We have had a resurgence of contributors and the blog has greatly benefited.  In the near future we will be addressing what the GCR might shape up to be, what a restructuring might look like, and how it will help local churches better fulfill the Great Commission.

There is a lot of excitement here at SBC Voices and in the SBC in general.  May we continue to honor Christ in all that we do.

So, for those who want to hear the sermon and can’t wait, here’s a link to a slightly longer version of the same sermon preached by Platt at Southern Seminary chapel 2007. Enjoy!

http://www.sbts.edu/resources/chapel/fall-2007/message-3/

Blessings,

Todd

You can follow the events in real time via the Twitter hastag #ClarkLogan

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At 10:50 PM on June 23rd, erguncaner wrote, “If there is no difference between imbibing [drinking] and getting drunk, can I just smoke a little pot? It’s good for the stomach (they say)…”

Wow!

I know this is supposed to be funny (?), but let’s get serious.  This is a man who we are supporting with CP dollars (the almighty CP) to run a school with the intention of training the next generation of church leadership, and he feels that this level of sophmoric, unedifying, unbiblical reasoning is appropriate for the alcohol debate?  I would hope that Dr. Caner knows this argument is a non-sequitur seeing as how the primary charge against “smok[ing] a little pot” in the American context is because it is illegal (and thus in violation of Romans 13) and not because of it’s physical effects.

Can you even imagine Al Mohler, Danny Akin, or Paige Patterson saying such a thing?

With all of the firestorm against Mark Driscoll and his leadership as pastor of a non-SBC church and church planting network, I believe we should spend a little more time focused upon the poorly behaved leaders within our own camp, of which Ergun Caner could be first on the list.

Having read much about doctrinal controversies in Baptist history, lived through the tail end of the Conservative Resurgence, been to numerous Baptist meetings on the associational, state and national level, listened to Pastor’s Conference sermons and committee reports, participated in blog discussions, had late night debates, participated in doctoral seminars and colloquia, read Baptist newspapers and editorials, met with entity Trustees, and generally been willing to discuss any topic with anyone on virtually any occasion, I have experienced and engaged in my share of disagreements on various issues. Often, I am disheartened by the nature of such disagreements. At times, I have been mischaracterized, mistreated, or just frustrated by the lack being able to come to any common ground. Too often, I am ashamed of my own conduct and failure to handle disagreements in a Christian manner and one that seeks God’s truth.

I do not suggest that there should be no disagreements or there should be peace at any cost. Some issues are worth a fight and some hills are ones on which to die. I want to be diligent in my quest for truth and fighting for those things which truly matter and about which I have an informed conviction. Still, not all disagreements rise to that level. Further, I want to handle disagreements in a Christ-like manner. I offer the following as my own reasons for why, many times, we engage in fruitless arguments and come out so strongly against brothers with whom, rather, we should unite around the gospel. I offer these not only as observations of the actions of others, but traits I have sometimes seen in myself and am working to avoid. I offer such for your consideration.

Things to avoid in our disagreements with others:

1. A willful ignorance in which we choose to embrace a caricature of someone’s view rather than truly seek to understand it – or worse, an intentional dishonesty in advancing such a caricature we know to be misleading or untrue.
2. An unwillingness to allow persons to speak in their own words and argue against the actual content of their position.
3. Rejection of a view “out of hand” without having considered the merits of the argument.
4. An unwillingness to engage in real discussion, either talking past each other by ignoring the honest questions of others or engaging in debate/rhetorical techniques that are designed to win an argument rather than actually seek the truth.
5. Taking offense or rejecting an argument because of a perceived practical implication or application of someone’s view rather than the view itself.
6. Ascribing a perceived logical outcome of an opponents view and attacking that outcome rather than the view itself.
7. A willful blindness to our own presuppositions and or a failure to acknowledge those presuppositions of which we are aware.
8. Parsing words to the point of ascribing hidden agendas or extracting meanings never intended by the person.
9. Failure to give one’s opponent the benefit of the doubt in terms of personal motives.
10. A blindness to our own motives and personal agendas.
11. Attacking the character of the person rather than the argument made.
12. Responses that are reactionary not thoughtful – i.e., responding to something which we have neither read, sought to understand, reflected, nor considered the merits yet on which we have a strong, unwavering opinion that must be heard.
13. Responding to critics from a defensive posture rather than engaging in real discussion in a common desire for truth.
14. Name-calling or lumping a person into a particular camp in order to dismiss one’s argument without engaging it.
15. A dogmatic approach to issues which are tertiary in nature, on which persons of good conscience disagree, and which are more unclear in Scripture than we are willing to admit.
16. A failure to do theological triage resulting in an elevation of tertiary issues to secondary or even first order status.
17. A failure to have an irenic spirit and treat our opponents with respect.
18. A lack of humility.

