Mohler on the future of the SBC

Al Mohler held a forum this morning at Southern Seminary on the "Future of the Southern Baptist Convention."

Mohler observed that the world has changed dramatically in the last 60 years, and that the SBC is at a crossroads. If we continue to embrace a corporate mentality, the SBC will quickly become extinct. But if we return to a more biblical model of doing church, our brightest days may lie ahead. The Great Commission Task Force has been given a unique opportunity to talk about denominational structure and efficiency, but this conversation must be founded upon a strong theology and unflagging commitment to the Great Commission.

Here are my full notes from his message:

The President's Forum on the Future of the SBC
Al Mohler, President of Southern Seminary
August 19, 2009

Introduction
What does it mean to be a Southern Baptist in the 21st century?
First, an expression of gratitude to all those who have been faithful over the years, and to all those who have been giving, praying, going, sending
John 9:4 says "work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day" - a very urgent warning about time. Asking about the SBC is an urgent and strategic question about the gospel and the Great Commission. Yet many feel an urgency that we should be doing more. The issue is faithfulness.

Some Historic perspective
1845 - founders in Augusta established a mission statement for the "eliciting, combining, and directing of energies toward the propagation of the Gospel." Missions was the reason for the SBC.
Home Mission Board was originally designed to reach the frontier. America did not exist the way it does now.
Late 1800s - began to meet annually; SBC begins to broaden; seminaries established
1914-1919 - Great shift of logic in SBC; a new word entered our vocabulary: "efficiency." Efficiency experts rose in America - time, systems, organizational management. An infusion of a business culture entered into the life of our denomination. It is helpful and relevant, but has limited application in spiritual matters.
1925 - Executive Committee was established. Necessity for an ongoing, coordinating entity. Also year Cooperative Program was established.
1926-27 - Executive Committee was given enormous expansion of powers.
1950s - Formation of Committee to Study the Total Church Program, chaired by Douglas Branch. Goal: to recommend a massive restructuring. Used the Booz Allen Hamilton consulting firm. Again, "efficiency" was the main concern. Some of the recommendations: an office building in Nashville (headquarters); inter agency council; program assignments to entities. What would be our mission? "To bring men closer to God through Jesus Christ."
1995 - Program and Structure Committee - reduced entities from 19 to 12. Mission "SBC exists to facilitate, extend, and enlarge, Great Commission ministries of local churches." Sounds less bureaucratic, more richly theological, and urgently evangelistic.
2009 - A Great Commission Task Force was assigned to bring recommendations of how churches may be more effective in the Great Commission.

Consider 1945. By this time, the SBC had developed a programmatic identity. The basic ethos/energy was programmatic unity (you're SBC because you do certain things, have certain features, uses certain literature, etc.). It was assumed you hold to certian doctrines. A corporate management mentality. This came out of a social context. Post war, the SBC became something like a Catholic Church of the South. A cradle-to-grave approach to Southern Baptist identity (starting with "pre-cradle roll"). Sunday was at least a four-fold activity. Youth choirs. Missions organizations. Offering envelopes with check boxes. College and Universities had Baptist Student Union. Families had Camps, Brotherhood, WMU. Retirement Centers even established. The planning concept: "The key church (or model church)." Had all organizations. Reported in Annual Church Profile. Resulted with great solidarity, denominational identity, incredible intactness/tightness in SBC identity. Any use of resources "outside the program" (using different curriculum, attending a non-SBC conference center) were immediately suspect. There was enormous spiritual security in all this. There was a tribal, cultural identity. An enormous brand loyalty. But now the world has changed on us, and the world that produced that identity is long gone.

