Steve McKinley
My family and I serve as church-planting missionaries in Ireland. We have six children. I am the administrator of IBNet and the IBNet blog. In my spare time I dabble in web development (IBNet), videography, and working toward an M. Div. at Maranatha Baptist Seminary.
Adoniram Judson: Man of Conviction
Adoniram Judson is perhaps the most famous Baptist foreign missionary. He caused a sensational stir when he changed his Congregational paedobaptist convictions to become a committed Baptist. He is widely regarded as the father of American foreign missions. This title is appropriate because he was the first vocational missionary, and…
The Beginning of Fundamentalism: The Niagara Bible Conference
Spiritual forces were at work in nineteenth century Western society to undermine biblical authority and dash the blessed hope of the church upon the rugged terrain of unbelief. The twin knock-out blows dealt to the Christian denominations were Darwinian evolution and historical criticism. The only force standing in bold opposition…
What Christianity Offers the Troubled Soul
The present pandemic of Coronavirus felt around the world has people taking a fresh look at a very old theological question of why an all-powerful, all-loving God does not end the pandemic and other evils. What answer does Scripture give? Does being a Christian provide any benefit for those suffering…
Social Distance Ministry: Some Quick Tips
The quick spike in Coronavirus cases and lockdowns around the world have left many in ministry scratching our heads about how to engage the local church and the community in this new age of social distancing. We started a discussion around the topic at the IBNet forum. The following ministry…
Does God Speak Through Sign Gifts Today?
Does God speak through the sign gifts today? By sign gifts, we mean any miraculous gifts used in the New Testament for the purpose of authenticating a person or message as originating from God (e.g. Acts 14:3). According to an increasing number of Christians, He does. The Charismatic Movement Tongues…
Glimpses of Hell
Many people today doubt if hell is a real place. And if hell is real, they reason, there is no angst about going there. Apart from spiritual blindness which causes the unbeliever to regard the gospel as foolishness, there are at least two reasons for dismissing the reality of hell.…
Say What? A Terrible “Bible” Argument
I recently came across an argument by a professing Christian who was attempting to refute a fundamentalist (i.e. someone who believes the Bible) with what amounts to a full frontal assault on sola scriptura. It is a weak assault, but an assault nonetheless. It goes like this: “Christ Himself is…
Implications of Sola Scriptura
Sola scriptura is a term first applied during the Reformation period that refers to the acceptance of Scripture alone as the only infallible source of truth, and therefore the highest and final authority in all matters of faith and practice. But as alluded to in a previous post, the term…
The Bible, Our Sole Authority
What is a Baptist? As a church-planting missionary in a majority Catholic country, I frequently need to give a brief explanation of what constitutes a Baptist. The answer is quite simple. But as the common saying goes, the devil is in the details. A Baptist is one who accepts the…
Announcing the New IBNet Blog
Welcome to the new IBNet blog. The purpose of this blog is to present positive, compelling, biblically-based, Christ-centered reasons for our faith and practice. We hope to further a Baptist worldview among independent Baptists and around the world. A Baptist worldview is one that recognizes the Bible as our final…