Palestinian Resolution Exposes an Illinois Baptist Blindspot

This past week I attended the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Illinois Baptist State Association.  Some of you are probably wondering what the heck such an event entails, but please, muscle past.  I want to skip the discussion of what we Baptists do when we hang out and move right on to a specific resolution that was passed regarding the Palestinian Church.  

A resolution* was passed calling upon Illinois Baptists and churches to be active in ministering to Palestinian children, to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian Church as a whole, to pray for government officials and other leaders in Israel and the West Bank, and to pray for Palestinian people in general.  Nothing at all is objectionable in these resolutions.  However, as I listened to the hurried process, I couldn't help but think of how blind we are.

Just the night before during a corporate prayer meeting, it had been mentioned that Muslims outnumbered Southern Baptists in the state (not that there aren't other evangelicals) and I happen to know that my denomination will very soon lose the only missionaries we have in Illinois who are exclusively focused on reaching Muslims (not that there aren't a few other workers ... just a few though). And yet, this resolution was entirely focused on the Palestinian People in Palestine. Consider the following:

Palestinians in Chicagoland

• Population Estimate: 85,000
• Palestinians are primarly located in Chicago's Southwest suburbs including Bridgeview, Oak Lawn and Orland Park. They are predominatly Muslims and may be the largest Arab diaspora in Chicagoland.
• While there is a portion of the Palestinian community that is traditionally Christian, there are very few evangelicals and no known churches in Chicagoland intentionally seeking to reach Palestinian Muslims. New Engagement/Planting Efforts Needed: 80.

Our research team has estimated that as many as 80 new gospel engagement/church planting efforts are needed among the Palestinian diaspora in Chicagoland. It stands as one of the greatest evangelistic needs in our state and yet it was entirely ignored by a well-meaning resolution committee and a ballroom full of Southern Baptist leaders.  I suppose a few others may have considered this but the proceedings were rushed along very quickly.  There was really no time to call our attention to the diaspora peoples.  After all, we couldn't possible sacrifice our precious Common Core or Concealed Carry discussion time.

Followers of the Lord Jesus, may we not be blind to the presence and continued movement of diaspora peoples among us.  The endless migration of peoples from one end of the earth to the other and back again is perhaps the most impressive human force in the world today.  The least reached people groups on the planet have cousins in Toronto, siblings in Toledo, and classmates in Taipei.  The extent to which we do not notice is an important measure to revealing just how out-of-step our churches, mission agencies, and denominations may be with the leading of the Lord of the Harvest.  In 1974 Ralph Winter chided the global Church for our people blindness.  His prophetic challenge is just as appropriate today.

[*NOTE (Nov. 11, 2014)- In light of some of the feedback I have received, I want to emphasize that I did support the resolution that was presented.  It was a good one and, for someone like myself that is so passionate for the nations, perhaps the most important.  I'm actually quite grateful that it was brought forward and regret that we didn't have more time to consider it.  So, actually, I mean no disrespect to any individual or group associated with the resolution or even the program procedures.  My use of the first-person, plural pronouns in the article is intentional.  This is a self-critique of my own "tribe" because as I travel around the world speaking, teaching and writing and challenging all manner of evangelical groups to address their blindness to the presence of diaspora peoples among them I do no want to be guilty of pulling my punches within my own family.  As the prayer meeting at the Illinois Baptist annual meeting reminded us so well, certain things should simply not be and I believe that 2000 years is long enough for peoples to be without the gospel especially here in Chicagoland where we have the ability to take it to them. I am grateful for the strong responses that this article has generated and pray that the Lord uses it to not only lead us to greater engagement among Palestinians (here and there) but among all peoples.  As always, I appreciate my readers and my respectful critics.  My we ever be as iron sharpening iron on our way to the Master.]

Southern Baptists and Baptism

Well, I found this to be interesting.  Some of you will know why.

For the rest, just enjoy the read ...

Between The Times: "LifeWay Research released a study yesterday demonstrating that a slight majority (52%) of the Southern Baptist pastors they polled believe that any professing believer can participate in communion. Only about a third of those polled (35%) believe that baptism is prerequisite to the Lord’s Supper. Still others advocated other positions, which are less relevant to this post. (The poll also had some interesting statistics about how frequently Southern Baptists celebrate communion, but that’s another topic for another day.)"