The SBC today - Two Analogies

• The SBC as General Motors - William Durant developed GM as a cradle-to-grave employer. Everyone became 'inside.' You never have to leave the corporation. Small distinctions, but many similarities. Centralized headquarters with centralized "offerings." Dealders were distributed throughout the country. GM overtook Ford because of its aggressiveness, and led in auto sales for 77 years. Managerial dynamic, the envy of every other company. But now, has transformed into a new corporation owned by US taxpayers and pension stock. Lost market share and is the second largest bankruptcy in human history. It fit the 50s and 60s really well, but doesn't fit any more. Are we trapped in the same organizational logic?
• The SBC as Shopping Mall - this was made possible by the automobile. First built in 1950. A complete reversal of downtown logic, with pedestrians walking down the street, entering storefronts. Significant advantage: enclosed space, protected from the elements. Anchor tenants attract shoppers. The logic is that you're "going to the mall." The action and identity is inside. By 2008, 1175 enclosed mall in the US. Displaced almost all other retail context, rivaled only by "big box stores." #1 item sold is women's clothing. But not one enclosed mall has opened in America since 2006. Retail logic has collapsed - lifestyle centers. Retailers now want their name out front. The identity is now primarily the "store" rather than the shopping "center." The SBC is a huge "mall." Two anchor stores: IMB and NAMB. Inside the mall are many other things going on. The loyalty is to this huge "thing" that is only explicable from the inside.
  

There were certain gains from these models, resulting in many people getting to the mission field, but the question we need to ask is, "What is changed, and why have we not?" and "Has the logic of this particular organizational pattern been eclipsed by something else?" Does it seem like an age gone by?

The SBC now faces several questions.
We must choose one direction or another.

• Are we going to be missiological or bureaucratic? Only missiological fits the Lord Jesus Christ. Otherwise, we will find ourselves out of touch with churches and the world we're trying to reach. The logic of bureaucracy will never take us where we need to go.
• Is our identity tribal or theological? We've had many shared theological convictions. SBC tribal identity is no longer the norm. A theological identity will lead to missiological.
• Is the basis of our cooperation convictional or confused? We must "grow up" theologically. Must distinguish first order issues. A clash of worlviews now occurs very early in life.
• Is our logic going to be more secular or more sectarian? Will we stand out from the culture around us? The SBC did not once need to be sectarian in the South, but that has changed, and we need to reach areas outside the Sun Belt. The church of the Lord Jesus is in a sense always sectarian, comprised of reside aliens never fully at home in the culture.
• Are we going to become younger or dead? We're losing at least 2/3 of our young people between adolescence and adulthood. This is a generation that has reduced religion to "moralistic therepeutic deism." We need a level of evangelism and discipleship beyond what the SBC has traditionally seen. The SBC birth rate has shrunk.
• Are we going to be more diverse or diminished? Becoming more diverse will require a lot of strategy and uncomfortability. This means we won't be singing out of the same hymnbook. By the year 2050, 25% of all Americans will have a Hispanic grandparent.
• Will we become missional or missiological? We can no longer be merely methodological. The church is found faithful when found missional.
• Will we be more strategic or anemic? Local churches must be a missiological think tank for our community. More intentioned.
• Will we be more bold or more boring? This generation will not be satisfied with boring (same thing, same way, no surprises). The NT Gospel is bold. We're going to have to take risk, which is uncomfortable, especially for a denomination already struggling. Need bold leadership. The comfort zone will lead only to death.
• Are we going to be happy or bitter? The SBC has a reputation for denominational crankiness, even in our annual meetings. Don't be cranky for the wrong things. We're going to have to say hard things that appear unloving, intolerant. We cannot afford to waste the opportunity to reach our neighbors by being cranky over extraneous things. There needs to be a love and commonality. There should be evident joy among God's people.
  

Two problems with the Cooperative Program.
The SBC has both perception problems and reality problems. Only a small portion of CP giving actually makes it to missions.

• Our greatest goal is not merely to cooperate. Any entity can do this. The whole purpose is reaching the nations. Are we going to be relevant in the modern world.
• We cannot simply tell churches in a new age what they must do and how they must live. We must earn their trust. We are partners of the churches. They must be liberated to give as they will, or they will not give at all.
  

Concluding thoughts

• We are still too North American centric.
• We need to return to the primacy of the early church. Where are churches urgently, passionately understanding the mission of God. Our identity is not in the "giving." The giving must be at the end, not the beginning.
• We first need a theological rationale. Corporate logic comes at the very end. The SBC is at one of those very interesting moments - primarily made up of "PC guys." The "Apple guy". They don't use the same logic. We cannot be seen as backward and cranky, committed to the wrong cultural identity. We need to be missional. Our mission must be to gather to work with other Christians to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. We cannot gauge church health by raw numbers on a profile. The question is "does this church have what the NT church has"?
  