I hope this list is helpful. I certainly need to monitor my own actions in disagreements with others. Also, I should say that I have had far more disagreements that have been handled in a Christ-like, truth-seeking manner by all involved than ones characterized by what I have described above. I am encouraged by men who are willing to engage in cordial debate and a common desire for God’s glory as we seek to be faithful to Christ and His word. Ultimately, I want to see Southern Baptists finally and forever give up fighting over non-essentials and unite around the gospel of Jesus Christ. My heart longs for that day and the recent annual meeting of the SBC advances that hope. Lord, let such begin with me.

Blessings,

Todd

However, as I remarked in my last post, there are still two things that I am thinking about.  I will leave the SBC/Acts 29 cooperation aside until a later date, and instead focus on what I find to be is the most perplexing question in Southern Baptist life today: why are there still seeds of animosity towards Calvinism in many corners of the SBC?

This to me is an even more pertinent question since much of the animosity seems motivated by misunderstandings of Calvinism and caricatures of bastardized forms of Calvinism which are nearly if not totally non-existent in today’s church.  And don’t just take my word for it.  If you were at the convention then you no doubt witnessed Morris Chapman’s “report” in which he lauded the sovereignty of God and yet chimed that man must still share the gospel for men to be saved– a point directed against Calvinism and yet to which no Calvinist would disagree.  Or what about the dear messenger from Florida who asserted that the gospel for Calvinists is different than the gospel for non-Calvinists and that Calvinism tears apart churches, associations, and families (!) ?

Let me be clear, I do not believe that non-Calvinists in the SBC are ignorant.  I do however wonder why they seem so misinformed about Calvinism?  My wife and I were discussing it and we drew a parallel between this and the attitude that many take towards racism.  We know the stereotypes are false, we know Calvinists that are soul-winners and solid theologians, and yet we pretend like they are the exception to the rule and carry on with our fear and prejudice.  Why?

Please discuss this.  I know there are plenty non-Calvinists on this message board.  I honestly want to know. Why are so many people in the SBC afraid of Calvinism?

Although this is late in comparison to many of my friends and colleagues from around the convention I thought it might still be appropriate to jot down a few thoughts about this year’s annual meeting. These are not intended to be comprehensive, but rather something of a snapshot from my mind - which has great potential to be terrifying, I’ll grant you, none the less here we go.

Positives:

First, let’s start with what I viewed as good or even great parts of the convention.

Pastor’s Conference Preaching:

I have never been so encouraged as I was this year concerning the passionate, Gospel centered, expositional preaching that was delivered over and over again. Standing out in my mind were the messages delivered by J.D. Greear, & David Platt. Certainly there were many more that I was excited about, but none more than those two. Both showed an excellent skill at faithfully exegeting God’s Word, and both showed an amazing capacity to do so in an inviting, yet challenging manner which was humble in nature and yet so thoroughly convicting. David Platt’s message in particular, will go down as one of the best messages, if not the best, I’ve ever heard. I heard that one former SBC President remarked that it was the greatest message in the history of the Pastor’s Conference. That’s some high cotton, but it’s deserved in my opinion. If those two are indicative of the men being produced by our SBC seminaries, our convention’s future is significantly brighter than I might ever have imagined.

Gospel Centered Unity:

One of the characteristics of the younger generation seems to be a great commitment to theology driven practice, much more so than I’ve seen in many, many years. The popularity of men like Mark Dever, Ed Stetzer, Danny Akin, Al Mohler and more seems to have fostered a great desire for a methodology that is driven by a Gospel centered theology. This convention represented that like no other that I’ve ever attended. While there was certainly powerful opinions that were expressed on various sides of various arguments, when it came to voting there was remarkable unity and it was encouraging to see it seemingly motivated by a passion for the centrality of the message of the Gospel. In fact, aside from the election of officers, I don’t believe ever used our ballots other than to raise or lower than in votes. Every vote was overwhelmingly clear. That’s new for me at an SBC meeting.

