It is not likely that 2017 will be remembered as a great year for Southern Baptists – not our worst, I suppose, but not our best. We had a good time putting on the Pastors’ Conference and the Annual Meeting seemed to come off without a lot of controversy (we managed to reelect Steve Gaines on the FIRST ballot!) but there was a surfeit of unnecessary controversy – much of it manufactured within the ranks of the blogging community.
- There was a constant roiling over the role of politics in the life of the church. It boiled over earlier in the year as Jack Graham withheld a million dollars in CP funds for a time, then came to a head again during the Roy Moore election fiasco in December. This is not likely to go away – especially with 2018 being an election year.
- There were blogs that devoted themselves to manufactured controversies through National Enquirer-style journalism – no fact-checking, using innuendo as fact, insinuation and false accusation as their modus operandi.
- Several of our institutions continue to struggle financially and there have been some controversial decisions that have fed the fires of the aforementioned blogs.
- The ugly story at the end of the year about the lawsuit against some of our denominational icons puts us in a precarious place.
What can we do to make 2018 a better year? Some things are obviously out of our control, but there are things we can do on social media and in the convention as a whole to make our little world a better place to live and grow.
1. Responsible blog behavior.
Many professions have a code of ethics, a standard by which to judge behavior. Several times this year we have struggled with how to handle explosive information about our entities and leaders.
We received several leads on stories that could have been big. Some were ridiculous and we ignored them – we let the hate blogs handle those. But we were also given inside information on several issues that affected our entities. We struggled with the role of a blog in the Baptist world. What should we do with such information?
So we just publish what we have and let others sort it out? It is our responsibility to check facts and verify? Do we have any responsibility to contact those we will write about to get their response or to allow them to clarify the story? Is our role to expose and embarrass (or to improve the SBC?
Each time we discussed – at length – how to respond. If our goal had been “ratings” we’d have broken several stories that turned out to be huge. We did not do so. We decided to contact leaders in the various entities and found them all honest and forthright. In most of the situations, they dealt with the issues in ways that satisfied us completely. In another case (the Pressler story), there were enough anomalies in the lawsuit that we held off until a major news source broke the story. But we have found that attempting to balance providing information to Southern Baptists while also cooperating with our entities and their leaders is better than trying to be Woodward and Bernstein.
I don’t know the future of blogging – some say it is dying, others say it is just morphing. I’m old, what do I know? But it is probably long past time that major bloggers come up with a code of ethics for Baptist bloggers. Some will refuse to sign on and will not play by the rules, but there needs to be a standard.
2. Unity in Diversity is more than a cliche
There are those among us who seek to make the SBC monolithic. Believe like me, dress like me, think like me, vote like me, agree with me on everything.
There are things we should demand uniformity on. We should demand uniformity on the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith – they are under constant attack. The absolute inerrancy of Scripture. The Trinity. The deity of Christ. The Blood atonement. Salvation by grace through faith without any contribution of human merit or works. Here we stand, we can do no other. We ought also to stand as Baptists for our Baptist distinctives. We should not call those who disagree on these heretics, but we should hold these truths strongly. There was a lengthy debate on how to quantify Baptist Identity and we all got tired of the fight before we defined what a Southern Baptist is with any specificity. But we should not compromise on believer’s baptism by immersion and other clear Baptist doctrine and practice. It is who we are.
But in everything else, it is time we realized that we are stronger when we have a wide variety of Baptists under the same banner.
- We are stronger with large churches and small churches all cooperating.
- We are stronger when both large churches and small have a part in the LEADERSHIP of the convention.
- We are stronger with Calvinists and Non-Calvinists of all stripes (included the so-called Traditionalist camp) cooperate and work together instead of promoting schism and hostility.
- We are stronger when Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, and other ethnicities are involved in both the life and the leadership of the convention.
- We are stronger when both cessationists and continuationists cooperate as Baptists.
