I suppose my Voices readers think of me as a writer or a semi-retired seminary professor. I think of myself as a retired (emeritus) missionary. After all, Barbara and I served with the FMB/IMB for twenty-five years in Southeast Asia. The Foreign Mission Board (now International Mission Board) appointed us in April 1975, and we went to Missionary Orientation in the fall. We arrived in Davao City, Philippines, in April 1976. Today, Davao is a large, bustling city, the largest city on the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, but in those days, it was a sleepy, provincial town. A current missionary or resident might say that things are different now, and I’m sure that’s true. The following, though, are my memories from 49 years ago.

I recall our first Easter in the Philippines. A church in the barrio (village) invited me to preach on Palm Sunday. When we arrived in the village, we saw Catholics walking to their chapel, carrying palm branches. When I asked about that, the pastor told me that the priest would bless the palm fronds. After the service, the parishioners would tack one leaf to their doorposts to ward off bad luck and evil spirits through the coming year. Our Baptist churches did not do this, but I found it interesting.

Holy Week (Easter Week) in the Philippines was a big deal. You could not do business or get anything from a government office from Wednesday until Monday after Easter. In those days, my grandson calls them “the olden days.” 90 percent of the people were Catholic. For them, Good Friday was the big day, and Easter Sunday was like an afterthought. They certainly believed in the resurrection, but they emphasized the suffering of Christ. Our Baptist churches all held Good Friday services, and most featured devotions on the Seven Last Words of Christ from the cross. Our pastor assigned me a word to speak on, so on Good Friday, we drove into Davao City for the service. To reach the town, we had to drive down the main north/south highway on the island of Mindanao. It was always busy, crowded with cars, trucks, jeepneys, buses, and pedicabs (motorcycle taxis). To our amazement, when we turned onto the highway, it was deserted. My vehicle was the only one on the road. It was spooky! When we arrived at the church, I asked our pastor about the empty streets. He answered, “Oh, the Catholics are afraid to travel on Good Friday. They believe the Lord is dead on this day and unable to protect them.”

Several years later, we decided to spend a week of vacation at the Wycliffe Bible Translators compound, near Malaybalay, Bukidnon, also on the island of Mindanao. There were several guest cottages on the compound, and we rented one for the week. Because our trip coincided with Easter, we decided to take Easter eggs and let our children (aged five and two) experience an Easter egg hunt. I sneaked away and hid the eggs in the garden around the cottage. We were just about ready to take the kids outside when someone tapped on our door. When I opened the door, the security guard stood there with a bag in his hand. He smiled and said, “Sir, I found all the eggs that you lost.” I thanked him and took the bag. When I was sure that he was gone, I re-hid the eggs, and our children enjoyed finding them.

At that time, the Wycliffe Center served a number of Bible translators. Typically, they spent six weeks out in the village with their tribe, and they would return to the center for two weeks to rest, refresh, and consult with a translation consultant. Their travel to and from the villages was provided by the missionary pilots of the Jungle Aviation and Radio Service (JAARS). They had to use small planes, like a Piper Cub, that could land and take off on short jungle landing strips. Someone told us there would be an Easter Sunrise Service at the compound airport, and we were glad to attend. After the service, one of the missionary pilots graciously showed his plane to my children. He let them climb into the plane and patiently answered their questions. I said to him, “You must have had some exciting experiences flying over the jungle in this little plane.” He laughed and replied, “Yes, but my most frightening flight was my flight across the Pacific.” I gasped and said, “You flew this little plane across the Pacific Ocean?” He answered, “Yes, I did, and that does wonders for your prayer life.” He went on to explain that they stripped everything possible from the plane to lighten it, and they added extra fuel tanks. To make the journey from the United States to the Philippines, he flew from island to island, refueling as he went. I had always respected the missionary pilots, but after hearing that, my respect soared. I wondered if I could have mustered enough faith to fly across the vast ocean in a single-engine plane.

When we visited the Philippines in 2007, we got to visit a church we helped to plant. While we were there, a Filipino man approached me and said, “Twenty years ago, a big Americano came to my home and told me about Jesus. You were that missionary. Thank you for telling me about Jesus.” I was able to do that because Southern Baptists sent us and supported us.

I realize, and freely admit, that the SBC has lots of problems now. Still, the SBC was established to support missions. Let’s keep our eyes on our fundamental purpose.

Recently, I posted on Voices about the number of SBC churches that die/close their doors. That research piqued my curiosity, and I decided to research why churches leave the SBC. It is important to understand that the Southern Baptist Convention consists of churches that have voluntarily joined themselves together. The SBC is often described as a voluntary association of churches. A church can decide to apply for membership in the SBC, and a member church can vote to leave (disaffiliate in the terminology of researchers).

How many churches do leave? I learned that many more churches close than leave. In 2022, Lifeway Research reported that 813 churches closed, while 17 left/disaffiliated. So, clearly, lots more churches die than leave. Still, the question remains. Why do churches leave the SBC?

The Issue of Women in Ministry

In recent years, the SBC has taken a strong stand against women serving as pastors of SBC churches. This includes a ban on calling female staff members “pastor.” This stand by the SBC has prompted two SBC megachurches to leave—Saddleback Church in California and Elevation Church in North Carolina. Surely, some other churches have made the same decision, but these two grabbed the headlines.