The SBC is at a great crossroads. Discussion of structure cannot come first. Our ethos/mission comes first. Structures must remain open and flexible for the rest of our lives.

Let's not be caught in the dark, realizing we missed a great opportunity while it was still day.

Update: here is the audio from the forum:



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Failure to count the cost

Why are there 16 million registered members in the SBC, yet only 6 million can found in our churches on Sunday? I believe many of these members responded to an "easy believism" gospel invitation, but sadly, they never truly counted the cost of becoming a disciple of Christ.

Jesus warns, "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?" (Lk. 14:27-28).

Over 100 years ago, J. C. Ryle described this tragic phenomenon:

For want of counting the cost, the hearers of powerful evangelical preachers often come to miserable ends. They are stirred and excited into professing what they have not really experienced. They receive the Word with a “joy” so extravagant that it almost startles old Christians. They run for a time with such zeal and fervor that they seem likely to outstrip all others. They talk and work for spiritual objects with such enthusiasm that they make older believers feel ashamed. But when the novelty and freshness of their feelings is gone, a change comes over them. They prove to have been nothing more than stony–ground hearers. The description the great Master gives in the parable of the sower is exactly exemplified: “Temptation or persecution arises because of the Word, and they are offended” (Matt. 13:21). Little by little their zeal melts away and their love becomes cold. By and by their seats are empty in the assembly of God’s people, and they are heard of no more among Christians. And why? They had never counted the cost.

For want of counting the cost, hundreds of professed converts, under religious revivals, go back to the world after a time and bring disgrace on religion. They begin with a sadly mistaken notion of what is true Christianity. They fancy it consists in nothing more than a so–called “coming to Christ” and having strong inward feelings of joy and peace. And so when they find, after a time, that there is a cross to be carried, that our hearts are deceitful, and that there is a busy devil always near us, they cool down in disgust and return to their old sins. And why? Because they had really never known what Bible Christianity is. They had never learned that we must count the cost. (Ryle, Holiness, chapter 5).

It was for this very reason the SBC passed a resolution on Regenerate Church Membership last year at the 2008 convention. O that God would awaken hearts before it is too late.

New GCR website has launched

The Great Commission Resurgence Task Force recently launched a new website, prayforgcr.com. I encourage you to pray regularly for this team and for the Holy Spirit's awakening in each of our churches. No amount of meetings can bring success if we do not humbly seek the Lord's face and find His blessing.

On the site, the task force explains why a "Great Commission Resurgence" is needed for such a time as this:

• The churches of the Southern Baptist Convention are yearning for a new day of Great Commission awakening and commitment. They sense both a need and a rare opportunity to come together to reclaim the missional vision that brought us together from the first.
• A new generation of Southern Baptists is ready for deployment in the service of the Great Commission – and waiting to see if Southern Baptists are ready to send, support, and propel this generation out to the nations. Will we do what it takes to send those God is calling?
• Many of our churches –- perhaps 70% — are plateaued or declining. They need a Great Commission Resurgence starting right where they are. A Great Commission Resurgence has to start right at home.
• Southern Baptists have much work to do reaching America in a multicultural, multiethnic, multilingual era. We need a Great Commission Resurgence that will make us do whatever it takes to reach America with the Gospel.
• Southern Baptists need a Great Commission Resurgence that will reorder our priorities, refocus our vision, reclaim our mission, and set our hearts on seeing the nations exult in the name of Jesus.

This movement is bigger than any one denomination. The GCR may be a Southern Baptist initiative, but it's something many other churches and denominations are watching expectantly to see what the Lord will do.

Will you commit to pray today?

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Tom Ascol on the SBC

I enjoyed reading this article by Tom Ascol and believe it captures some of the bright moments of this year's SBC annual meeting:

Dr. Al Mohler's motion to commission a task force passed tonight at the Southern Baptist Convention. Specifically, the motion requests that

the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting June 23-24, 2009 in Louisville, Kentucky, authorize the President of the Southern Baptist Convention to appoint a Great Commission Task Force charged to bring a report and any recommendations to the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in Orlando, Florida June 15-16, 2010, concerning how Southern Baptists can work more faithfully and effectively together in serving Christ through the Great Commission.