- We are stronger when traditionalist churches and contemporary/culturally relevant churches work together for the cause of Christ.
- We are stronger when the Russell Moore wing of the convention and the Jack Graham wing agree to disagree, voice their views, but continue to participate in the cause of Christ.
I could go on, but you get the idea.
One of the biggest threats to the SBC today is the “you have to be just like me or you aren’t a real Baptist” contingent. If you believe differently than me, if you vote differently than I do, if you have a different philosophy of ministry, your fidelity to Christ is suspect.
It has to stop. The name-calling has to stop (labeling people liberal because they don’t agree with you, etc). Dividing over things that are not essential to the Baptist faith simply must stop.
The response to this is always, “We have to discuss these issues.” Maybe. But as long as the discussion has the accusatory and divisive tone it has had in recent years, it will tear down and not build up. Let’s discuss Calvinism (you can, I have little interest). Let’s discuss issues of the Holy Spirit. Let’s discuss political issues. But let’s commit to an intentional appreciation of diversity in all these discussions.
3. Fighting for Unity.
Yes, I realize the irony of that.
I believe in the importance of unity in a church and I believe that the SBC must prize unity as one of the greatest values in Scripture. Jesus died to build ONE body and unity matters to him. To divide the body is a serious thing. There is more teaching on love, gentleness, unity, kindness, and such teachings than just about any other teaching in the Epistles.
I also realize that there are people who are simply enemies of unity, people who through bitterness or anger or pride or whatever other spiritual failing do not value unity. They seek to tear down and not to build up. They are active in the SBC. They often justify their ungodliness as “taking a stand,” as moral and theological courage. But it is contrary to Christ.
And such people must be opposed. We who value unity have to stand against the enemies of unity.
The problem is, and I have struggled with this, it is hard to fight for unity without becoming contentious myself. It is easy to cross that line. I have to constantly guard my spirit to avoid being sucked into the anger and bitterness vortex of the hate blogs.
I have struggled with this and have several suggestions.
Take a clear and unequivocal stand. Paul called out those who threatened the unity of the Body in no uncertain terms. Titus 3:10 tells us to have NOTHING to do with divisive people after they’ve been warned if they continue in their ways.
STOP frequenting the hate blogs, those that simply promote anger and strife. Marginalize them. They have the freedom to write whatever ungodly thing they wish, but we have the right to not read it. People send me links to articles or comments from the two main hate blogs saying, “Did you see this.” I want to respond, “No, if I wanted to read that, I would.” Why read and interact with people who are devoted to promoting schism? What good comes from that? Have any of you ever interacted with those blogs and accomplished anything? Just say no.
Guard your spirit and have friends who hold you accountable. I have written articles and submitted them to my group of buddies and they gently (or not so gently) said, “That might not be a good idea, Dave.” But we need to constantly review our writings and interactions to see that the bitterness we fight is not overcoming our own souls.
It is an important fight, but the battlefield is littered with the detritus of the souls of those who entered the fray with pure hearts and gradually grew caustic, bitter, and angry. It is something we have to fight.
4. Include the average church at every level
We had two main goals at the Pastors’ Conference last year. First, we wanted to bless the pastors who attended with an encouraging walk through the book of Philippians. Our second goal was to demonstrate to the powers-that-be in the SBC that small church guys were not defective leaders who need to be fixed and led by the hand of the megachurch pastors.
The SBC has been a convention of small churches led by about 25 huge churches. I am not against those men or angry with them, but I think it is time that the leadership of the SBC broadens.
I hear whisperings about running a smaller church pastor for SBC president. It has been done. I don’t know if it is practical or if the job would tax a man who didn’t have a huge pastoral staff to pick up the slack at home. But there are lots of ways to divide the duties.
If the mega leadership looks at the 2017 PC as an anomaly and just goes back to business as usual – the megas running the show and expecting average churches to simply sit and cheer – I believe we have reached the point where we can and will organize more actions for the future.