Local Church Autonomy

Some churches believe the SBC has increasingly infringed on local church autonomy. They see the SBC as dictating doctrine and practice to its member churches. The leadership of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas cited this as the main reason Park Cities left. Now, Park Cities Baptist Church is a big, wealthy church in Dallas. They did not join the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship; rather, they made their affiliation with Texas Baptists (Baptist General Convention of Texas) primary. (For non-Texan readers, there are two Southern Baptist state conventions in Texas—the Baptist General Convention of Texas, the old moderate convention, and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, the newer conservative state convention).

Disagreement with the SBC’s Direction and Culture

Some churches have left because they disagree with the Convention’s increasing identification with the Republican Party. Others have become frustrated by the SBC’s inept response to the sexual abuse scandal.

Align with a Moderate Baptist Entity

The Conservative Resurgence in the SBC began with the election of Adrian Rogers as president of the SBC in 1979. In the years that followed, the conservative faction won one presidential election after another until the Moderates gave up the fight and left. They organized the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) in 1991. By their count, 640 SBC churches left and joined the CBF. In 2002, the CBF claimed to have 1,800 member churches. Southern Baptist critics claimed that the number was inflated because the CBF counts any church that sends money as a member church. I know this to be true. My family and I were members of Hurstbourne Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. It was an SBC church, but we had one family that gave a designated gift to the CBF each month. The church office dutifully processed the gift, and we were counted as a CBF church, though we were not. I might add that some churches are dually aligned with both the SBC and the CBF.

Financial Concerns

In recent years, many Southern Baptists have expressed concern about the lack of financial transparency in the SBC. Beyond that, other churches have grown frustrated with what they view as denominational bureaucracy. In other words, they are frustrated with the way that state conventions retain a large percentage of money that is given to the Cooperative Program.

Internal Identity Shifts

Years ago, I learned of an SBC church that called a pastor who had been an independent Baptist. He believed the SBC was liberal theologically, and he did not agree with our system of financial support for missions. Over a period of several years, he persuaded that church to withdraw from the SBC and become an independent Baptist church.

Disfellowshipped by the SBC

Some churches have left the SBC because they were disfellowshipped (expelled) by the Convention. Several years ago, the SBC disfellowshipped a church in Georgia for racism. The SBC has also disfellowshipped churches for tolerating a sexual abuser as their pastor or staff member.

Of course, there are many individual Southern Baptists who have left the SBC to join a church of a different denomination or an independent church. I know we have several regular Voices commenters who are former Southern Baptists.

Perhaps you can think of a reason that I did not mention. I look forward to hearing from you.

Artificial Intelligence press, hype, and doom is everywhere. I can’t look at the news without hearing about AI. I’ve written elsewhere about what I can do as a pastor that AI can’t do. Today, I wanted to argue why I think SBC Voices matters in the age of AI.

First, In an age of general thoughts and predictions, SBC Voices matters because the posts here are the particular thoughts of specific people. AI can only do general or predictive work. We live in specific places, though. We pastor specific churches, not the idealized or general. 

Early fighter jets were made for the average pilot, but that made them really unsafe because no actual pilot was average. No one person had average legs, arms, torso, height, and weight at the same time. The cockpits didn’t fit anyone. In the same way, no church is actually average. No leadership situation or decision can be averaged out and predicted. SBC Voices is a place where the particular still exists.

Second, this site matters because we can share actual stories of real life and ministry. 

There aren’t a lot of stories in SBC life anymore. State convention newspapers and entity communications departments don’t have the support or budgets anymore. This is the one place besides personal blogs where real stories can be shared. Many of us who write here are pastors, ministry leaders, or retired from those positions. This is a place for our stories.

I would love to see someone write about the absurd, heart-wrenching, joyous work that we do in the style of James Herriott. I keep a list of the ups and downs and crazy in-between stories. A layperson would be surprised at the number of times that animal hijinks happen in the life of a rural pastor.

We can also tell the beautiful real life stories of what God is doing. Just this week, a little boy in our church repented of sin and trusted Christ. He told the church about his decision and desire to be baptized. I heard him tell others later, “I repented of my sin and asked Jesus to save me. And he did!”

AI doesn’t have stories like that.

Third, SBC Voices matters because AI can’t share wisdom, but SBC Voices can. AI can learn from what others say, but it can’t learn from sitting at the bedside of a dying saint. It can’t learn to persevere and wait on a prodigal child to come home. It can’t learn hard lessons from hours spent fasting and praying. It can’t gain skill in making disciples who love the Lord. This is a place where the wise can share their wisdom. 

I’m not in charge of who writes here, but if someone asks you a question because they think you know what you are doing, consider that a signal that you should write down your answer. Others could use your wisdom too. Does a young leader ask you how to handle a difficult conversation because he knows and trusts you? There are a lot of young leaders who could use that same wisdom. Consider writing it down.

SBC Voices has what AI doesn’t have and what it never will. It has us.

Recently, I posted about the reasons to plant new churches. I wrote that one reason we need to plant new churches is to replace those that die (close their doors). That prompted me to do some research on dying churches in the SBC, and I’m sharing it with you in this post.

Church Closure Statistics

A number of SBC churches close each year. Here are some statistics from recent years.

2020—845
2021—780
2022—984
2023—292
2024—183

(Source: Lifeway Research, years 2020-2023, and Baptist Press for 2024)

I attribute the higher numbers from 2020-2022 to the impact of the COVID pandemic. During those years, I was on the Missions Committee of the Kauf-Van Baptist Association, which is just east of Dallas, Texas. During COVID, we saw four small churches close their doors. That was true all over the country.