There was brief public opposition during the time for debate. The most rancorous opposition came from a pastor who is convinced that the problem with the SBC is the rise of Calvinism in our ranks. He likened it to the Primitive Baptist movement and blamed all the ills the convention on the revival of the doctrines of grace in the convention. His comments were inflammatory and unfounded. They did not carry the day.

A substitute motion was put forward but was fortunately voted down, allowing for an overwhelming affirmation of Dr. Mohler's original motion. The Parliamentarian, Dr. Barry McCarty, later said that the vote was at least 95%-5% in favor.

This was a good move that bodes well for the future of the SBC. Of course, it is just the beginning. Johnny Hunt must now appoint a committee that will take up the responsibility of this assignment. Pray for him and for those whom he appoints. The last thing that the SBC can afford at this point is a study and report that fall short of serious analysis and recommendations. While these recommendations will not be binding on any entity in the SBC just because a task force recommends them, they can become rallying points for the way ahead in marshalling our cooperative efforts more energetically and efficiently in the work of the great commission.

Though in the big scheme of things this vote is not all that important, I believe that it is a harbinger of better days on the horizon. In fact, today is the best day that I have ever spent at a Southern Baptist Convention. In no particular order, following are some of the reasons that I say that.

1. Danny Akin. Dr. Akin spoke at the Founders Breakfast at 6:30AM, the Baptist21 luncheon at noon, at the SBC giving a theme interpretation at 3:30PM and at the 9Marks after-meeting at 10:00PM. No doubt he is tired! But his weariness is reason for Southern Baptists' encouragement. In each assignment, he knocked it out of the park, communicating great insight in a personable, humble and courageous manner. He is the kind of leader that Southern Baptists desperately need right now, and the demands on his time indicate that he is willing to answer the call.

2. Johnny Hunt. He has proven to be a remarkable leader for Southern Baptists this last year. Dr. Hunt makes it very hard not to love him. He is gracious, humble, transparent and enthusiastic in his leadership. He has demonstrated a willingness to work with all Southern Baptists who are willing to unite around the gospel and press forward in the great commission. He has been very gracious and kind to those with whom he disagrees at certain points, setting a tone of genuine love and respect in the SBC that we have needed for a long time. Some have been less than thrilled with his leadership but, from my vantage point, their antipathy has more to do with his unwillingness to tow anyone's party line than with him personally. His love for Christ, pastors and for the conversion of unbelievers is contagious and I, for one, want to catch what he's got! I look forward to his next year of leadership and will continue to pray for him privately, in my home and in our church.

3. Though I have not heard all of the sermons from the pastors' conference or that were preached today at the convention, what I have heard has left me more encouraged about the state of preaching in the SBC than in a long time. There have been wonderful messages preached. Sell your blood if y0u must, but be sure to purchase the CD of David Platt's sermon from last night at the pastors' conference. It was incredible.

4. The IMB. Everyone has heard of the financial shortfall that will result in the decrease in our missionary force by the end of the year. Of the $16 billion that Southern Baptist churches collected last year, less than 2.6% went to the IMB. But that message seems to be rallying Southern Baptists to renew our commitment to getting the gospel to the unreached peoples of the world. I was deeply moved by the IMB report tonight of what God is doing and what the needs yet are. Jim Richards of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention presented Jerry Rankin with a $100,000 check to help start making up for the shortfall. The pastors' conference took up a special offering to assist with it as well. I believe that Southern Baptists will rally and that this financial crisis will provoke the kind of self-examination that we need at this time in order for us to re-order our priorities.

5. The growing humility within the SBC. I heard agency heads, featured preachers and seasoned pastors saying publicly what has needed to be said for a long time. God doesn't need the SBC. The SBC can fail and be thrown onto the ash heap of ecclesiastical history and the kingdom of God will march on victoriously. It is that kind of awareness and humility that breeds the kind of perspective on the SBC that may well lead us to see our brightest days in the future. Until we get over the SBC we will not be in a position to utilize it for kingdom purposes as we ought.

