Has the BBFI & The Sword of The Lord parted company?

I can't imagine that the Sword has anything to do with the BBF anymore. A couple of years ago, Southwide Baptist Fellowship got together with the BBF and the WBF (this sounds like tag-team wrasslin") and held a big conference. Since then, Shelton Smith, who used to moderate Southwide, has left Southwide and started his own conference called the Nationwide Baptist Fellowship. The issues? SBF, BBF, WBF are more open to contemporary music, versions other than the KJV, and co-operating with Southern Baptists. Unfortunately, the Sword leadership persist in marginalizing themselves. If you have a lifetime subscription to the Sword, you're likely to outlive the paper.

 

Sad but true! For me, I started reading less and less of it within a few years after Hutson took over, I guess it was mid 70's I started backing off of so much of it and Smith is even more down that line, I do have a life time deal and read very little of it any more.

 

The Sword now being so blatantly KJVO is quite pathetic. The really sad part is Smith and his cronies who now run the Sword make it look like John R. Rice was KJVO.

 

I believe the Sword and BBFI parted ways a LONG time ago, probably around the late 80's. I am GLAD I did not get the lifetime deal when it was offered. However, I do not see the paper dying for virtue of the fact that (1) they probably have a pile of money stashed away, and (2) There are enough guys out there who will do anything to get their name in print that they will continue to support the Sword.

 

I'm very sad to read this as, of course, it is far from true. For the record, I haven't gotten the Sword in quite awhile--or any other rags from the States, for that matter!

 

I tryed to order for a friend Dr. Rice's book,"Our God Breathed Book The Bible" from them a year or so ago and they said they didn't have it. I don't know if it was because of the stand on KJO that the Sword has today or if lack of sales cause it to be out of print, but it caught me off guard.

 

I've been disappointed that some of Dr. Rice's greatest and most important books are not sold any longer at the Sword.

 

You have to understand that some of these books our so out of date with statistics and dates that they are allowed to go out of print. In my years that I worked in Editorial at the Sword we would take old books by Rice and others and have to do massive research to update them and it takes a while to get them retypeset and designed.

One such book is the one listed above... you will find it here http://www.swordofthelord.com/osb/itemdetails.cfm/ID/337

 

Thanks, I'll know I can get it there now. When I tryed they didn't have it. Again, I thank you.

 

Wonderful, FBCPastorsWife. Thanks for that information! Our God-Breathed Book the Bible had a tremendous influence on my own life.

 

I wonder if the book has been revised to support KJVO instead of Dr. Rice's viewpoint which contradict's KJVO? Just wondering.

 

I have a lot of respect for the Sword and Dr. Smith.

 

My church takes SotL. The only edifying parts I see are the reprints of old sermons from genuine fundamentalists.

 

Didn’t Dr. Rice's family and the current leadership of the Sword have a huge falling out? I think even some legal stuff went on. This is one SBC Fundamentalist that loves Dr. Rice and his writings.

 

As a member of the family, I can say that there were no legal matters involved--no lawsuits, no legal threats, etc.

The John R. Rice family, the "Rice Clan" as we like to call ourselves, now consists of five daughters and four sons-in-law (Uncle Allan and Aunt Grace MacMullen and my father, Charles Himes are all in Heaven), plus 28 grandchildren (I am #4, and the first grandson to preach) and their spouses and all the great-grandchildren.

As you might guess, there is a wide diversity among us. To the best of my knowledge, though, the only ones of the Rice daughters and their husbands not attending an independent Baptist church are Walt and Libby Handford, who no longer consider themselves fundamentalist--but who I still admire as wonderful Christians and servants of Christ.

J. R., you are probably thinking of the open letter Mrs. Joy Martin (the youngest daughter) wrote to Dr. Smith disagreeing with his current stand on separation and Bible versions. This letter was pretty much representative of the view of the five living daughters and their husbands, to the best of my knowledge. Anyone wishing to consider the issue for his or her self may read this at: http://www.biblicalevangelist.org/index.php?view=Sermons&id=282

Please don't anyone ask my view on this controversy. I'm way over here in Japan, have my own ministry and agenda, and really am not able to keep up with it all. For the record, I am IFB all the way, and in the issues of Bible translations and separation my stand is very close to that of my beloved grandfather, John R. Rice.

 

Thanks for clearing that up John. Your grandfather was and is a tremndous blessing in this preachers life.

 

John, I think most IFB's were pretty close to Dr. Rice's position until the polarization.