You should not think that only the Southern Baptist Convention has experienced a decline in the number of churches. Ryan Burge reports that from 1960-2025, the United Church of Christ (not to be confused with the Church of Christ in the South and Southwest), a mainline Protestant denomination, declined from 8,000 churches to 4,485 in 2025. Lots of Protestant churches have disbanded in recent years, and the number will surely increase in the future.

Reasons for SBC Church Decline

Loss of Vision and Mission

Those who plant churches do so with a vision of what the church will become and do. Once that initial vision is fulfilled, many churches become aimless. Robert Dale, in his excellent book, “To Dream Again,” says churches must gain a new dream (vision) in order to avoid decline and death. Churches also struggle because they forget their mission—to obey the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20). Declining churches often become introverted, fixating on survival rather than emphasizing evangelism and missions.

Failure to Reach New Generations

During my years of service as a seminary professor, I did a lot of interim pastorates and supply preaching. Many of the churches that invited me were composed of older folks. The nursery and preschool areas were empty, and the baptistery was dusty. These churches had failed to retain youth and young adults. Of course, empty rooms and a dusty baptistery pointed toward a bleak future. Why did they lose younger members? Sometimes it was due to economics. In Eastern Kentucky, the coal mines closed, and young people left the mountains to find work elsewhere. Sometimes, the problem is worship style and/or programming.

If a church stops reaching and retaining younger people, the average age of its members will rise each year. Eventually, there won’t be enough new members to replace those who move away or pass away.

Refusing to Change

Churches must change or risk dying. I don’t mean they should change their theology, but they should change their programs and methods. Churches that refuse to change choose to die. I said that to a television reporter in Louisville some years ago. After the taping stopped, he asked me a personal question. He said, “I grew up in a little Baptist church in the mountains of North Carolina. That church had a wonderful spirit and fellowship. Why would it need to change?” I replied, “I’m sure in 1955 your TV station had the best equipment and programming of any station in Louisville. How would your station do today with that same equipment and programming?” He sighed and responded, “I surrender. I understand.”

Lack of Discipling and Leadership Development

New church leaders come from the church’s pool of disciples (trained, mature believers). If a church does not disciple its members, then there are few potential leaders to enlist.

Internal Conflict

I am a life-long Southern Baptist. I love the SBC—its churches, members, and leaders. Still, I must admit that Southern Baptists are bad to fight. We fight about leadership, doctrine, money, change, and even the color of the new carpet. Fighting can deeply divide a congregation. When conflict becomes the main focus, people leave. Some leave because their side in the church fight lost the showdown vote. Some folks leave to escape the conflict. As the conflict continues for years, the church loses more and more members until those who remain cannot maintain the church.

Poor Pastoral Leadership or No Pastoral Leadership

More than 30 years ago, I served as the interim pastor of a county-seat First Baptist Church in Kentucky. During that year we averaged 200 in Sunday School and 300 in worship. When I left, I believed the church was in good shape. Fifteen years later, we returned to visit the area, and we went to worship at that church. To my dismay, only 30 people worshiped that Sunday. A deacon who remained from my time, asked me what they could do to survive. I advised him that the church could revert to mission status and request assistance from the Kentucky Baptist Convention. I asked a friend and local pastor what had happened to the church. He told me they had called one ineffective pastor after another, and the membership dwindled away.  

Sociological Mismatch with the Community

Sometimes, the neighborhood changes, but the church does not change—adapt to the new population. When that happens, the church gradually becomes detached from its neighbors. I saw an example of this in Memphis. A neighborhood church there invited me to preach on missions and promote the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. As I drove to the church, I noticed that all the stores and businesses in the area had signs and advertisements in Spanish. When I arrived at the church, I encountered about 40 older white folks. They were worshiping in the church fellowship hall. They had an auditorium that seated 500, but they could not afford to heat it. So, they met in the fellowship hall. After the service, one of their deacons approached me and said, “We know our church is dying. When should we close it?” Well, why was that church dying? It failed to adjust to the transition in the neighborhood. The neighborhood became Hispanic, but the church did not offer worship or programs in Spanish. It became an Anglo island in a Hispanic sea.

Economic and Demographic Changes

In 1900, more than 50 percent of the U.S. population lived on farms. By the year 2000, the figure was 2 percent. In the old days, Southern Baptists started lots of rural churches to serve those farm families, but now those folks have moved to urban areas. That’s one reason why many rural churches are struggling—the population has relocated. When I served in Southeastern Kentucky, many “coal camp” churches were barely hanging on. Communities, called “coal camps,” had developed around coal mines. Kentucky Baptists planted churches to serve the people who lived in those communities. Now, most of those mines have closed. Younger adults have departed to look for work elsewhere, leaving only older folks behind in the camp and the church. Some years ago, the Louisville airport expanded, and all the buildings in the expansion zone were demolished. One building belonged to a Southern Baptist church. The church disbanded, and most of the members joined a nearby church that survived the demolition.

Financial Decline

Usually, the immediate cause for a church closure is finances. That is, the church cannot pay its bills any longer. When that happens, the church is forced to close. Of course, the financial problem is a symptom of other problems.