So, I am hopeful. It seems to me that a fresh wind is blowing. If it is the wind of God's Spirit then may we recognize His work and redouble our efforts to be faithful in following wherever He leads.

10 highlights from the SBC convention

The 2009 SBC National Convention just ended tonight. This was my first national convention. Here are ten highlights from the past two days:

1. Strong support for the Great Commission Resurgence task force. This group, composed of 18 SBC leaders, has been appointed by Johnny Hunt to evaluate every SBC program and institution and bring a report to the 2010 convention on how ministry can be done more effectively for the glory of God. The GCR was the leading reason I wanted to attend this year's meeting.
2. Some great fellowship and great laughs with my dear Christian brothers from California: Bret Capranica, Justin Peters, Tony Chute, Chris Morgan, and Walter Price.
3. Celebrating the 150th anniversary of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The school had a special lunch, tours, chapel service, and cake reception this afternoon to commemorate the event. Bret is trying to convince me to pursue a PhD now instead of a DMin. We'll have to see.
   
4. Listening to the missions and Disaster Relief reports on how God is using the SBC to show compassion, spread the gospel, and save the lost.
5. The Wednesday afternoon Baptist Twenty-One panel.
   
6. Attending the 9 Marks at Nine panel last night.
7. Getting lost all over Louisville. I'm a much better driver than navigator.
   
8. Attending the Founders Breakfast (my biological clock said it was still 3 am when we left the hotel for breakfast.)
9. Hearing David Platt's passionate sermon on the power of the gospel Wednesday morning.
   
10. Eating at Mark's Feed Store. Wow, those were some killer BBQ ribs. Thanks, Bret!
    

For more recap of the convention, check out Internet Monk's post here and Ed Stetzer's post here. In a comment on the iMonk site, Tom Ascol wrote yesterday, "Today was the single best day any SBC Convention I have ever attended. I am convinced that God is working in ways that will surprise us all. The sooner those of us within the SBC get over the SBC the better off the SBC will be. I think that is happening."

We've got one last stop. We're planning to visit Cave Hill Cemetery in the morning where Boyce, Broadus, Robertson, and others are buried. It will be a fitting cap to this eventful week. Things have been super busy the last two days, waking at the crack of dawn and staying up way into the night. I'm looking forward to getting back home tomorrow and feel the need to spend some time praying for our convention. To God be the glory for what He has done.

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Imprecatory prayers

Wiley Drake is a Southern Baptist pastor in California who recently appeared on The Alan Combs Show and made some shocking comments about praying for President Obama's death.

In response, our state convention president Walter Price had this to say:

Imprecation is, in essence, putting a curse on someone or asking God to curse them. Nowhere in the Bible are Christians encouraged to curse anyone, especially those with whom we disagree or those who would do us harm. In fact, we are commanded not to do so and to do just the opposite.

You can read more of Walter's excellent response here.

How, then, do we approach the "imprecatory" prayers found in the Bible? Does God intend us to do the same toward our leaders? Commenting on Psalm 58, Steve Lawson explains:

Government leaders are appointed by God for the good of the people. They are to serve as his agents through whom he works to provide law and order for society (Rom. 13:1-6). But leaders often become corrupt, and they minister injustice to good people. What are God's people to do in such a situation? The Bible calls them to leave vengeance with the Lord in the face of wicked leaders. They are to pursue peace with all men, submitting to those over them as much as possible. They must not take matters into their own hands. Ungodly leaders is an issue with which God must deal. But we can pray that the Lord will rebuke and remove such people." (Holman Old Testament Commentary: Psalms 1-75, p. 298)

To this we should add the prayer for repentance and salvation. No leader, regardless of the amount of wickedness and injustice he has committed, is beyond the reach of God's amazing grace. Just look at the king of Ninevah (Jonah 3:6). Or Ahab (1 Kings 21:27-29). Or Manasseh (2 Chron. 33:11-13). Or Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:34-37).

This is a far different response from the comments made by Pastor Drake. Thank you, Dr. Price, for speaking up on this issue and not letting Drake's interview represent all of us in the convention.

