Is the SBC going to remain the SBC? That question is at issue right now. Obviously, our president Bryant Wright’s appointment of a task force to study the issue has ignited a firestorm in the SBC and especially among us house-coat wearing basement-dwellers. Our traffic yesterday was incredible as this dispute broke out – we usually only see those kinds of numbers during the Annual Meeting.
People are interested in this topic.
I thought it might be helpful to list some of the helpful blog posts for those who want to acquaint themselves with this issue. Obviously, I have published several articles on the subject here, so they will not be listed again.
I would encourage readers to examine Alan Cross’s guest post here reminding us that we need more than just a name change. Alan’s article is here.
Baptist Press
- The initial informational article from Baptist Press. Here.
- A discussion of the lively debate by the EC. Here.
Bart Barber
- Bart’s was the first article I read on the subject – before I even saw the BP article. Bart believes our president should have taken the proposal to form a task force to the convention and not appointed it himself. Read the article here. He argues forcefully against the course that is being taken.
- Bart also has a follow-up article about the uphill battle this proposal faces. Here.
Denny Burk
If you read only one blog (other, of course, than SBC Voices!!!), I would suggest Denny’s. It is at the top of my must-read list. He has an article on the subject which contains a listing of helpful articles and some notable quotes. Here.
Al Mohler: His article is here.
Ed Stetzer: He has an article about the name change at Between the Times, here. At his eponymous site he has a more general article about name changes, examining the furor over Campus Crusade for Christ’s recent change to Cru. Here.
Jonathan Akin at Baptist21 has an excellent Q&A on the subject. Here.
Others:
James Smith has an informational article at the Florida Baptist Witness that is well worth reading. Here. Like Bart, he shows that this issue faces an uphill battle for support.
Several of the state papers have perspectives worth reading. You can find them listed on Denny Burk’s site.
Mark Lamprecht (Here I Blog) has published several helpful articles on the subject. One, a guest post by Nathan Creitz predicting success for the name change effort is here. Mark has written a post which displays a wordle based on Thom Ranier’s survey of attitudes about the name “Southern Baptist.” Read it here.
More articles are being posted on a regular basis. Perhaps you have a link to one that would be helpful to read. The comment stream is open.
And that’s not all…
Paige Patterson has spoken on the issue, here.
A quote from Paige Patterson: “I also appeal to our people to keep this discussion on the highest conceivable level, leaning over backwards to avoid judgments of anyone’s motives, which only God can know. I also appeal for the ardent prayers of all our people for our gracious Lord to grant this committee wisdom beyond anything that we could ever have on our own.”