Spiritual Stagnation

Many Christian leaders say the deepest issue is spiritual: when prayer, discipleship, and genuine faith growth fade, the church becomes more like a social club than a spiritual community.

What reasons did I omit?

(I used artificial intelligence in my research. Who says an old dog can’t learn new tricks?)

Note to Readers: I did not address the reasons why churches leave the Southern Baptist Convention. I plan to do that in a later post.

Seminary was a positive experience in some ways, especially my Greek and Hebrew training, systematic theology, Church history, and other such classes that gave me a grounding in how to handle and preach God’s word, but I walked into my first pastorate completely untrained in how to deal with basic day-to-day tasks I faced as a pastor. I remember when I walked down from the pulpit to lead the Lord’s Supper for the first time, and I realized that no one had ever led me through how to do it. I fumbled my way through it, managed to serve the bread first and the cup second, and got the people properly communioned.

One thing no one ever mentioned, probably because the seminaries I attended were in Dallas and Ft. Worth, has become one of the most difficult and annoying decisions I have to make.

When do you cancel church because of the weather? 

Obviously, I’m old school. You young whippersnappers are cancelers. I was raised by Lew Miller, who acted as if canceling church for any reason, even on Sunday night or Wednesday night, might be the single thing that could cost you your place in eternity. Dad used to deliver a screed on Super Bowl Sunday morning that put the FEAR into our folks. We had remarkable attendance while the game was going on, even before the advent of VCRs that could record it.

(For reference, young whippersnappers, Baptist churches used to have church on Sunday night and it was considered mandatory for people who loved the Lord.)

I don’t know if you know this, but the weather is controlled by demonic forces, which is why a disproportionate amount of our bad weather comes on Saturday night and Sunday morning. That means we pastors up north have to regularly make difficult calls about whether to cancel services. Back in the good old days, we tended to carry on with whoever could make it. I had a reputation in Cedar Rapids as the only guy who wouldn’t cancel services. People would show up from their churches to ours when everyone else pulled the plug. We’d have a lot of visitors.

In recent years, though, as I’ve gotten older and culture has changed, the decisions have become more difficult. Permit me to change the tone a bit and try to be serious.

1. We live in a culture that is less willing to brave the elements and more interested in staying home and safe. Dad used to tell the story about a blizzard in Cedar Rapids in the 60s when he decided he should drive the 2 miles to church just in case anyone showed up for Wednesday night prayer meeting. There were 25 people there.

2. Technology has changed things. First, we can notify people much more easily. My dad would have had to make 100 phone calls in the 60s to cancel anything. Now, we just shoot out a text, post something on the website, or Facebook.

3. Canceling church when you can live-stream something and have everyone watch is a game-changer. The shutdown in 2020 really did change everything, didn’t it? Before that, only big churches streamed their services, but when the pandemic came, every little church was using Facebook Live to reach the masses.

Let’s get back to my original point, though. The decision as to whether to close church or not is a pain in my…uh…neck. I have weather apps that give me all sorts of information based on multi-million dollar equipment, but their predictions seem to be about as accurate as the guy who called balls and strikes in the USA-Dominican Republic baseball game last night.

I was the guy who never closed church back in Cedar Rapids, but they were predicting a brutal ice storm for Sunday afternoon. If you live up in these parts, you learn to drive on snow, but Max Verstappen can’t drive on ice. So, I announced Sunday morning that we were pulling the plug on Sunday evening activities. The temps shifted a couple of degrees, and we had a rainstorm with no ice. “Mr. No Cancellations” took a fair amount of ribbing about that.

There have been other times when they said 2 to 4 inches of snow – around here, we generally carry on – and 6 or more inches came. Faithful people came out when they shouldn’t have.

I am the one who has to make these decisions. It galls me to cancel church. The gathering of believers is wonderful, and I don’t want to treat it lightly, but I also don’t want my mostly older people to slide into Nebraska ditches to get here. It’s a conundrum.

I’m guessing there are no solutions, so I’m just trying to tell the weather to get off my lawn.

I have a few discussion questions.

• It has always been MY decision as pastor to cancel or not to cancel. Are there any churches out there where someone else makes the decision?
• What is your thought process in making that decision?
• My theory is that in the South, it’s easier to cancel in bad weather because this kind of thing happens less frequently. If we cancel every time it hits 10 below or we get 3 inches of snow, we won’t meet much from mid-December to the beginning of March. Make sense?
• Did anyone ever get any kind of training or advice on this?

I’ve mostly whined and complained, but here’s my closing advice. We do the best we can, and I think God understands.

SBC Voices has published several posts recently on church planting. I thought it might be helpful to our readers to explain why church planting is important. In the following post, I’ll list a number of reasons. After the first reason (It is biblical), the reasons are not listed in order of importance. So, why should we emphasize church planting?

Church planting is biblical. I could just stop with this reason. If church planting is biblical, then believers and churches should do it. In His Great Commission, Jesus commanded His followers to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19). The book of Acts explains how they obeyed the Lord’s command—they planted churches. Much of Acts narrates Paul’s missionary journeys. He planted a church in every city where he spent significant time. If we truly mean to be New Testament churches, then we should strive to plant churches.