Pastors: the key to a great commission resurgence

No doubt about it, there are some exciting things going on in our Southern Baptist Convention.

I'm very pleased with the recent Great Commission Resurgence document drafted by Johnny Hunt and certain leading members of the SBC. I read through it carefully and finally signed it this morning. I believe it gives a healthy wake-up call to our convention and lays a sound philosophy of ministry for the future of our convention beyond the doctrine articulated in the Baptist Faith & Message.

I appreciate that leaders recognize a true Great Commission Resurgence will not happen merely through a top-down approach from our seminaries, the executive office, or Lifeway, but through a grassroots movement among local churches, and particularly among local pastors.

Thus, the Annual Meeting will focus this year on pastors, local church, and denominational health rather than a reaction to national politics. In a recent interview with the Florida Baptist Witness, Johnny Hunt said:

...the annual meeting focus should be on how to turn around the denomination, which he said begins with the pulpits.

“There is no evangelistic church without an evangelistic pastor. There is no mission-minded church without a mission-minded pastor. There is no generous church without a generous pastor,” he said.

Although many pastors proclaim the right truths about evangelism, they are not emulating those truths.

“I really believe it’s more of a real work of God in the life of us pastors” that is most needed in SBC life, he said, rather than focusing on denominational entities and executives.

Speaking as a pastor, Hunt said the focus “is going to be on us.”

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A strategy for the SBC

I simply must break my blogging "vow of silence" to share this.

Yesterday, Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Seminary, delivered a chapel message called "Axioms for a Great Commission Resurgence." He shared twelve points that define what we must be and do as Southern Baptists in the 21st century if our convention is to survive and if our King is to be glorified:

I. We must commit ourselves to the total and absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives (Col 3:16, 17, 23-24).

II. We must be gospel centered in all our endeavors for the glory of God (Rom 1:16).

III. We must take our stand on the firm foundation of the inerrant and infallible Word of God affirming it’s sufficiency in all matters (Matt 5:17-18; John 10:35; 17:17; 2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

IV. We must devote ourselves to a radical pursuit of the Great Commission in the context of obeying the Great Commandments (Matt 28:16-20; 22:37-40).

V. We must affirm the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 as a healthy and sufficient guide for building a theological consensus for partnership in the gospel, refusing to be sidetracked by theological agendas that distract us from our Lord’s Commission (1 Tim 6:3-4).

VI. We must dedicate ourselves to a passionate pursuit of the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus across our nation and to all nations answering the call to go, disciple, baptize and teach all that the Lord commanded (Matt 28:16-20; Acts 1:8; Rom 1:5; 15:20).

VII. We must covenant to build gospel saturated homes that see children as a gift from God and as our first and primary mission field (Deut 6:1-9; Psalm 127; 128; Eph 6:4).

VIII. We must recognize the need to rethink our Convention structure and identity so that we maximize our energy and resources for the fulfilling of the Great Commission (1 Cor 10:31).

IX. We must see the necessity for pastors to be faithful Bible preachers who teach us both the content of the Scriptures and the theology embedded in the Scriptures (2 Tim 4:1-5).

X. We must encourage pastors to see themselves as the head of a gospel missions agency who will lead the way in calling out the called for international assignments but also equip and train all their people to see themselves as missionaries for Jesus regardless of where they live (Eph 4:11-16).

XI. We must pledge ourselves to a renewed cooperation that is gospel centered and built around a biblical and theological core and not methodological consensus or agreement (Phil 2:1-5; 4:2-9).

XII. We must accept our constant need to humble ourselves and repent of pride, arrogance, jealousy, hatred, contentions, lying, selfish ambitions, laziness, complacency, idolatries and other sins of the flesh; pleading with our Lord to do what only He can do in us and through us and all for His glory (Gal 5:22-26; James 4:1-10).

Amen and amen. You can read the whole transcript here.

This may be a watershed moment in our Southern Baptist Convention. Dr. Alvin Reid has already called this moment a "tipping point."

I, for one, want to do whatever I can as a local pastor to support the cause of Christ, the spread of His kingdom, and the health of our churches by supporting Dr. Akin's twelve-fold call to action.

