Alan Cross blogs at Downshore Drift.
This is a resolution that I have submitted to the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention to be considered in a couple of weeks in New Orleans:
A Resolution Affirming Holistic Ministry and Community Involvement By Local Churches
WHEREAS, Humanity’s greatest problem at the root of all other problems is that we rebel against God and are separated from Him because of indwelling sin and through continual sin; and
WHEREAS, The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only solution to our problem as it reconciles us to God through faith and to one another; and
WHEREAS, The requirement for Christians as we live in relationship with Christ is that we do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God; and
WHEREAS, The work and ministry of Jesus involved both proclaiming and demonstrating the Gospel of the Kingdom through both word and deed; and
WHEREAS, We are commanded by Scripture to both preach the gospel and do good deeds so that our light would shine before men; and
WHEREAS, We are commanded by Scripture to sacrificially love our neighbor and all those in need as we love ourselves with both material and spiritual assistance; and
WHEREAS, We are called to be ambassadors of Christ with the ministry of reconciliation to all who are alienated from God and are living under the effects of both personal, social, and structural sin; and
WHEREAS, we live in a country and world where animosity between races and socioeconomic groups, unemployment, poverty, crime, substance abuse, high school dropout rates, unwed pregnancies, and many other social concerns are greatly diminishing individuals, families, and communities; and
WHEREAS, Southern Baptists have a long history of providing aid to all people in times of need through disaster relief, physical assistance, providing food, clothing, shelter, and advocating for justice for the oppressed among other things; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, June 19-20, 2012, affirm and encourage the work of our local churches, associations, community ministry centers, state conventions, and missions agencies in their ministry to the whole person and the needs of our communities; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we encourage every Christian and local church to see the spiritual, physical, and social needs of their communities as opportunities to proclaim and demonstrate the love of Christ for God’s glory and man’s good; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we encourage every local church to engage the needs of their community with a strong gospel witness in both word and deed as God uniquely gifts, directs, and enables; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we encourage generous support of those ministries in Baptist life that are specifically equipped to facilitate the work of holistic ministry and the involvement of local churches in the same; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we encourage education, training, and equipping of Christians in holistic ministry as an aspect of discipleship and fidelity to our Lord as God enables, gifts, and directs us to be His hands and feet to a hurting and needy world; and be it finally
RESOLVED, That we eagerly pray for and await the Day when all things will be made right and reconciled to God through Jesus Christ as we live presently in hope that God’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
If this resolution does not pass then stick a fork in the SBC because they’re done.
John:
The idea of it not passing failed to cross my mind, but yes I agree. If we can’t pass this, God help us.
Alan,
Very well written resolution. I pray that it we get the opportunity to approve it.
Alan Cross,
Well done. Your heart reflects the Lord calling on your life in this one. Surely, this will pass without debate and with an affirmative shout and a hearty A-Men.
Add my voice to the chorus of amens, with the observation that it’s interesting that we even have to say this out loud, as self-professing disciples and followers of Jesus.
Thanks for being a voice in what may be, if not the darkness, the dusky sunset.
Alan,
It is delightful and refreshing to see a resolution so thoroughly biblical and balanced coming from the SBC. The only thing better than this resolution is the SBC messengers and the churches they represent, who vote to approve it–really take it to heart–and practice it with intentionality and passion.
Dwight
Dwight, that is my hope. I was reading back through resolutions from past years and I was thinking about how those resolutions captured what that gathering of Baptists at that Convention thought was important. In doing so, I started thinking about what we believed to be important and how we could encourage those who are working in their communities to exhibit the full implications of the gospel through all of life. For our local association, I serve on our Community Ministries board as we have several community ministry centers. I see how these people work and how they are not just doing good deeds, but are seeking to minister to the whole person. I have been involved with Baptist Disaster Relief in Alabama and have done development work in India that was first initiated by the IMB. And, my great desire is that the local church that I pastor engage our community with the gospel of the Kingdom. Then I look at Jesus and what He told us to do in Matthew 25 and what He Himself did and the mandate that we are given in Isaiah 58 and I thought about how we are at our best when we are putting feet to our many words and are actually suffering alongside people, are incarnating the gospel, and are doing justice, loving mercry, and walking humbly with God (Micah 6:8). We need for this attitude to overtake every local church so that we see our communities not just as the places that we drive by to get to church (or places to escape from), but as the canvas where God wants to paint a picture of His grace and restoration. I get fired up about this and I think that Southern Baptists do too – isn’t this what the GCR was supposed to be about? I think it can be.
ALAN,
this resolution is a profoundly Christian witness to the world
. . . I can believe that this is the sort of statement which my own Southern Baptist grandmother, of blessed memory, would have been proud
Amen, Alan.
David