SBC

Top 10 Reasons I Love Mohler

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I thought it would be a good time to release...

The Top 10 Reasons I Love Al Mohler

10. He has assembled one of the strongest groups of scholars in the world at SBTS
9. He once wore a Veggie Tales shirt for his son and allowed his picture to be taken
8. He stays up until the wee hours reading, writing, studying, and preparing for ministry
7. He is personally discipling interns who are becoming world-class scholars
6. He is willing to go on TV with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach
5. He once called me "Scott" when I was trying to impress a friend with my "relationship" with Mohler
4. His wife helped mine during a difficult time
3. He writes faster than I can read
2. His library is almost as large as the Library of Congress
1. He is one of the most courageous men I've ever met, enduring death threats and protests in order to turn SBTS around

Emergent Evangelism

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Doug Baker, who recently wrote this article that I was quoted in, has written a new article in Baptist Press titled, "Emergent Evangelism: Evangelism by Consensus?"  Here's a piece...

The "emerging" conversation is more than ageneration gap in which the theology of former days (or lack of it) is being challenged by a wave of young ministers with cell phones, PDAs and e-mail via Blackberry. The tension is most evident in the perennial debate among evangelicals about how to "do" church. What should the church look like? How should the church of the 21st century worship and minister in a context of ever-increasing information, but diminishing wisdom? To what extent should tradition be jettisoned in favor of a "whatever works" strategy, and will such strategies reduce Christian evangelism to a mere technique?

[...]

Never has the need been more critical for the Gospel to be powerfully preached by the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. How that is done is largely settled in Holy Scripture. The public reading of the Bible, the corporate prayer of the church, the singing of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to one another, the ordinances of Christian baptism and the Lord’s Supper, the offering of confession and thanksgiving to God are all elements of public worship which are explicitly revealed in Scripture. Is it not strange that almost every modern theory of “emerging” churches disregard many of these direct commands in favor of more “evangelistic” and “relevant” methods? No amount of technology or innovation can ever eclipse or manipulate the clear biblical teaching that evangelism is not simply a matter of form, but of substance.

The Gospel is powerfully effective to save to the uttermost those who have faith in Jesus Christ. For the Gospel is not something men made up by consensus. The plan of salvation is not the accumulation and production of man’s thoughts, but the direct revelation of God. As such, it is to be preached, not amended according to demographics, and boldly declared, not adjusted for the sensitivities of modern audiences.

Please read the article and let me know if I'm missing something.  Is Doug saying emergent evangelism is form without substance?  Is it technology and not truth?  Is it whatever works and mere technique?  Am I totally missing something?  If I'm not, then I think this is a very skewed understanding of the emerging church.  Hey Doug, I know you stop by now and again.  Feel free to jump in bro, and let me know if I get your right or not.

SBC Theologians

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Please read this by Michael Spencer (Internet Monk) on Who Let the Theologians in Here? (The SBC, that is.)    What do you think?  You need to read the whole post to get his point, but here's a blurb...

The growing "theologian class" in the SBC has very few places to go.They must make their own mischief. Once the seminaries and colleges are in conservative hands, then we can expect the theological battles to move "in-house." Watch for more doctrinal contention about matters less than crucial to the mission of church. Watch for "theological renewal" to take on more and more the cast of predictable "theological battles" between various teams in evangelicalism. Watch for the conservative resurgence to increasingly sound like a lot of young preacher boys arguing about Calvinism. (Around Louisville, it already does. With a liberal Presbyterian Seminary across the road, it's SBTS that is turning out preachers of TULIP.)

Watch for one strange turn. The new SBC theologians are culture warriors. They want to "engage" the culture, but what they mean is to assert conservative Christianity in the cultural battleground issues. These issues motivate many pastors and churches because they are "red meat" issues. Backed up by Dobson and the new evangelical media, the theological class is writing less about Baptist views of the church and more about fundamentalist views of the culture war.

Many of these theologians work hard to function as pundits of political and social concerns. These theologians will lead the church full speed into the culture wars....with little interest in how this will affect the overall mission of the church. And there is no denying that it is difficult to fight the culture war on one hand, and be focused on missional vision at the same time. Theology and mission are interwoven, but the negative, "fighting mode" vision of the culture warriors grows churches by bringing in the like-minded: White, suburban, Republican families.

Story

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Opening line of new BP story quotes Bobby Welch as saying near the end of the convention...

"I want 'em to hear us in hell."

What exactly does this mean?  Are we gloating over those who are under condemnation?  Are we evangelizing hell now?  Are we trying to scare Satan with a red, white, and blue balloon drop?

Read on, and God help us...

"We're going to sound the charge in this room," he continued. "You don't win unless you go to war.

"We're going to attack the gates of hell for the sake of souls.

"We're going to sound in this room right now the charge to go on the assault," Welch said. "And we're also going to sound the celebration of the sure victory that's in Jesus Christ."

With the three-foot-long horn, Skaggs sounded the charge. Applause and cheers filled the room.