The Great Commission Resurgence:

For quite some time I’ve been fairly open about my excitement concerning the potential for a GCR. From the moment I heard Dr. Akin espousing a commitment to a GCR I found myself gravitating towards that call. A providential opportunity to spend half of a day with Pastor Johnny Hunt two months ago only confirmed my commitment to the GCR, particularly under the leadership of two men that I respect and trust. Heading into the convention I was fairly confident that the Task Force motion would pass with a significant majority - and had shared as much with a number of friends. However, knowing Southern Baptists my idea of a significant majority was around 65%. Imagine my absolute shock, then, to see it pass with 95% of the vote. I spoke to another friend who was on the platform when the vote happened and he was of the opinion that 95% was actually a conservative count. His thought was that it was even higher than that. Amazing.

Pastor Johnny Hunt’s Leadership:

If you would have asked me a year ago I would have probably offered an opinion that Pastor Johnny was another SBC insider who would probably be satisfied to maintain something of a status quo. I really had never had any interaction with him and I have never been more thankful to have been wrong. I was shocked, to be honest with you, when he told me that prior to serving as SBC President he had never served in SBC life in any capacity other than as a preacher at various events. His passion to serve as pastor of a local church, and his willingness to reach people with the Gospel was evident and on display as he lead our convention during the week with great graciousness and yet firm resolve. We need more men like Pastor Hunt in our denomination.

Youthful Engagement:

Whether it was due to the convention being in a large seminary town, or due to interest in the GCR there was undoubtedly a younger hue to the convention this year. It’s the first time I have not felt decidedly out of place and something like 20 years younger than the average participant. In fact, it’s the first time I’ve actually felt a bit like I was older than a significant number of those in attendance. The fact that the convention offered such good preaching, Gospel centered unity and a passion for the future probably bodes well in helping bring many of these young Baptists back which is certainly a good thing for our convention.

The opportunity to attend meetings like the Baptist 21 panel on Tuesday afternoon was invigorating as I worshipped with 600 other Southern Baptists at Sojourn Church in downtown Louisville. The guys who run B21 did a phenomenal job of putting together one of the best, most helpful meetings I’ve ever attended at an SBC.

Elderly Wisdom:

I continue to be amazed at the men in our convention who love to pour themselves into younger guys. I know that I long for the mentoring and wisdom that comes from years of experience. God has blessed me with relationships with a number of these guys, and others I don’t know personally but love watching their ministry and this year was no different. Men like Dr. David Dockery, Dr. Danny Akin, Dr. Al Mohler, Dr. Mark Dever, Dr. John Marshall, Dr. Frank Page & Dr. Johnny Hunt continue to encourage and motivate me. Dr. Marshall’s convention message was particularly inspiring and encouraging. After he finished, all I knew to do was tell him “thank you”. We are a blessed convention to have their wisdom and guidance.

Negatives:

Now, it wouldn’t be a fair assessment if I didn’t mention a few of the things that were not quite as encouraging. I’ll try not to be as long here because I want to focus more on the strengths of this meeting, but there certainly were a few disappointing moments.

Poor Reports:

Almost without a doubt the Executive Committee report by Dr. Morris Chapman had to be the most disappointing moment of the entire meeting. His report was anything but a report and instead appeared to be his own personal vendetta against all things that he found troubling in convention life. His drive by’s included the Great Commission Resurgence, those who embrace a Reformed soteriology, those who used contemporary methodologies to reach people with the Gospel. I felt quite disturbed after it was over. Evidently I was not the only one. Dr. Mohler, from Southern Seminary, apparently found Dr. Chapman’s report troubling and Dr. Danny Akin, of Southeastern Seminary, called it “shameful”. It was a sad misuse of time and power, in my opinion, for him to use his position to take shots at Southern Baptists across the denomination who embrace conservative theology but whom he personally finds disturbing. While he has every right to hold those positions, that was not the time, nor the place, to express them.

Political Stumping:

I’ll have to admit that I was pleased when I heard that Mike Huckabee was asked to speak. As Huckabee is a former Baptist pastor, and I knew that Huckabee is a good speaker, I was encouraged about the idea of hearing him preach. Unfortunately, that’s not what we got. Instead we heard what appeared to be a political stump speech where Huckabee said that the cure for America was morality. While I pray that we become a more moral nation, morality is not the answer. If that’s true the Mormon’s, Jehovah’s Witnesses & even the Muslims are the great hope for our country. In a moment when he had the floor, and could have established a new tone as a politician who embraced his faith and clearly communicates its truths in no uncertain terms, Huckabee let us down in my opinion. As I’ve told my own church, politics are not the hope for America, the Gospel, and righteousness through the Gospel, is the hope for America. Unfortunately Huckabee appeared to take the politically expedient route in dealing with those concepts.

