century — in 1755, when Oliver Hart led the Charleston Baptist Association to take up a collection... Continue Reading »

A Personal Resolution

I hesitate to write this for fear of being misunderstood, and it is not in any official capacity that the following is offered. I am writing this simply as a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ and seeking nothing... Continue Reading »

‘Disordered and Confused’: How South Carolina Baptists Responded to the Flu Pandemic of 1918

“We are living in unprecedented times.” I have heard this several times in the past few days. It sure feels that way. Remembering the influenza pandemic of 1918 can help us understand the challenges the church is facing in... Continue Reading »

President’s Perspective: Conventions — Crucial & Indispensable

In the 1921 centennial edition of The Baptist Courier, Professor H.T. Cook wrote, “The Baptists in South Carolina have an enviable reputation as a missionary minded people.” Passion for the salvation of the lost led Luther Rice and South... Continue Reading »

President’s Perspective: Products or Prophets? A Look at Our Legacy

In December 1822, the South Carolina Baptist Convention met for just the second time. At Fellowship Church in Edgefield, the delegates were led again by the distinguished Richard Furman. The state was still reeling from a year of turmoil... Continue Reading »

President’s Perspective: Pillars Upon Which SCBC Stands

Our great South Carolina Baptist Convention legacy began small. On Tuesday, Dec. 4, 1821, nine delegates from three different associations met in Columbia “agreeably to a proposal and arrangement for forming a Convention of the Baptists in the State... Continue Reading »