New churches win more people to Christ. Church growth research has demonstrated that new churches consistently win more to Christ than older churches. I tell my seminary classes—Young couples have more babies than old folks (thank God for that). A study done by the Research Department at the North American Mission Board (NAMB) found that new Anglo (English-speaking) churches baptized 13 persons per 100 members, while older churches baptized 3 persons per 100 members. Peter Wagner, the church growth guru of my generation, declared that church planting is “the single most effective evangelistic method under heaven.” Ed Stetzer, the church growth guru of this generation, states, “We must conclude that the most effective method of evangelism is church planting.”

New churches grow more rapidly than older churches. Again, there is a considerable body of research that proves this. Why do newer churches grow faster? New churches are striving to add enough members to at first survive and then later to achieve the vision of the founders. When a church planter or a group of Christians start a new church, they have a vision of what that church will be like, what it will become. Those charter members work hard to enlist new members in order to fulfill their vision. They seek and welcome new members. Sadly, many older churches become closed social groups. They might not admit or even realize that they are closed to new members, but they like their fellowship the way it is. They do not welcome new members. Oh, you don’t believe me. Well, I was the supply preacher at a country church in Kentucky. When I arrived at the church, the chairman of the deacons informed me the church would have a business meeting after the service. He said they would vote on whether to fire their pastor or keep him. I stayed for the business meeting and learned that the chief complaint against the pastor was that he was bringing too many new people into the church. That church was over 100 years old.

New churches are needed to replace dying churches. According to a Baptist Press article, 715 SBC churches closed their doors in 2024. Perhaps, not all of those churches need to be replaced, but many of them do. (Note to Readers: My next post will deal with dying churches.)

New churches are needed in unserved communities. People raised in the South often say, “There’s a church on every corner.” That may be true in some regions, but that is not true throughout North America, much less the world. Joe Radosevich has recently posted on SBC Voices about church planting in the North. He mentioned that there are lots of communities without an evangelical church of any kind. That fact should trouble us.

New churches are needed to reach new generations. It is difficult for a church to reach multiple generations. The worship style that appeals to young adults may not appeal to older folks. I knew a large church that utilized a traditional worship style. A group of young adult members approached the pastor and asked that the church switch to a contemporary style. A group of wealthy laymen heard about their conversation with the pastor. They warned the pastor that if the church changed its worship, they would withhold their giving. The church did not change its worship, and a large group of young adults transferred to a church with contemporary worship. What’s my point? It’s hard for one church to be all things to all people.

New churches are needed for new communities. I live in far north Fort Worth, Texas. The population in this area is growing rapidly. Developers are building new subdivisions and apartment complexes at an amazing rate. We need new churches for these new communities. Years ago, I drove from Kentucky to Florida. I stopped for gas in Florida and realized I had stopped in a new, planned community. The gas station on the interstate highway was one of the first things built. The developers had posted a diagram and map of the new community. On the map were designated spaces for schools and churches.

New churches are needed to reach language/ethnic groups. People need to hear the gospel in their heart language. Beyond that, they desire to worship in ways that are culturally appropriate for them. We need lots of new churches that proclaim the gospel in Spanish and Korean and Chinese, and other languages as well.

New churches are essential to the health of the Southern Baptist Convention. The late Lyle Schaller was a noted church growth/health researcher. He wrote, “From a denominational perspective, one road to numerical growth is to organize more new missions. A reasonable goal is a number equal to at least 2 to 3 percent of the current number of congregations.” For the SBC, this means we need to plant about 1,500 new churches each year. We’re planting about half that many. One might say, “What does it matter whether the SBC is healthy or not?” Remember that the SBC was founded in order to engage in foreign missions and home missions. The first motion of the SBC in 1845 was to establish the Foreign Mission Board (now International Mission Board). In order to maintain and expand our missionary efforts at home and abroad, we need a healthy base of supporting churches.

Note: Much of the material in this post comes from the last chapter in my book, Church Evangelism (Broadman & Holman).

Should a small church pastor be the Recording Secretary of the SBC, (or any other elected position)?

With the exception of the 2nd Vice President of the convention, there has only been one elected officer of the SBC with an average weekly attendance of 200 or less, at least from what I can find searching ACP information on SBC Workspace. According to The Baptist Press, churches with 500 or more in weekly attendance only represent 4% of Southern Baptist churches, yet the major office holders of the convention consistently come from that top 4%, occasionally creeping into the top 7% range. Why can’t we elect leaders to serve who represent the 96% of SBC churches? I think we can break it down into 3 major categories.

Normative vs Notable

According to Annual Church Profile data, 88% of SBC churches have an average attendance of 200 or fewer. Despite the fact that the vast majority of our churches fall in this “normative” category, almost every person ever elected to a position in the SBC has come from a church well above this membership level. The only recent exception would be Jay Adkins, who served as Vice President while leading a church with an average attendance of fewer than 100.

The overwhelming trend is that we elect leaders from churches representing, at best, a small minority of the SBC as a whole. This is not a critique of those men—they have served faithfully. We have a great history of godly, gracious, and gifted officers serving our convention. I don’t want this call for “normative” representation to be seen as a slight against past office holders or other candidates.

In addition to their membership numbers, these candidates often have impressive levels of giving to their churches, the Cooperative Program, and missions. It all looks impressive on a resume or in a nomination speech. I praise the Lord for the notable qualities of these men and the churches they lead, but I believe it is time for the normative to be weighed alongside the notable.

It is time for our officers and national leaders to reflect the majority of messengers who put them in office. There are likely hundreds, if not thousands, of talented, competent people in our convention who could fill these roles with excellence and serve Southern Baptists faithfully. Sadly, most of them never get the opportunity because of the seemingly insurmountable wall of candidates from larger, more notable churches.