400 years of Baptist faith

Last Sunday, our church hosted Dr. Tony Chute, a history professor from Cal Baptist University, to celebrate 400 years of Baptist faith. Did you know the Baptist church turned 400 this year? It was started in 1609 by John Smyth in Holland. Three years later, the first Baptist church in England was planted by Thomas Helwys in 1612. The Southern Baptist Convention, however, did not arrive until two centuries later, in 1845.

David Dockery, in his book Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal, explains the relevance of Baptist history for today, particularly for Southern Baptists:

[W]e as Southern Baptists in the early years of the twenty-first century are infected with historical amnesia - we do not know our history, we do not know our theological identity, we basically only understand the programmatic expression of what it means to be a Baptist as we related from local church to local church...Today Southern Baptists need to begin to build a new theologically and historically informed consensus that will help us understand our past, our identity, and our beliefs - so that we can move forward to carry the Gospel around the world and "disciplize" the nations in the twenty-first century.

On Sunday, our church took a tiny step to shake off the historical amnesia and improve our knowledge of church history. Through Tony's message, we learned that Baptists have accomplished four main things in the last 400 years. Basically, each century brought one major contribution:

• In the 1600's, Baptists defended regenerate church membership.
• In the 1700's, Baptists stressed the importance of religious liberty
• In the 1800's, Baptists mobilized for global missions
• In the 1900's, Baptists battled over the inerrancy of the Bible in all areas

I wonder, what will be our greatest contribution in the 21st century? May this be the century we grow in our unity, mature in our doctrine, and increase in our efforts to evangelize every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.

Cautions for non-Calvinists

In the second half of an exchange between Southeastern Seminary faculty members, Nathan Finn offers some important cautions to our non-Calvinist brothers.

Here are three important warnings Finn gives to those who embrace a more Arminian understanding of matters such as freedom of the will and the extent of the atonement:

1. First, be sure to articulate the gospel unambiguously in your preaching and evangelism...The gospel is not “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” or “Jesus can straighted [sic] out your messed-up life.” This is just lingo...The gospel is the story of all that our Creator God has done through the perfect life, atoning death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ to rescue sinners from destruction and redeem a fallen world...
2. Second, be sure to never give the impression that the decision to become a Christian is a mere decision. Sometimes I hear non-Calvinists imply that “all you have to do” if you want to be a Christian is believe in Christ. This makes it sound like faith is a simple free will decision that can be made apart from the gracious work of the Holy Spirit...
3. Finally, be careful not to turn your strategies into sacraments. I have in mind here two popular practices: altar calls and “sinner’s prayers."... I am not so much concerned with either of these strategies as I am the way they are sometimes applied...

Finn concludes with a clarion call to Baptist unity around the gospel between both Calvinists and non-Calvinists:

In closing, let me say loud and clear that I am committed to linking arms with all Southern Baptist individuals and churches that love the gospel and want to see the good news proclaimed to all people. In my understanding, Calvinism is a secondary issue that should not preclude different churches from participating in the same network of churches. Our denominational unity should be around a common commitment to the theology of the Baptist Faith and Message, a commitment to the Baptist vision of the church, and a burden to see the gospel proclaimed in all parts of North America and to the ends of the earth. Insofar as we unite around these things and do not divide over Calvinism (or other secondary issues), we will press forward in a Great Commission Resurgence for the sake of the gospel and the glory of the living God.

If his readers heed the cautions Finn has set forth in this letter, I believe there will indeed be great room for unity and progress between Calvinist and non-Calvinist Southern Baptists in the years ahead.

Tom Ascol also called for gospel unity in a post this morning:

...Let's work together to come to deeper understandings and applications of the gospel. We may disagree at points, but such disagreements, if handled with gospel grace, can work to strengthen our grasp of divine truth rather than to further divide us. That is my hope, and that is my prayer.

I also hope that my Baptist Identity brothers and sisters will see fit to join in the pursuit of this kind of vision. The concerns that some in this camp have rightly articulated can be served through a renewed emphasis on the Great Commission because the healthiest streams of our Baptist heritage have always been gospel-centered. We need not give up our distinctives to major on essentials. In fact, Baptists have never shined brighter than when they have majored on the gospel.