Where are you on this?

Muslims Outnumber Southern Baptists in Illinois

Photo by: Steve Evans

For what it's worth . . .

According to a recent report - The US Religion Census 2010 - there are now more Muslims than Southern Baptists in Illlinois.  Here's a quote:

Muslims have become the third-largest religious group in the state after Roman Catholics and independent evangelicals. Not to mention, the fastest-growing one.

The Chicago Tribune published an article on the religious data for Illinois here.  You can also find the nation-wide summary findings here.  One must ask how seriously we should take any mission agency broadly focused on Chicagoland which pays little or no attention to the presence, needs, and divine opportunities presented by such a massive and rapidly burgeoning Muslim community.

Vote Yes 4: Great Commission Baptists

It is official, in case you haven't heard, that the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention has voted overwhelmingly to approve a taskforce's recommendation that the name "Great Commission Baptists" be adopted as a sort of informal "nickname" for the denomination. Word is that churches will have the "option" to utilize the new name, but that those who didn't want to could stick with the old Southern Baptist label.

That a legal name change is not being put forward should come as no surprise to those following developments closely. The word for some time has been that pursuing more of an informal or "doing business as" approach to a name-change was likely (ala Baptist General Convention a.k.a. "Converge"). For those who have been worried about the legal ramifications or excessive costs of a name change, this should quell their concerns.

As the pastor of Trinity International Baptist Mission, I was quietly rooting for "International Baptist Convention", but "Great Commission Baptists" is okay too. It has the effect of capturing much of what many name-change opponents claimed the term "Southern Baptist" stood for. It is pretty clear as the missional heart and focus of our denomination and it is pretty impossible to conceive of it becoming dated (obeying the Great Commission will be relevant till Jesus comes). GCB moves us away from the regionalizing yoke of the term "Southern" and is free from the associations of slavery and racism.

So, in short, I am happy with the name and plan to be enthusiastically voting in favor of it at the SBC this year. Maybe I'll pack up a van of messengers and make it a New Orleans road trip. It should be a very historic time with not only the name change on the ballot, but also the opportunity to vote for our convention's first black president.

Illinois Baptist State Association: Home: IB: Convention will vote on optional 'Great Commission Baptist' identity for use by churches, while keeping legal name ‘Southern Baptist’: "NASHVILLE | Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention will decide in June whether to call the denomination “Great Commission Baptists,” at least informally. The SBC Executive Committee approved a task force’s recommendation to adopt a name for optional use by churches, while keeping the legal name of the denomination in use since its founding in 1845."

That Which We Call a Vomit Blossom: The Southern Baptist Name Change

Shakespeare has, on the lips of his Juliet, famously declared, “That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.”  This, of course, is true enough.  However, if we called them “vomit blossoms” or “poisonous red buds of death” I doubt too many of us would venture to get a whiff.  The ancient pundits of India were going for something similar when they said, “God is one but theologians call him by different names” (Rg-Veda 1/164/46).  Again, there is an element of truth here as Christians certainly employ a variety of names in their worship of the Triune God.  He is Creator, Lord, Almighty, El Shaddai, YHWH, and more.  However He isn’t Krishna or Buddha or Oprah or you.  The tenor of Scripture suggests actually that Bill Shakespeare and company are fundamentally wrong if they are trying to claim that names and naming are irrelevant and insignificant.  Rather we read of God naming things from the beginning of creation (Gen. 1:5) and of the first man quickly following suit (Gen. 2:20), we see the Lord changing the names of key figures in salvation history to mark life-altering moments or to signal divine promises (e.g. Gen. 17:5, Jn. 1:42), we hear of God’s command that we should revere His name and not take it in vain (Ex. 20:7), and we cherish the promise that our own names have been written down in the Lamb’s book of life (Rev. 20:15).  Clearly, from a Biblical and Christian perspective, the substance of a thing and what you call it are linked – names indeed matter.

And so we come to the matter at hand.  Should the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in North America and my own denominational family, change its name?  With apologies to my many non-SBC readers who perhaps don’t really care, allow me to dig in.