Stewardship vs Status

Leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention has never been intended to function as a platform of prestige but as a platform for service. Yet it can be easy, even unintentional, for elections to mirror the instincts of broader culture, where visibility is often confused with qualification and prominence mistaken for calling. When someone is widely known, leads a large ministry, or carries an impressive title, it naturally draws attention. None of those things are inherently wrong, and many who possess them have served faithfully and honorably. Still, the offices of our Convention are not meant to reward prominence but to recognize trustworthiness.

The biblical model of leadership emphasizes being a servant, and a steward of what God has given us. Convention offices are not lifetime achievement awards. They are opportunities to serve for the good of the convention. Faithful stewards are not always the most visible candidates, but they are often the ones most accustomed to quiet responsibility. Across our convention are pastors and lay leaders who manage limited resources, shepherd faithfully without recognition, and carry out their duties with diligence week after week. These are precisely the kinds of people who understand the weight and responsibility of stewardship. If we want our leadership culture to reflect our churches, then stewardship must consistently be valued over status.

Conviction vs Convenience

One of the most common arguments for electing leaders from larger churches is practical: they often have staff, assistants, and church resources that can help shoulder the responsibilities of convention service. On the surface, that reasoning makes sense. Administrative help can lighten workloads. Those realities are not imaginary, nor are they unhelpful. Many who serve from such contexts do so faithfully and effectively, and their contributions should be appreciated.

But the history of faithful leadership has never ultimately depended on convenience. The deciding factor has always been conviction and calling. Servants with a settled resolve to serve when called and to labor faithfully regardless of circumstance. A leader’s usefulness is not determined by how many people assist him, but by how deeply he is committed to the task before him. Across our churches are pastors who prepare sermons, visit hospitals, counsel members, manage budgets, and care for their congregations with little or no staff support. They do this not because it is convenient, but because they are convinced they are called.

That same conviction is what sustains service beyond the local church. The willingness to accept responsibility, to give time sacrificially, and to labor carefully is not produced by resources but by resolve. Our Convention has always been strongest when those entrusted with leadership were shaped more by calling than by capacity. Resources can be helpful, but they are no substitute for conviction. If we want leaders who will serve faithfully regardless of circumstance, then conviction must matter more than convenience.

Reliance upon God Is Universal for Christian Leadership

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether you serve at a megachurch or a normative church. If a leader is not reliant upon the Lord to give him strength, wisdom, discernment, grace, and mercy, then he will not last long in any leadership position. If a leader is not looking to the example of Christ’s servant leadership, it will show in his life.

I love the story of Jesus calling His first disciples. He says to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” I think you can break that calling down into three parts, but I want to focus on the middle section: “I will make you.” Whatever Christ has called us to in this life, He is making us into what we need to be to fulfill the task. He is faithful to transform us more and more into the image of Jesus Christ. I don’t know about you, but I am not who I once was. Twenty years ago, I was not a man who could pastor a church. I was not a man who could serve in a local association, and I certainly wasn’t a man who could serve nationally. But by the grace of God, He has made me into who I need to be, and He continues to shape and transform me into who I need to be for His future plans.

That equipping of the called is true whether a candidate comes from a small, normative church or a megachurch. So let’s not doubt God. Let’s not put artificial limitations on these offices in the Convention or count out people whom God may very well be equipping right now to fill these roles. Let’s trust in the Lord that no matter who we elect, God will make them into who they need to be for the task at hand.

Jonathan pastors Franklin Creek Baptist Church in Moss Point, MS. He has served in normative-sized churches for 17 years.

By tithing I mean giving 10 percent of your income to your church. I believe Christians should tithe, and I believe churches should preach it and teach it. I believe one reason the SBC is struggling financially is because our churches do not teach tithing as they once did.  I realize that not all pastors and Bible teachers agree with me about tithing. Still, before you begin throwing verbal bricks at me and calling me a dinosaur, legalist, and pharisee, let me make an appeal. Let’s debate this on the basis of hermeneutics (principles of Bible interpretation). Read my rationale for supporting tithing. If you disagree, show me where I’ve gone astray in my biblical argument.

The Bible first mentions tithing in Genesis 28:18-20. This passage describes how Abraham paid a tithe to Melchizedek, priest and king of Salem. This is significant because Abraham’s action predates the law of Moses. Of course, the Law of Moses instructed the children of Israel to bring a tithe of their produce to the Tabernacle and later to the Temple. The Israelites’ tithes supported the priests and Levites and the poor (Num 18:20-32; Deut 14:22-29).

The great passage on tithing in the Old Testament is Malachi 3:8-10.

⁸ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. ⁹ You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. ¹⁰ Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. (ESV)

In my view, this passage teaches three principles of stewardship. First, God’s plan for stewardship is tithing. Malachi exhorted the people to bring the “full tithe” to the Temple.

Second, God’s place is to bring the tithe to the church. Malachi instructed the Israelites to bring their tithes to the “storehouse.” This was a storage area in the Temple. In Old Testament times the people tithed produce and animals rather than currency. So, the products they brought had to be stored before distribution to the Levites, priests, and the poor. The New Testament equivalent to the storehouse is the church. The old time SBC preachers used to talk about “storehouse giving,” tithing to the church rather than other Christian ministries.