I really do believe that, despite our differences, Southern Baptists can work together if we can agree on the centrality and power of the gospel for all of life. I am convinced that a growing number of Southern Baptists believe this, too. Because of this, I anticipate better days ahead...

A gentle rebuke to Calvinists

Dr. Alvin Reid of Southeastern Seminary has penned an open letter to those of us known as "Calvinists." Reid does not attempt to dissuade us from our theological views, but rather gives a gracious, and I believe appropriate, warning.

Here are his four exhortations. I agree wholeheartedly with every one of them.

1. Embrace humility. You have an obvious hunger for truth and for theological depth, which is commendable. But when your love for truth smacks of condescension, even to the point of arrogance, you do no one any good...
2. Avoid implying that Calvinism and the gospel are synonyms. Sometimes I hear Calvinist speakers argue (or at least imply) that Calvinism and the gospel are identical, and if one does not affirm the tenets of Calvinism he denies the gospel. Not only is this theologically arrogant, it is unkind...
3. Do not hesitate to call for non-Christians to turn to Christ in faith... I would submit some of you are far better at criticizing your brothers who give public calls for decision than at offering a biblical alternative for such calls. Some of you seem to have a practical agnosticism concerning personal conversion.
4. In your conferences and other meetings, especially those directed primarily to Southern Baptists, consider involving some speakers who may not agree with you at every point...I would also submit that if we could today see an awakening sweep our land through the work of both modern-day Whitefields and modern-day Wesleys, we could bury a hatchet or two and learn from one another.

These are the faithful wounds of a friend (Prov. 27:6). Thank you, Dr. Reid. May God help us all grow more humble and charitable as we partner together for the Great Commission.

SBC headed for extinction?

Nathan Finn from Southeastern Seminary writes on one of the major challenges Southern Baptists face: a lack of young leaders who are interested in getting involved. His conclusion:

This much I do know: we have to address our generation gap if the SBC is to enjoy a viable future as a denomination. Some already think the Convention is a dinosaur that just needs to go extinct, especially a number of folks in the under-40 crowd. Maybe they are right, but I am not ready to give up on the denomination just yet. I still think God has something for us to do as a Convention of autonomous churches. I continue to hold out hope that our best days lie ahead and that (Lord willing) my children and grandchildren can be a part of a great heritage of Baptist Christians who have been mightily used of God.

You can read the whole article here. I can attest that what Nathan observed at the National Convention was noticeable at our California State Convention last November also. There simply aren't many young pastors coming out to these events.

I found it helpful to read some of Nathan's reasons why the under-40 crowd is not involved. I also appreciated his reference to internship-minded pastors like Mark Dever and Johnny Hunt. This indeed is one of the keys to raising up a new generation of young, involved leaders: a focus on internship and leadership development.

A year of mixed success for Southern Baptists

Tony Kummer has just released what he believes are the top ten SBC stories from last year:

1. Decline In SBC Giving

2. Economic Woes Hit Seminaries Endowments

3. John 3:16 Conference Adds Fuel To The Fire

4. Johnny Hunt Is Elected President Over A Field Of Six

5. Resolution On Church Membership Is Adopted

6. Decline In Church Membership Is Confirmed

7. SBC Fails To Move Presidential Election

8. Dissenting Blogs Close

9. Klouda Controversy Is Resolved

10. Kummer's last item is "You Pick."I would say top story #10 is the reorganization of the IMB and the appointment of hundreds of new missions personnel. We should always celebrate the laborers God is raising up to enter the harvest field.

I believe it was a year of mixed success for Southern Baptists. On one hand, the 2008 reports on attendance, baptism, and giving were all disheartening. But I believe our denominational decline may actually be a blessing in disguise. It has forced us to get down on our knees in prayer and to redouble our efforts toward the Great Commission.

The election of new leadership, the resolution on regenerate membership, the return of doctrinal discussion, and the humiliation of our past failures may actually pave the way for a new era of gospel work among Southern Baptists.

God has humbled the proud. Now may He give grace to the humble.