If you are just joining us, let me try to get you up to speed.  Last year, SBC President Bryant White announced that he was forming a volunteer taskforce for the purpose of studying changing the name of our denomination.  Essentially, White called upon the taskforce to figure out whether or not changing the name would be a good idea, make suggestions as to a replacement, and determine the financial and legal ramifications of such an action.  A taskforce of 18 leaders representing various aspects of the denomination was assembled and set to work, completing their project and bringing a recommendation to White this past December.  That recommendation remains enshrouded in mystery for now, awaiting its “reveal” at the upcoming (Feb. 20, 2012) meeting of the SBC’s Executive Committee.

Meanwhile, Southern Baptists big and small are weighing in on the issue.  As you can imagine, a fair number of voices (often from the South) have expressed concern and, at times, outright opposition over the idea of changing what has been our denomination’s name since its founding in 1845.  The Tennessee Baptist Convention has even gone so far as to adopt a preemptive resolution opposing the idea.[1]  The concerns being raised essentially fall into three main categories. 

The first two have to do primarily with logistical issues.  There have been many voices criticizing the process that White has taken in raising the issue, a process they describe as “top-down.”[2] Fearing controversy, these critics proclaim that the proper place for this issue to be brought forward and debated is on the Convention floor.  However, as White has done nothing outside the parameters of his authority as the duly elected president of the SBC and since ultimately any action on a name change will indeed be decided at the Convention, this line of criticism appears rather moot.  Somewhat related are those who raise financial and legal concerns over the issue.  These fear that a name change would be terribly expensive and could force a dramatic restructuring of the denomination.[3] Of course, as I’ve already mentioned, studying such ramifications was a key part of what White had asked the taskforce to do in the first place.  Certainly whatever proposals are brought forward will consist of more than just a catchy name scrawled on a scrap of paper.  We can (and should) expect a thoughtful and detailed plan of action which Southern Baptists will then be free to either approve or reject.

The most passionately held concerns, however, seem to center on the idea that the term “Southern Baptist” has come to mean something of significance.  We are told that the label stands for Biblical integrity, conservative theology, an unwavering commitment to missions and evangelism, and strong family values.  One SBC pastor has declared that “to take ‘Southern’ out of our name would be to water down our theology.”[4] But this idea is simply incorrect. “Southern” means “Southern” and has no inherent theological significance.  In reality, it stands for the region of the United States in which our denomination was born and points unmistakably to the unfortunate historic circumstances that conceived it.

And this is what brings us to the reasons why the SBC should indeed change its long held name.  For one, holding on to a name that is inextricably tied to a region (i.e. the U.S. South) suggests a smallness of vision unworthy of the calling that we have received and effectively perpetuates missiologically shallow thinking which will pose severe limitations to our ability to faithfully participate in the fulfillment of God’s “Great Commission”.  We are not called to the South, we are call to the world.  We are not from the South, nor does mission today flow exclusively from South to North or from the West to the rest of the world.  We now find ourselves firmly enmeshed in a new era of mission from everywhere to everywhere and our denominational brothers and sisters are from every state and practically every nation.  We must come to recognize that the planting of Baptist churches in New York and Chicago, Duluth and Boise, Khartoum and Kathmandu that are “Southern” is not only difficult to achieve, it is antithetical to our cause.   We are called to incarnate Christ, to make disciples, to raise up indigenous leaders, and to bring the Kingdom of God to bear on families, communities, cities, and societies. The extent to which we instead try to import the “Southern” identity and heritage along with its assorted cultural and historic baggage to various non-Southern mission fields, is the extent to which we fail in our global missions mandate.

Rev. Michael Allen, Senior Pastor of Uptown Baptist Church in Chicago and member of the taskforce assigned to study the possible name change agrees, “We have long outgrown the regional geography signified by our name.  By God’s grace, a lot of hard work, and faithful giving to the Cooperative Program, we have grown into an international ministry.  We are one of the largest and best mission organizations – planting churches and making disciples all over the world; yet we find that many people outside the Southern states do not readily identify with the SBC and they tell us it is because of the ‘S’.”[5]

Indeed a recent Lifeway study seems to support this.[6] Most Americans believe that Southern Baptist Churches are not for them; only 10% would consider visiting a church if they knew that it was Southern Baptist; and the majority of unchurched people in the country have an unfavorable view of Southern Baptists. Beyond the American landscape, we must also bear in mind the connotations and implications of the term “Southern” in international mission frontiers such as Sudan, India, the Korean peninsula and elsewhere where loads of unintentional meanings might be brought to mind by the term.  And for my readers from the US South who still can’t grasp exactly why the term “Southern” might be an obstacle and hindrance for those outside the South, consider what one Alabama pastor confessed:

“Being a Southern Baptist isn’t a problem in Fairhope, Alabama.  It is a proud thing.  But if we were to say the ‘Yankee Baptist Church’ here, that would be a real turnoff.”[7]    

But Michael Allen goes on to point out that for some, the “S” in the SBC stands for our denomination’s “sordid past”.  The Convention, says Allen, “was founded in part due to the split between Baptists in the North who wanted to free the slaves and Baptists in the South who wanted to keep the slaves.” For Allen, the term “Southern” is a powerful symbol of past sins which should be removed.  “Isn’t it interesting,” he adds, “that whenever God did a great work in the lives of his saints he often changed their names?” Fellow taskforce member and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Dr. Albert Mohler agrees, “There is much to celebrate in the heritage of our beloved denomination, but there is also a deep stain that is associated with slavery, the nation’s sectional division prior to and during the Civil War, and the legacy of racism.  If these issues can be resolved, even to any significant degree, by a name change, a Gospel-minded people would never hesitate to consider such a proposal.”[8] Honestly, when the issue of slavery is brought into the equation, the name change question appears to be a bit of a no-brainer.  If the Southern Baptist Convention is serious about racial reconciliation today, the voices of our African-American brothers and sisters must be heeded on this issue.

When SBC President Bryant White assembled his name-change taskforce last year, the driving question for him was, “Do we have any unnecessary barriers in reaching people for Jesus Christ?”[9] That the retention of the term “Southern” in our denomination’s name is such a barrier is a fact beyond dispute.  As we have seen, it is descriptively inaccurate, missiologically limiting, and irreparably stained by a sinful past that we must not forget, but must nevertheless move beyond.  Writes Mohler, “No Gospel-driven movement of churches would want to retain any preventable barrier to faithful and effective evangelistic and church planting efforts.”  And with this, we cannot help but agree.  Even in the face of great costs or unforeseen consequences, prayerfully moving forward with a name change is the right thing to do for the cost of retaining such unnessesary barriers to our faithful participation in God’s global mission of redemption would surely be far greater. Names indeed matter, and the Southern Baptist Convention’s must change.

---

[1] Wilkey, Lonnie (Nov. 16, 2011). “SBC Name Change Opposed by Tenn. Baptists”, Baptist Press. http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=36581

[2] Smietana, Bob (Sept. 23, 2011). “Southern Baptists Consider a Name Change to Broaden Appeal”, USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-09-21/southern-baptist-name-change/50491954/1

[3] Lemke, Steve (Sept. 23, 2011).  “The SBC Name Change: Why and Why Not”, SBC Today. http://sbctoday.com/2011/09/23/the-sbc-name-change-why-and-why-not/

[4] Associated Press (Dec. 8, 2011). “Southern Baptists Study Possible Name Change”, Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/08/southern-baptists-study-possible-name-change/

[5] Lorance, Cody (Feb. 3, 2012). Personal Interview with Michael Allen.

[6] Lifeway Research (2011). “Perceptions of Faith Groups: Survey of Over 2000 American Adults”. http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/NEWS/A_FOR%20EDIT/111207_FullSBCStudy.pdf

[7] Hoffman, Roy (Feb. 16, 2012). “Southern Baptists mull whether ‘Southern’ still fits” The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/southern-baptists-mull-whether-southern-still-fits/2012/02/16/gIQAqltKIR_story.html

[8] Mohler, Albert (Sept. 20, 2011). “Will the Southern Baptist Convention Change its Name?” Conventional Thinking. http://www.conventionalthinking.org/2011/09/20/will-the-southern-baptist-convention-change-its-name/

[9] Associated Press (Dec. 8, 2011). “Southern Baptists Study Possible Name Change”, Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/08/southern-baptists-study-possible-name-change/

The Illinois Baptist: Should the Southern Baptist Convention change its name?

Just by way of announcement, the most recent issue of the Illinois Baptist is out and features several pieces related to the possible Southern Baptist name change. My own piece is presented in a kind of point / counterpoint fashion in the issue. I encourage you to check it out and let me know your thoughts. Lord willing, you will hear more from me on this issue in the coming days/weeks.