Persistent Disbelief:

Leading up to the convention we heard from Baptist Press that the convention was really not in decline. Instead, we were told, we were just looking at the numbers all wrong. Instead of being in decline, we just didn’t have people to reach out to. In fact, since the convention, the author of those previous articles claimed in an interview with Christianity Today “I hate to use these terms, but you can’t reach people if there isn’t a market”. It is seriously discouraging to me to hear people on our convention staff, paid by our convention dollars, who are trying to wish away the obvious and act as if no problems exist. It’s concerning to me when the population is growing strongly as a whole, and the argument being offered is simply “there isn’t a market” to be reached. Wow.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, however, I’ve got to be honest that it was the most encouraging SBC I’ve ever been to. Sure there were some discouraging components, but in retrospect, they were insignificant in comparison to our Gospel centered unity and our commitment to the exposition of God’s Word. This convention marks the first time that I’ve left convinced that our future is bright if we keep moving in the current direction. After previous conventions I’ve felt as if the future could be bright, if necessary changes occurred. This year is altogether different, and for that I’m grateful!  

One thing that has repeatedly caught my attention over the years, though, is the fact that there is a set of older folks who feel the need, as if it is their assigned job within the church, to tell younger folks with children they need to go away. Do they outright say “leave?” Of course not. But the tone of voice used when saying things such as “We have a nursery for crying babies that you need to take advantage of” speaks volumes to young parents. This is especially true when the phrase “I got nothing out of the sermon today cause your baby was such a disruption.” is added to the conversation.

When did the rule of decorum and reverence to God ever become so wieghty that it over-ruled the rule of love your neighbor?

If we truly believe (and I do) that children are a blessing from God, then why do we curse them for crying or cooing?

Within the confines of the four walls of our church, many of the young women who attend our services are military wives. A high percentage of these ladies have spouses who are currently deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq. An even higher percentage of them have NOT made professions of faith in Jesus Christ. The old saying goes that atheists don’t live in foxholes. Over the last 21 years of combined military service between my husband and I, I’ve found most wives left at home aren’t atheists either. They may not be christians (yet) but many of them are seeking to find “something” that will calm their worries and give them peace.

Another dynamic added to this is that most of these women work during the week and have little time with their children. This may be of their own choosing, but it is a fact none the less. Many moms have told me they feel guilt at having to leave their children during the week and cherish every moment they can spend together on Saturday and Sunday. That means many of these women truly believe their only options are to keep their children with them at church or just not go to church. When they are approached and told that their children are causing a disruption, most choose the latter option. Unfortunately, that also leads to a desire to never again darken the door of a church building.

An underlying theme throughout the New Testament is that Jesus met people where they were. He did not sin in order to meet them in that capacity but He showed them a new and better way. His way.

Three of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) give us the story of the disciples rebuking the people who brought the children to Jesus for Him to touch them. Jesus became indignant at this and turned around and rebuked the disciples. Jesus told His disciples that the kingdom of heaven belong to those like them.

Matthew 18 speaks to this as well. Verses 5 and 6 say:

“And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

Christ painted a pretty vivid picture! I don’t think there is much left to imagine at how God’s wrath will be poured out upon those who turn children away and lead them into sin.

By no means do I mean to say that we should have children running up and down the aisles and screaming or playing hide and seek under the pews. That is a true disruption that needs to be attended to. There should be decorum and reverence as we gather to worship our Holy Messiah, Christ Jesus. However, we need to take our cues from our pastor servants and when they follow sound biblical teaching and say they love children in church, we ought to follow their lead.

The last time I checked, the seats in church were not assigned. If you are sitting in the back pew (or even the back half) of the sanctuary and you are annoyed by the mommies and babies who choose to worship Jesus together in the only way they know how, then maybe you should take a hike to the front of the church rather than telling them to take a hike. You may just find you can hear and learn more on the front row than you ever did in the back!

– Johnny Hunt, pastor, FBC, Woodstock, Ga., SBC president

– Jim Richards, executive director, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention

– Frank Page, pastor, FBC, Taylors, S.C.