"Oh, yeah, I've got a feeling that in hell right now they're huntin' cover," Welch said.

Skaggs blew the horn again, and Welch said, "I want 'em to hear you in hell. And I want 'em to hear you in heaven. I want those who are on their way to hell to know we're coming. I want those in heaven to tune up, because there's gonna be some rejoicing in the next year because some folks will be off the road to hell and on their way to heaven," Welch said, the crowd's standing ovation continuing.

"Southern Baptists, honest, now, before God, who do you think could witness to and win and then, bless God, get 'em down to the church and baptize them? Who do you think could do that?"

"Everyone can -- and I'm it," the crowd yelled.

Fireworks exploding, balloons falling, shofar sounding, Southern Baptists geared up to leave the building to meet the challenge.

Where's the Mylanta?  This is going to be a long year.  I know Bobby Welch means well, God bless him.  I mean that.  But it's time for things to change.  Who's with me?

Southern Baptist Convention Blogger

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For all of you who are interested in following bloggers who will be attending the upcoming SBC annual meeting in Nashville, I'm here for you.  So you should bookmark this site, Reformissionary, keep an eye on my Emerging SBC Leaders site which should offer many links, and I also expect Joe Thorn and Marty Duren to blog as well.  I'll let you know if I find others.

I hope to update as much of the convention that I can get myself to sit through.  I will definitely be saying much about the "Younger Leaders Summit" on Sunday June 19th, some on the boring regular meetings on the 21st and 22nd and (though I'm sure I will miss some votes), and whatever else I can take note of.  I will be taking plenty of pics, and maybe even doing some vlogging if Joe teaches me how.

UPDATE: The convention hall is supposed to have wifi for some real-time blogging.

Baptist and Biblical

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Baptist Press is releasing four articles on emerging young leaders.  The first article, "Young Leaders: Back to the Future" is by Bob Reccord, the leader of the North American Mission Board of the SBC.  It doesn't say much, but just by saying anything it says something.  In other words, by Reccord putting his name on the first article gives weight to whatever comes next.  Probably a good move in an all too political convention.

The second article, released today, is by Ed Stetzer: "Are 'Baptist' and 'Biblical' Synonyms?"  Ed created NewChurches.com and works at NAMB.

A few quotes from Stetzer concerning young SBC leaders.  My emphasis is in bold.

Theologically, they want “Baptist” and “biblical” to be synonyms. Missionally, they want Baptists to find new ways to reach our communities and the world.

[...]

The issues that are driving younger leaders away are not theological; they are cultural and missional. They are tired of being told that dress, worship style and traditional practices are biblical mandates when they are found neither in the Bible nor in the denomination’s faith statement.

[...]

In essence, we’re talking about their desire to be Christians who are living in a mission setting. As a result, their expressions of biblical worship use diverse music, preaching styles, dress, etc. It’s not about hipper clothes and cooler music. It’s about being God’s missionary where He has placed us now, not 50 or 500 years ago.

[...]

The conservative resurgence accomplished its purpose, and we have a group of young leaders committed to biblical theology and missional ministry. We must not now fight for our traditions as if they were our doctrine. They aren’t the same thing.

Younger leaders want to lead churches that are theologically sound and missionally committed. If they don’t find the SBC to be biblical and missional, they will find their own fellowships, and we will be the weaker for it. We had a theological resurgence, but young leaders want a missional resurgence, too. They want “Baptist” and “biblical” to be synonyms, and they want to get busy reaching the world!

Jimmy Draper Blog

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UPDATE: Dr. Draper has now changed to a blog hosted at Lifeway.  Hopefully this will make comments possible, but not so much yet.

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Jimmy Draper, the head honcho over at SBC's Lifeway, is now blogging at Crosswalk.com (Lifeway).  Here's a link to his blog.  His first post is about blogging and about what he's learned in the Younger Leaders Dialogues (for emerging leaders in the SBC).  In the last paragraph he is very generous to my other site, Emerging SBC Leaders.  UPDATE: Baptist Press has an article on it as well.

Dr. Draper knows that he doesn't fully understand us, but also says that we don't fully understand his generation either.  Fair, and as he says, it's a good reason for us to talk.  It's obvious he could care less about blogging, but realizes that blogging is a means to connect with us better.  Good move.  Unfortunately he's using a blogging system that doesn't allow comments (which he admits), but it's a start anyway. 

A part of my concern with the current leadership of the SBC and older generations (if you will allow me to broadbrush), is that they usually think that for us this conversation is about our way of doing things vs. their way of doing things.  I don't think this site or the concerns we raise are only about (or even primarily about) doing things differently.  I think it's also about doing them better.  But maybe that's our problem too, in that we find things older generations do as always inferior to our brilliance.  We need to be very careful and willing to listen to see if we are overstating our case.

Is a desire to move from institutional to incarnational, or from monuments to a movement, about doing it different?  Or doing it better? Are we only about being different to reach younger generations, or more missional to reach all generations better?  I think these are some of the most important questions as we seek to see walls come down and find real understanding between us.