The Illinois Baptist – February 13, 2012 : Should the Southern Baptist Convention change its name?: "Shakespeare famously declared, “A rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” However, if we called them “poisonous death blossoms” I doubt many of us would venture a sniff. The point is that it is fundamentally wrong to claim that names and naming are insignificant. We read of God naming things at creation and of Adam quickly following suit; we see the Lord changing names of key figures in salvation history to mark life-changing moments or signal divine promises; we hear of God’s command that we should revere His Name and not take it in vain; and we cherish the promise that our own names are written in the book of life. Clearly, from a Biblical perspective, names matter. And so we must ask: Should our Southern Baptist Convention change its name?"

Concubines, the Kingdom & other interesting topics from the Southern Baptist North Central States Rally

Here I am in Indianapolis for the 2012 North Central States Rally of the Southern Baptist Convention and I don't think I've been around this many white people in years. Nor have I seen sadder looking bartenders.  But, while I am bound by my blogger oath to utilize a fair amount of witty sarcasm, I am actually having a good time and feel pretty encouraged by things.  In some ways, these big SBC meetings are a bit like a family reunion for me.  There are always those things that your "relatives" do that drive you crazy, but overall they kind of endear themselves to you.  Like it or not, these are my people.  Southern Baptists . . . ah, what a funny group we are.  

Anyway, tonight I wanted to share some of the highlights of my day with you and thought I'd do so by means of sharing some of the more interesting one-liners that I heard today.  To protect the innocent/guilty I will withhold the names of those who actually said these things:

1. "There are more scriptures that support you having a concubine than that we should have a Lifeway."

Okay, this was the only time of the day that I actually laughed out loud - hard.  But beyond the humor, this line came in the wider context of a very important and encouraging emphasis.  Tonight the attendees of the rally were presented with a strong call to embrace the work of the Kingdom of God.  I like this very much.  It is, I think, an encouraging sign of strength for Southern Baptists to be talking about the Kingdom of God rather than simply denomination building.  

2. "The new name for the Southern Baptist Convention will not be 'The Particularly Strict Baptist Convention'." 

Nor will it be several other silly things that a group of us guessed as we unsuccessfully sought to pry the top-secret details from our tight-lipped friend who is a member of the task force that has been assigned to research the possibility and viability of changing the long held name of our denomination. What we know is simply that the task force has done their work with much prayer, diligence, and skill and will be presenting a report very soon.  

3. "Hey Cody, is this room your 'Jerusalem'?"

Sometimes I am surprised that people actually pay attention to what I tweet.  This line refers to something I tweeted during the opening session.  Some of you know that I have written on the book of Acts elsewhere and there offered some exegesis of the pericope surrounding Acts 1:8.  It always amazes me to see how deeply this one verse has become ingrained in the mission language of Southern Baptists.  Everyone seems to talk about reaching their "Jerusalem" or their "Samaria".  This, of course, is an application of a particularly symbolic reading of Acts 1:8 that isn't necessarily illegitimate.  However, I think there is a danger in using Acts 1:8 as a metaphor in that it obscures proper exegesis.  There is a tendency for pastors to kind of skim past Acts 1:8 instead of actually exegeting it.  Instead of spending so much time telling people to identify properly their Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria we should spend more time teaching them to understand what Acts 1:8 means in relationship to 1:7 and 1:9 and so on.  That's all I'm saying.

4.  "Where do all these dots come from?" 

The Send Chicago Coalition met for the second time today to continue to move towards the creation of a comprehensive church planting strategy for Chicagoland.  At one point, I kind of chuckled as I read some of the notes I had been recording.  See, everyone kept talking about representing the particular church planting needs of Chicagoland as "dots on a map".  At one point someone asked honestly, "So, where do all these dots come from?"  It was funny.  There was also a lot of talk about "eating the elephant" and a fair amount of discussion as to whether it was better to eat it one bite at a time or rather that it requires a whole village.  Towards the end, there was even a cake-baking metaphor thrown in.  So, yeah, I'd say we're solidly on track.  No, actually, we kind of are.

Building Bridges: Perspectives on Baptist Unity (Reviewed)

WARNING: If you are not a Southern Baptist, you might find the following very uninteresting.