– David Dockery, president, Union University

– Simon Tsoi, first vice chairman, International Mission Board

– Donna Gaines, Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, Tenn.

– Al Gilbert, pastor, Calvary Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, N.C.

– J.D. Greear, pastor, Summit Church, Durham, N.C.

– Tom Biles, director of missions, Tampa Bay Association, Executive Committee member

– Danny Akin, president, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

– R. Albert Mohler Jr., president, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

– John Drummond, St. Andrews Baptist Church, Panama City, Fla.

– Harry Lewis, North American Mission Board

– Mike Orr, pastor, FBC, Chipley, Fla.

– Roger Spradlin, pastor, Valley Baptist Church, Bakersfield, Calif., Executive Committee member

– Robert White, executive director, Georgia Baptist Convention

– Ken Whitten, pastor, Idlewild Baptist Church, Tampa, Fla.

– Ted Traylor, Olive Baptist Church, Pensacola, Fla.

BP

The day started with two motions: one in favor of the infamous Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) and one against (in so many words) Acts 29 and Mark Driscoll.  An interesting start.  As one SBC Tweeter (Alvin Reid) put it, “Will we be about the world evangelism or witch hunts?” 

For the next several hours it seemed like witch hunts was the path we had chosen.  Between Morris Chapman butchering the Reformed perspective on soteriology while attacking the GCR and unending motions about banning Mark Driscoll’s books from LifeWay or not associating with those who happen to be Mark Driscoll, it got kind of rough.  There was even a point at which a motion was made to investigate Ed Stetzer, Danny Akin, and Alvin Reid for their cooperation/involvement with Mark Driscoll (which, by the way, is still on the docket for Wednesday’s meeting).

However, calm and steady leadership began to prevail.  At lunch, 600 fiery, angry young leaders were met by Johnny Hunt, Danny Akin, Al Mohler and others at the baptist21 panel at Sojourn Community Church and reassured that everything would turn out alright.  And even as I was walking through the LifeWay exhibit finding other authors I think we should ban before Mark Driscoll, Dr. Mohler offered words of advice through the fabulous world of Twitter saying, “I beseech ye brethren, do not respond with anger to these motions. Give time and let us reason together. Trust the trustee system.”  When we reconvened for the final round of motions, you could feel the turn.  Some motions were made firing back at the ridiculousness of the day’s earlier proceedings, and one even drew a chuckle from Dr. Hunt as a kind messenger made a motion extending an invitation to “that Driscoll feller” to defend himself before the SBC at next year’s meeting. 

This all led into the big resolution on the GCR.  However, as we awaited that confrontation, the Committee on Order of Business made us aware that several of the more antagonistic motions were being discarded without discussion for being out of order with the business of the SBC.  Welcome news.

Finally, Dr. Mohler spoke, and following a few more unintelligible attacks against Calvinism and a proposed amendment to complete replace the original resolution, the hall finally got to vote, and approve at about a 90-10 margin, the GCR.

This of course is only a synopsis, as today also saw Dr. Hunt reelected as SBC President and Danny Akin deliver at least three powerful messages over a 17 hour span, but I hope it captures the essence of what was a wild and exhausting day.

Going forth from here I have two observations I want to make.  First, I think it is disappointing that so many theological caricatures still exist in our convention and are creating animosity between brothers.  There is certainly much need for education in both the beliefs of those who don’t agree with us and, in some cases, just plain biblical theology.  This should certainly be done in love and grace, but needs to be done nonetheless.

Secondly, I was a little disappointed to find slim-to-no representation from dual affiliated Acts 29/SBC churches.  I love these guys at The Village and Journey and The Summit and wherever else.  However, if you are going to go through the trouble of being SBC to begin with, please get involved here.  There are men like Danny Akin, Mark Dever, Al Mohler, and Johnny Hunt who are making a stand on wanting to empower the next generation of leaders in the SBC.  That should be you (and hopefully me too!).  Please, don’t be apathetic and don’t be turned off by the politics.  We fight and dumb resolutions about Pepsi and Mark Driscoll make the floor.  But at the end of the day, men with great biblical vision are taking the reins and will corral this all together to complete God’s purpose here.  And from all I’ve seen today, these men are ready and willing to hand it off if only theologically-sound young men will stand up to take it!

Thank God for a wonderful first day of our convention and may he bless our work as we go out from here!