5. Properly prioritize politics
The Trump era has been controversial and divisive in America, but it has been an absolute wedge in the SBC. Many of us were unable by conviction to vote for Donald Trump and many believe that the failure to vote Trump was a betrayal of America. The feelings are sharp and harsh. Few of us have changed our feelings of Trump’s character but “NeverTrump” has become a sort of bogeyman epithet in some circles.
And now we head into an election year when political issues are not likely to fade.
We need to find a way to do better this election cycle than we did the last. We need to keep first things first and not let politics become a point of fellowship.
I have to get to bed and I will be in the air most of the day on New Year’s Day, headed home from frigid Boston to frigid Sioux City (20 below on Sunday – welcome home). There’s more to say, but this is all I have time for now, and this is long enough – probably too long. If it gets any longer, William will make fun of me.
Happy New Year, SBC Voices. May 2018 be a year of grace and blessing.
Great thoughts! Thanks for posting and thanks for all the writing done here. It’s always a blessing.
Dave, I attend a small church. We need our pastor, but we could [and can] do without him some, but I do think not rnough for him to be prez of the SBC. We usually dont elect a mayor of a small town to be USA prez. Most bigger jobs require more experience dealing with issues and bigger issues than small town mayors or small church pastors can confidently manage. What we need is a prez who can confidently deal with big job issues while not forgetting that he is prez of mostly small churches. How have our recent presidents… Read more »
You state and then ask: “What we need is a prez who can confidently deal with big job issues while not forgetting that he is prez of mostly small churches. How have our recent presidents NOT done that?”
I’d ask how you think the string of megas has demonstrated anything that says the SBC is a convention of small churches other than to say, ‘I used to be a small church pastor myself’ and make a few appointments or nominations.
Mike, I’d be interested to note what “big job issues” you think the SBC president needs to address?
The problem is that the president has taken it upon himself to try to leave a legacy through some kind of Task Force or other endeavors. It seldom makes an impact. Even the GCR, which I supported in principle, cannot really be been seen as having radically altered the SBC.
The president presides at meetings, promotes the convention, and is responsible to make appointments.
Most of the rest of it is beyond the scope of the constitutional duties of the SBC president.
William,
To answer your question….
I don’t know, thats why I was asking.
But I appreciate what you told me of his duties.
When it comes to the identity of the SBC President, size is not the issue. I would not want the SBC to be represented by someone who is not educated and well spoken. I would want the person to have some experience with communicating in difficult, and perhaps public, settings. A person could be a pastor of a small church with those skills. I would prefer that he not have a Southern nickname such as, Jr., Billy Bob, Bubba, Bocephus etc.
I am interested in your comment about names. Could i suppose you care less about a man’s name than his demeanor? You don’t want a stereotypical Billy-Bob?
I would like to see the SBC and its churches emphasize the strengths of our Baptist Communion: The Priesthood of each and every believer, and how each person can respond directly to and personally with God; That the Church is comprised of confessional believers; That each person needs to believe and be born again; The importance of the independence and autonomy of each local church; That each member of a Baptist church has an opportunity to have some say so over the direction of his/her local church; The trustworthiness of the Bible; How wonderfully biblical it is to experience immersion… Read more »
There is little reason why the SBC president should be doing much of that. The president presides, he appoints, and he promotes. There are a few other duties, but most of the rest of it is just resume-building.
Dave, I realize that. But the press will contact the President of the SBC if anything happens. Press organs don’t always follow the rules with an understanding of our polity (Well, I should call Nashville because all the SBC Pres does is appoint some committees and presides at the Convention. Speaking of which, Steve Gaines did as good a job as any SBC Pres as I have seen. I believe his serving at Bellevue was an asset, not a problem or a neutral factor). Or, the press might start following what the elected Pres does, says, etc. even if they… Read more »
It is true that the ability not to say stupid things in the p ress is a role
Huge SBC president gaffes? Can’t think of one off the top of my head.