Here from the seclusion of my secret personal retreat getaway, I was able to polish off the little book by David Dockery and Timothy George on Southern Baptist unity.  The book is entitled Building Bridges: Perspectives on Baptist Unity [link is to free e-book version!] and weighs in at a mere 64 pages.  In short, let me say that I found the book to be powerful, insightful, and the kind of thing that I hope and pray is embraced broadly throughout my denomination.

Why did I read this book?

Baptist Faith & Message

Ordinarily, many of you know that I spend my energies writing about missiology, contextualization, Hinduism, diaspora and the like.  So, you may be surprised to find me reading a book about Southern Baptist identity.  However, these days I find myself with more and more of a voice among my denominational brothers and sisters.  I train and supervise new SBC church planters; I help to lead one of the largest local Baptist associations in the country; and I pastor two Southern Baptist churches.  Very recently, I've also been invited to serve as a part of a new Southern Baptist North American Mission Board project called "Send Chicago".  Send Chicago consists of a coalition of about 18 missionaries, pastors, and other leaders who are tasked with seeking to develop strategies for church planting in Chicagoland.  I've been to a couple meetings thus far.  Actually, it was the most recent one that stirred in me a desire to read Building Bridges.

What does it mean to be Southern Baptist in Chicagoland?

During our most recent coalition gathering -- the first official one -- the question was asked, "What does it mean to be a Southern Baptist church in Chicago?"  After a bit of discussion, there was a followup question, "What makes Southern Baptists different from other Evangelicals in Chicago?"  This second question was immediately met with an answer from a member of the group that just about made me fall out of my chair, "We preach the word of God!" Astonished, I wondered if as a group we were actually suggesting that only Southern Baptists were preaching the word of God.

My contribution to the ensuing conversation was a challenge that we not make "planting Southern Baptist churches" the end for which we labor in mission.  Rather that we make our focus extending God's Kingdom, reaching people who don't know Christ -- you know, that which Christ actually calls his people to do.  We will plant SBC churches as a means to that end.  I shared with the group that it wasn't the building of our denomination that got me out of bed in the morning, but the building of Christ's Kingdom.

Well, I certainly didn't have the last word and the rest of the conversation around the room on the topic was anything but decisive.  We have much work to do -- that we must do.  Theological, missiological, racial, economic, political, historic, traditional, and ideological elephants abound, stomping around the room, begging to be talked about.  And the question that rang out in all of the discussion that day, that spontaneously emerged from the rather chaotic proceedings and then sort of lingered there was this, "Why are you Southern Baptist?"

For me, the answer comes very quickly from my heart.  It is a family thing.  Not that my biological family was Southern Baptist.  No, but I came to know Christ in the Southern Baptist context in Oklahoma.  Michelle, Jon, Becky, Boyd, Dan, Jim and many others who established, brought me up and mentored me in the faith were all Southern Baptists.  I was baptized, licensed, and ordained and sent out as a missionary by Southern Baptists. And, I should say, I love standing in the tradition of Lottie Moon.  So, it is my heritage and my family.  We live in a culture of leavers and I have been encouraged to jump ship many times over the years. But in spite of the many, many problems I see in our huge denominational family, I just don't believe that leaving is right, helpful, or godly.  I believe we must "test all things" and "hold on to what is good" (1 Thess. 5:21) and try our darnedest to fix the rest!

But, still, what does it mean that I am a Southern Baptist?  Are there reasons besides loyalty to a family and heritage that keep me Baptist?  The answer is yes, but I don't want to spend any real time on that today.  Instead, I want to point especially my Baptist readers to the book Building Bridges.  I commend it to you and believe that God would have the SBC embrace the message therein.  The call that Dockery and George have made is to renewal rooted in a "retrieval" of our historic roots as Baptists, as Protestants, and as Christians.  They call for a renewed Baptist unity (in-house) as well as a "candid ecumenism" of conviction in the service of unity in the universal Church for the sake of world evangelization.  Two quick quotes are due here.  First, regarding Baptist unity:

"We must recognize that Southern Baptists have historically reflected considerable diversity.  While we do not hold out doctrinal uniformity as a goal, we do call for renewed commitments to the inspiration, truthfulness, and authority of Scripture with an accompanying commitment to a hermeneutic of acceptance over against a hermeneutic of suspicion, as well as a re-establishment and reaffirmation of the Gospel center" (p. 33).


