“The report of my death was an exaggeration.” So wrote Mark Twain on May 31, 1897 about rumors that he was on is deathbed in London. If I may paraphrase Mr. Twain, “The reports of the Southern Baptist Convention becoming liberal are an exaggeration.” Yet, to read some news reports, that is exactly what one may conclude about the 2021 Annual Meeting in Nashville, TN. In this Tie article, my purpose is to demonstrate that contrary to several mainstream media sources and several ultra-conservative publications, the SBC meeting in Nashville demonstrated that we are a people with a firm commitment to the Bible and to reaching the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I aim to do that by recounting the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
First, THE GOOD. And, it was very good! On Monday evening, 64 new missionaries were commissioned by the International Missions Board (IMB) to serve overseas. During the pandemic, the IMB has not stopped working. We are continuing to raise up and send missionaries. During 2020, the North American Mission Board (NAMB) has approved over 200 new church planters and received over $49M in Annie Armstrong Easter Offering funds. That is significant, considering that over 18% of baptisms in the SBC come through our new church plants. In addition, Disaster Relief (and arm of NAMB) prepared over 750,000 meals to those in crisis settings, shared the gospel nearly 7,000 times and saw 872 people make professions of faith in Christ.
The messengers to the SBC also passed a number of very well worded and well thought out resolutions, including one “On the Sufficiency of Scripture for Race and Racial Reconciliation.” That resolution received news coverage as if was in favor of Critical Race Theory (CRT), a questionable academic approach to understanding systemic racism. Yet, that resolution did no such thing. Instead, that resolution stated specifically “that we reject any theory or worldview that finds the ultimate identity of human beings in ethnicity or in any other group dynamic,” which is the very essence of CRT. In addition, resolutions were passed that:
• Urged the president and Congress to uphold the Hyde Amendment, which has prevented the use of federal tax dollars to pay for abortions in most circumstances.
• Opposed the Equality Act, which would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to offer anti-discrimination protection for LGBTQ Americans.
• Asked the federal government to make admission of Uyghurs to the U.S. as refugees a priority, given reports that more than a million members of the ethnic Muslim minority group have been held in concentration camps in China.
• Expressed their belief that “any person who has committed sexual abuse is permanently disqualified from holding the office of pastor.”
• Grieved the more than 3.78 million confirmed deaths worldwide from COVID-19.
The Messengers added a plank to Vision 2025 that was proposed by Ronnie Floyd and the Executive Committee. That plank was to “prayerfully endeavor to eliminate all incidents of sexual abuse and racial discrimination among our churches.” Such a statement is a powerful repudiation of so much hurt and division that has happened in years past and sets a course toward a brighter future.
Finally, Pastor Ed Litton was elected to serve as the SBC President. Litton is the longtime pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, AL. He has worked tirelessly for racial reconciliation with fellow pastors in his area of the country. In addition, he is committed to the inerrancy, infallibility, authority and sufficiency of Scripture and has been a model of pastoral integrity and compassion for the length of his ministry. He has the potential to unite those in the SBC that are willing to “come to the table.”
THE BAD. Silliness. I am not sure how else to describe what happens when any messenger can go to a microphone and make a motion, propose a resolution, or make a request of a convention entity. I do not think it is wrong that messengers get this privilege. But, mercy, the things people say! One messenger asked NAMB to investigate the enneagram. Another proposed a “fellowship meal” be added to the SBC annual calendar of events. Several messengers asked the SBC to do things that the SBC cannot do. For example, rescind resolutions made by previous SBC messengers, demonstrating that a large number of participants do not seem to grasp the simplest of parliamentary processes.
Also under the heading of “bad” I would add another word: Confusion. Specifically, I am referring to the confusion of those things that are to be handled within a church and those that are legal matters. One messenger actually proposed that suspected cases of sexual abuse be handled internally and not referred to law enforcement or investigated by denominational leadership. As if abuse was a minor disagreement over the color of the carpet! It is rare that I am at a loss for words, but when that statement was made, I was dumbfounded.
THE UGLY. Here I have in mind several things, but they all fit under the heading: division. The divisiveness that we see in our culture is present in the church. Too often we choose to believe the absolute worst about one another rather than the best. Too often we attribute the worst motives possible to others when we want others to give us the benefit of the doubt. That kind of divisiveness was on display in some measure at the SBC this year.
So called "discernment bloggers" (like Capstone Report, Reformation Charlotte, Pulpit & Pen / Protestia, etc) love to attack the "liberal drift" in the SBC by taking statements out of context to say something that was never intended. I could post dozens of examples of them doing so with individuals such as JD Greear, Kevin Ezell, Dhati Lewis, Al Mohler, and others in positions of denominational leadership, but I refuse to give them any more attention than they deserve.
These "discernment bloggers" are contributing to the problem of divisiveness, not helping to bring unity. Should we be careful to check everything by the Word of God? Absolutely. We should be "Bereans" (Acts 17:11) when it comes to those proclaiming the Word. The problem with the "discernment bloggers" is their disdain for anyone who disagrees with them in secondary or tertiary matters. I would remind them (and us) that the Scripture says "Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice" (Phil 1:18).
Ultimately, I was happy with the overall unity and spirit of the SBC Annual Meeting. And, when it comes to matters of controversy about those in leadership, I want you to know that I choose to believe the best. I strive to believe the best about you, about SBC leaders, even about those not happy with the SBC right now. I want to be a person (and a pastor) who believes the best about people, and I hope you do, too.
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