You’re too young with not much memory or maybe we’re embarrassed by different things ?
Let me make a pitch for a little controversy. I’m all for calls for civil discussion and I’ll admit that I’ve taken part in some uncivil ones. But frankly, if you were to post a bunch of devotional articles, for example, I’m willing to bet you’ll get very little interaction. Not because we aren’t devotional people, but because there’s nothing to discuss. I take part in the feisty discussions because they are fun and interesting. I like arguing politics and I honestly see some very disturbing trends happening at the intersection of faith and politics. Yeah, sometime we go round… Read more »
That is the quandary of fighting for unity.
We must oppose certain things and certain blogs – for the sake of truth and righteousness.
Bill Mac:
This is a friendly blog among brothers in Christ.
I agree that our discussion of other topics makes things fun and lively.
But I was referring to the SBC’s emphasis. The emphasis of its officers, staff, and agencies. An the emphasis of our annual meetings.
If this year’s meeting features discussions about the Old South, the DACA “kids” (assuming that’s not fixed by then), and what Donald Trump needs to do or not do, we will miss an opportunity to focus on what we are about.
So, I heard Roy Moore is speaking at the Pastor’s Conference.
“So, I heard Roy Moore is speaking at the Pastor’s Conference.”
I know this is a joke, but it’s also a little sad when I think a great many SBCers would probably support this.
Can I say that with HB Charles running the PC, I think we can safely say that the Judge will NOT be appearing.
I am not sure the past PC presidents would have included him either. But I know that was just a discussion-starting joke.
Surely not, Bill Mac. Surely not.
Of course there would be SBC church members who would support Roy Moore. There are SBC church members who are KKK, who loved Hillary Clinton, who think 9/11 was an inside job, who think we never went to the moon, or even that the earth is flat. There are members of SBC churches that believe almost anything. I do not think there are many in prominent positions of leadership who would seek to invite Roy Moore to an SBC pastors’ conference. Even a political radical like Robert Jeffress was wishy-washy about Moore. I would wager my spleen that Steve Gaines… Read more »
“ there are members of Southern Baptist churches that will believe almost anything”.
Agreed. Look at the numbers of SBC members who will eat up everything resembling Crimson Elephant dung, or those who enthusiastically support little blue devils, not to mention the fact that there are some actual “Beliebers”….ugh…
For Shame, for shame.
(As usual, good article William)
Lol. I just realized I told William good post on Dave’s post….Oooops. Unintentional foul.
Grovels for forgiveness.
I don’t know. I think you’re right that few prominent SBCers would publicly support Moore, but we’ve already seen people bemoaning Moore’s treatment, and hearkening back to the good old days when it was OK for older men to date teenagers.
When he lost, they ran away from him pretty quickly. It is true that many felt he was unfairly treated, but I don’t think that means they’d want to hear him speak.
All hypothetical at this point.
Interesting post Dave. You presented that “One of the biggest threats to the SBC today is the ‘you have to be just like me or you aren’t a real Baptist’ contingent. If you believe differently than me, if you vote differently than I do, if you have a different philosophy of ministry, your fidelity to Christ is suspect.” You know, today Baptists are struggling with identity. Genuine identity that is. In recent times there is a great number of people, churches, seminaries, and institutions of higher learning that are seeking to “redefine” what it means to be Baptist. As we… Read more »
Here’s an idea that I would support for the annual meeting at the Convention. It may not be possible because we don’t always know who will be the major party nominees in June (since the political conventions are in August), but in the years where there is a Presidential election and the nominees are clear, I would support each of the major party candidates giving an address to the Convention. I would not support gadflies who are not even on the ballots of all the states or those who are operating as third party spoilers (e.g. Ross Perot, John Anderson,… Read more »
I believe we should engage, but I would keep politicians out of the arena, whether they are GOP or Dems.
JJ Lewis:
Great comment.
I tried to outline the Baptist distinctives around which we all can agree above.