Regarding ecumenism:

"A model of dynamic orthodoxy must be reclaimed.  The orthodox tradition must be recovered in conversation with Nicea, Chalcedon, Augustine, Bernard, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, the Pietists, and the revivalists. In sum, our Southern Baptist identity must be rooted in the consensus fidei of the Christian Church . . . . We must take seriously the biblical call to unity in accord with the Nicene affirmation of the oneness and universality of the Church" (p. 33).


If you are a Baptist with an identity crisis, read this book.  It will help you.  If you are being bugged by Baptist elements that think you just aren't Baptist enough, read this and memorize some of its pithier quotes.  I think it is just right on at so many points.  For the record, there is good mention of issues related to the "Conservative Resurgence" and Calvinist v. Arminian disputes.  When you finish the book, you should feel that the conversation has just begun however.  Much more needs to be discussed.  The issue of race was barely touched.  Gender isn't really mentioned.  Sticky subjects like alcohol use, church polity, and "speaking in tongues" were not specifically referenced.  Again, we have much more work to do, but I am thrilled that Dockery and George have boldly and insightfully gotten the ball rolling.

[P.S. - Actually, I noticed that this book came out in 2007.  However, free copies of it were distributed at the most recent associational meeting of Chicago Metro Baptist Association.  That was the first time I saw it.  I'm happy to do what I can to give the worthy title a little more attention.]

5 Challenges for the Illinois Baptist State Association: Introduction

Been putting this off for too long.  Last month, I had the honor of speaking at the weekly chapel service of the Illinois Baptist State Association (IBSA).  This is a small gathering of prayer, worship, and Bible study that the Springfield-based missionaries of the Southern Baptist Convention enjoy.  I was asked especially to share with IBSA from my experience representing them at Cape Town 2010, the 3rd Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization.

My goal in sharing was to seek to bring to these IBSA leaders what I felt that God was saying to our part of the Church.  In the end, I felt led to bring a series of 5 challenges to IBSA.  Though I felt somewhat intimidated in front of these leaders -- all sort of "outranking" me in our denominational structure -- I felt it was important to share with confidence and to avoid any hesitations.  This is, I believe, what God's Spirit is saying to us.  These are His challenges to us.

The feedback was very positive and I left deeply encouraged.  There was even something of an encore and plenty of fruitful conversations that followed.  Now that it has been a few weeks, I want to post these challenges publicly.  If you are a follower of Christ involved with the life of IBSA, you will be especially interested in my posts during the next few days, as I plan to simply post the 5 challenges as 5 posts over the next 5 days.  If you are not involved in IBSA, you may still be interested to know what our small segment of Southern Baptist brothers and sisters in Christ are talking about.  It is actually quite relevant to you as well.

Today, let me just close my post by directing you to a scripture that I brought before the IBSA last month as our launching pad.  It comes from 2 Corinthians 9:8--

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."

Of course, I presented this text in the wider context of chapters 8-9.  I would encourage you to reflect on these two chapters and consider how Paul speaks about the purpose of God for want and plenty in the Body of Christ.  Especially read 8:10ff.  Paul assumes association and collaboration in the body of Christ.  Paul believes that the plenty of the Corinthian Christians is designed by God for the sake of meeting the needs of Jerusalem Christians -- and vice versa.  His assumption is clear:

God has designed and decreed want and plenty in the body of Christ to demonstrate to us all, in an utterly convincing way, that there is one Body and that no single part of it has all the gifts necessary for advancing the gospel and finishing the Great Commission.  That is, if we want to be in the will of God, collaborative mission and kingdom partnership are non-negotiable.

Indeed, God is able to make all grace abound to us, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, we may abound in every good work.  But if that's not our experience, if instead we see only need, lack, inability to carry on the work of our mission for a lack of human, financial, or other resources what does this indicate?

The experience of perpetual want in our mission seems to point to a kind of disconnect between us and the body of Christ.  God's primary means of meeting our needs is through the Church.  But if our view of the Church is too small, narrow, weak, flimsy, or whatever -- well, we should not be surprised by our enduring neediness.  It isn't that God hasn't made provision.  It is that we are able or willing to connect with His means -- the body of Christ.

That's enough for now.  I would guess that most will not have read this far anyway.  But do take a look at the blog during the next 5 days.  I want to present 5 challenges to IBSA that flow out of the principle that I've just elucidated.