Third, God’s promise is to bless those who faithfully tithe.

Now, I realize that some readers are thinking, “Yes, Mark, but this is Old Testament teaching. What does the New Testament say?” We’ll get to that shortly, but let me point you to an important declaration by the Apostle Paul. In 2 Timothy 3:16 he writes,

¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, (ESV)

When Paul mentioned “all Scripture,” he referred to the Old Testament. The New Testament did not exist yet. As he wrote those words, Paul was writing the New Testament. Therefore, Paul instructs us to accept all of the Bible as God’s holy Word. To put it another way, the Old Testament has the same authority as the New Testament. So, in my view, this passage in Malachi applies to believers today.

What does the New Testament say about tithing? Not much, but Jesus did mention tithing in Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42 (parallel verses). Matthew 23:23 reads,

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. (ESV)

In commenting on this verse, Dr. Louis Barbieri of Moody Bible Institute writes,

“Being so busy with small details, they [the pharisees] never dealt with the important matters. Jesus was not saying tithing was unimportant; He was saying they were neglecting the one at the expense of the other. They should have been doing both.” (Bible Knowledge Commentary, 1:74-75)

Luke 11:42 says,

⁴² “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. (ESV)

In his volume on Luke in the New American Commentary, the late Dr. Robert Stein, who taught at Bethel Seminary and Southern Baptist Seminary, writes,

“Jesus probably meant that tithing in general was commendable and not that they should follow all the oral traditions on tithing. Tithing herbs was not condemned; neglecting more important issues was.” (341)

The Criswell Study Bible note on Luke 11:42 reads,

“Jesus challenges the Pharisees’ failure to observe judgment and love in the law; whereas, on the other hand, He affirms their practice of tithing even insignificant garden vegetables. The full revelation of God in the N.T. reveals that we are to practice one hundred percent stewardship (cf. 2 Cor 8:9). All we have belongs to God and should be used for His glory and according to His dictates. Tithing is only the beginning place of Christian stewardship, not the end. God does not want you to give less than the tithe, but He may want you to give so much more through His enabling grace.”

This statement from the Criswell Study Bible expresses my view of stewardship. My observation is that views on tithing vary somewhat according to generation. Younger pastors often view tithing as a legalistic practice from the past. My generation (I’m 76 years old) was taught tithing. I can remember when “Prove the Tithe Sunday” was an annual observance in many SBC churches. I doubt that many churches practice this now. I’m not one that believes the old ways are always best, but I do believe the neglect of preaching and teaching on tithing has hurt our churches.

In closing, I realize I’ve presented a one-sided argument in this post. In a seminary paper, I would expect my student to present both sides fairly and then draw a conclusion. I’ve not done that. I plead lack of space. Beyond that, I’m sure those who disagree with me will present the opposing viewpoint. A last reminder—let’s debate on the basis of Bible interpretation.

Addendum: I wrote this essay, and two days later, Baptist Press published an article on tithing. Todd Gray, the Executive Director of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, wrote an article entitled, “Who will fund the mission?” In the article, he advocates teaching and practicing tithing. I’m comforted to know that I’m not the only one who “still” believes in tithing. You can read his article here: FIRST-PERSON: Who will fund the mission? | Baptist Press.

A bill is working its way through the Georgia state legislature that would criminalize sexual contact between clergy and adult individuals. This is an important issue and not one that can be reduced to a thousand world blog post. While I have no questions about the intent of the legislators, supporters, and lobbyists for this, a number of difficult questions arise.

The matter is summarized in this article from Ministry Watch:  https://ministrywatch.com/ga-senate-committee-unanimously-advances-bill-addressing-clergy-sexual-abuse/

I am not optimistic that the discipline and patience exists for much of anyone to read all of this article.

Here’s a key paragraph:

If passed, the bill would amend the state’s criminal code to define terms related to clergy sexual abuse and allow clergy members to be charged with certain sexual offenses when exploiting spiritual authority. First-degree violations would carry prison sentences ranging from one to 25 years. Cases involving minors or repeat sexual felony offenders could bring enhanced penalties.

Part of the motivation for this bill is the scandal involving one of our Georgia Baptist colleges. I don’t believe that criminal charges for sexual abuse are pending for that. This bill is an attempt to close a “gap” in Georgia law concerning sex abuse. I gather that other states have passed similar laws concerning clergy and sexual abuse.

SB 542 would update the Georgia statute governing “improper sexual contact by employee or agent” to specifically include clergy members within its scope. If passed, a clergy member could face criminal charges if they had engaged in sexually explicit conduct or sexual contact with someone who is the subject of a pastoral counseling or spiritual authority relationship. 

The keys are the definitions: who is “clergy,” and what constitutes a “spiritual authority relationship” and other terminology.

The proposed amendment adds “clergy member” language to about 15 definitions of terms such as “person in a position of trust,” “sexual contact” and “sexually explicit conduct.” It also adds definitions of “clergy member” and “pastoral counseling or spiritual authority relationship.”

The bill defines a “clergy member” as “any person, whether licensed or unlicensed, who represents himself or herself as a minister, pastor, priest, rabbi, imam, or other spiritual leader of an organization claiming to be a faith based organization in this state or any other state, or any person who provides or purports to provide spiritual guidance, pastoral counseling, religious instruction, or spiritual direction to another person in a relationship of trust, confidence, or dependency.”

