I am writing to Southern Baptists. I am assuming that
some of you follow issues that are happening within our denomination. We are
experiencing a significant amount of change within our tribe. Dr. Frank Page, president
of the Executive Committee of the SBC, leader of perhaps our most visible public
entity, recently retired unexpectedly, later citing a moral failure as the
cause. Dr. David Platt, president of the IMB announced his resignation,
explaining that he would return to pastoring. Dr. Paige Patterson on the very
day I am writing (5/23) was forced out as president of Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary. He recently came under fire for comments that he made in
counseling abused women and for other untoward accusations that are still being
worked through, but the reasons cited publicly at this time concerned
plummeting enrollment and financial instability at the Seminary.
For the last eight months or more there has been much public
discussion about the election of a new SBC president at the Annual Meeting in
Dallas this June. J.D. Greear and Steve Gaines were locked in a 50/50 tie at
the SBC Annual Meeting in St. Louis two years ago. Greear graciously conceded
the election and it was presumed (perhaps understood is too strong a term) that
he would be elected to serve the following term. Meanwhile another group of
leaders got behind Ken Hemphill, a former seminary president and well-respected
Baptist leader. There are clearly theological and generational undercurrents at
issue in these developments. Greear is younger and viewed as “Reformed” and
Hemphill is older and not Reformed.
Ed Stetzer, formerly of Lifeway Christian Resources of
the SBC recently Tweeted, “SBC family: I've worked
with dozens of denominations. In case you're wondering, this level of drama,
conflict & difficulty is not normal. It's gone on too long in the SBC &
it's time for a change. Even if many have grown accustomed to the dysfunction,
it's NOT normal.” That lends some perspective to the events and
challenges facing our denomination. Add to this that there are still ongoing
conversations happening within the SBC about our poor track record in including
minorities in leadership. In a recent Committee on Nominations report 67 of 69
nominees to serve on SBC trustee boards were white.
The sense of uneasiness locally is
heightened by the recent retirement announcement of Georgia’s Baptist State
Executive Director, Dr. J. Robert White. My opinion is that we are seeing some
systemic cultural and generational changes that are sending some shock waves
through our denomination. It is time to pass the torch to some younger leaders,
and this transition just seems to not be happening smoothly. Maybe these kind
of generational leadership shifts never happen without some expected pushback. We
must also accept that differing views on atonement (general or particular) and
ecclesiology (Reformed and non-Reformed) are not new in Baptist life. Any
cursory reading of Baptist history will bear this out.
Last month I wrote about relevance being
relevant. Of course we aren’t talking about giving away Biblical truth in the
process, but I don’t want to be part of an irrelevant denomination—that is, one
that doesn’t MATTER. Christian truth is always going to be in the minority in
culture. We won’t ever win the world’s approval, nor should that be our
ambition. On the other hand, what we believe ought to matter. I have said
before that I believe the influence currency has changed and we are sometimes
trying to spend the old currency (power politics) and wondering why it isn’t
accepted. The new currency, in my opinion, is community connection and
servanthood. Guess which one I think is more Biblical.
Meanwhile, here is what we do in trying
times. Keep “looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith who
for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and
has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). However
chaotic this all feels to us, God isn’t shaken up at all.
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