No one would be confused about “clergy” who are paid church staff, or listed denominational workers, or others but notice the “any person…who provides…spiritual direction…”

I would be considered a clergy member in retirement even though I’m not on a church staff. I am identified as such by those I kayak with, play pickleball with, and hike with. I sometimes dispense spiritual information that might be considered advice, counsel, or influence. I do some teaching as a volunteer. Does any of this convey “spiritual authority” or a “power imbalance?” I doubt that anyone would conclude that it does, although the law would provide a route for prosecution on this basis.

The question was asked, specifically, if a Sunday School teacher (and it is presumed that this is in an adult class) would be a “clergy member.” The answer was affirmative if the teacher “used their position as a spiritual educator to manipulate a person into a sexual relationship.” Thus, a 60 year old teacher and a 60 year old “victim” would make a positive case for this law.

I see lawyers jumping into the “gap” here, overzealous prosecutors flinging charges based on this law. Perhaps the law would protect some. I don’t know.

I have always had questions about how adults are freed of the ability to consent. I’m just not sure about this one.

___________

I started this series after a conversation with a friend whose church was supporting a new church plant. I shared some advice that I hadn’t heard when I was planting but wished I had. 

The first time I talked with a church planter, I told him I was thinking about planting a church. His main advice was about money. He told me to buy Randy Alcorn’s The Treasure Principle for everyone in the core team and then gather them together and ask them to put their treasure into the church. He advised not being afraid to ask everyone, including broke college students.

I now think his advice is wrong both in priority and method. There are a lot of other parts of planting that I would prioritize before money. However, financial needs are real. In Luke 8:1-3, women like Joanna and Susanna supported Jesus and his disciples. It’s not wrong to talk and plan for the financial needs of your ministry. Here are the financial things no one talks about.

First, money is important, but it’s not the primary thing. If you have your money right, but your character wrong, the church will be wrong. If you prioritize money but not prayer, the Word, people, discipleship, etc., then you shouldn’t be planting. More planters are derailed by character than by money.

Second, it will take more money than you think. I read all the planting books back in the day and no one talked about what it really costs to plant a church, where the money comes from, etc. I want to give you the real details. You cannot plant a church with $13,000 or $30,000. $1000 a month is not enough and everyone knows it except the church planters who assume that is how everyone got their start.

How much money do you need? You will need three times the budget you will one day have. You should figure out what your church budget would be based on the size of church you think that you will one day be. Find actual churches like the church you think you will lead and then multiply their budget by three. If you think you will lead a church with a $200,000 budget, then your target is $600,000. If you plan on leading a multi-staff church with a budget of $500,000, then your target is $1.5 million.

Third, church planting organizations won’t give you enough. You will not find a church planting group, denominational entity, or church that will give you enough to plant. Each group will only give you part of what you need. Church planting organizations budget for how much they will support each plant with. No organization I’ve ever heard of will give everything needed even to support one planter for one year. NAMB and state conventions work together and have set amounts that they will give you. They do not give enough to fully fund a plant. There might be groups or individuals that could pay for the entire thing, but most groups and individuals want to be a part of a team and not take on the whole risk as your only support. Make your plans to recruit a broad base of support.

I’ve heard urban legends about NAMB and state conventions throwing huge amounts of money at church plants. I’ve never heard a specific name though. In my state, NAMB and the state association give $18,000 max per year for 3 years. That is just the equivalent of 2-4 families’ tithe. Most planters I know work multiple jobs. Many planters are on welfare. It’s not as cushy a job as most outsiders assume.

Third, money follows vision. If you get someone’s heart, the money will follow.

A mistake church planters (and support-raising missionaries) make is that they start by asking people to fund their desire to do ministry. It sounds like this, “I want to plant a church to reach an under-reached community in Colorado. Will you give me money so that I can do this?” 

A better method is to ask people to care and help reach a community without a gospel-preaching church in Colorado. Ask them to pray for it, care about it, help you do the work. When you have people that know, pray, and go, then their heart will be in it. You can then ask them to give. You want to ask excited people to do ministry with you, not fund your ministry. It sounds like, “You have been praying for and learning about the needs in this community. Would you help reach them by supporting us?”

Fourth, foundations manage money, so pay attention to philanthropy that can help you. Many wealthy people don’t have the time or interest in vetting their philanthropy. They give money to foundations that give grants or support for certain priorities or geographies. There are foundations that help churches buy or renovate buildings. Look into those foundations for support.

Fifth, guard your heart and your ministry. Flee greed. Don’t use people for their money. You are ministering to people. Some have money; some don’t. Don’t misuse, manipulate, or favor people with money.

Sixth, wealthy people need discipleship too. Henri Nouwen wrote a book called The Spirituality of Fundraising. He’s not a source I normally recommend, but he argues that fundraising is actually spiritual if we see it as a chance to help people follow God with their money. Fundraising shouldn’t be manipulating something out of someone but helping them steward their resources for God’s glory. They have people in their lives using them and their money. Nouwen writes that they need people to help them use their money for good.

I’ve been in people’s homes and seen the fundraising letters they get from politicians. I see the fundraising calendars from non-profits and orphanages. Some people have the money to make a difference. Faithful pastoring means helping people do great things with their giving. What is better than planting gospel-preaching, disciple-making churches?

At the end of Joanna and Susanna’s lives, I don’t imagine that they regretted anything that they gave. We want to do the same kind of ministry that people are glad to support without regrets.