Rabid Dogs for Evangelism

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Danny Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in North Carolina (who once had an extended conversation with me while we peed in neighboring urinals in an SBTS bathroom, the topic was his seminary ethics class with Paige Patterson), is rightfully bemoaning the news that the stats show the conservative resurgence of the SBC has not made us more evangelistic. 

Unfortunately, his answer to the problem will never fix anything.  According to the ABP article on a talk from Akin, "In light of the downward evangelism trends, Akin urged North Carolina Baptists to become 'rabid dogs for evangelism' and defend 'the exclusivity of the gospel,' which contends that salvation comes only through Jesus."

While on the surface these things seem fine and all, I'm afraid it's just more of the same.  Don't you think the SBC President's bus ride for the cause of gaining like a zillion new baptisms should do the trick?  Maybe we need more SBC leaders to take more tours of the country in more unique vehicles.  Like Mohler in a new H3 looking for "Deeper Theology by 2133" and Akin on a train with his campaign "Riding Along Till Marriages are Strong." 

Sorry, I'm just a little frustrated.  Akin's a great bathroom conversationalist, a passionate guy, and a man of God.  But once the "rabid dogs" line doesn't really make a difference (like all the other lines before it) someone will just think of another, like "Let's crap the truth like a diarrhetic goose!"  You get the picture.

Hey SBC'rs!  How about this.  Maybe we need to be more missional.  Maybe our problem isn't that we should say the gospel more (and more like sick dogs), but that we should say it better.  Not with better words, but in better ways, like people and families and churches that are incarnated in the culture.  Healing and suffering and loving speaks!  We have too long divorced the spoken gospel from the lived gospel in the SBC.  That's the real key to fixing our statistical nightmare.  And that means we should just admit our cute sayings and bolder thrusts and clever tricks and canned evangelism just isn't good enough and actually encourage our people to live out the gospel.  We need to live redemptively, missionally, incarnationally.

Maybe we need more thoroughly missional people who live and breathe and eat the gospel.  Maybe we need more people joining book clubs or bowling leagues or knitting classes and building relationships there that will lead to helping and serving and loving and redeeming.

Mohler Get's a New Chair

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Congratulations to Al Mohler, President of Southern Seminary, for being appointed to an historic position.

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s boardof trustees has elected President R. Albert Mohler Jr. to the Joseph Emerson Brown Chair of Christian Theology.

The chair has been held by other giants on the landscape of Southern Seminary’s history such as founding President James Pettigru Boyce and E.Y. Mullins, seminary president from 1899 to 1928. Mohler was elected the seminary’s ninth president in 1993.

“It is an historic chair in systematic theology and we believe an historic president like Dr. Mohler deserves to be teaching from this chair,” said Russell D. Moore, dean of the school of theology and senior vice president for academic administration, said after the seminary trustee action April 26. “This will be a great and momentous act in Southern Seminary history.”

Mohler responds...

“This means more than I can say,” Mohler said of the trustee action. “Especially with Dr. Boyce and Dr. Mullins holding that chair during their presidencies, it is an historical connection that speaks to my heart and to the sense of calling.

“It also is a reminder that the Lord has used significant individuals [such as Brown] to make this institution what it is. Some of these names are inscribed on buildings, some are memorialized in scholarship and professorships, and it is easy for us to forget what they meant and who they were.”

Read the entire Baptist Press article.

Kevin Ezell Should Apologize

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I was so ticked last night that I couldn't even post on this. 

The Family Research Council (FRC) is holding an anti-filibuster telecast with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Al Mohler, Charles Colson, and Jim Dobson at Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky on Sunday, April 24.  Highview is a Southern Baptist mega-church pastored by Kevin Ezell where several Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professors and students are members.  They are calling this Sunday "Justice Sunday."

It seems that enough Christian conservatives are so frustrated with how some in congress are handling Bush's judicial nominees that they have decided to put together this event.  They are upset at how "people of faith" who intend to become judges are being persecuted.   President of the FRC, Tony Perkins, said, "We must stop this unprecedented filibuster of people of faith."

Some others don't see things the same way.  One of those is Joseph Phelps.  Joe is pastor of the more moderate (but still Southern Baptist) Highland Baptist Church in Louisville.  He wrote an April 21 guest editorial in Louisville's Courier-Journal called "A Tale of Two Churches," contrasting Highview and Highland and their different views of justice, though he admits they are following the same Jesus.

Highland and Highview both advocate on behalf of moral issues in the public square. But Justice Sunday has caused Highview to leap into the partisan political process, and to be associated with erroneous, alarmist assertions about filibusters which supposedly threaten people of faith. In doing so, they have moved beyond the realm of the church's resources and expertise and into a realm where churches are neither equipped nor permitted to go.

Highview and Highland are still linked as sisters by our witness to Jesus. Our differing paths make for interesting family reunions. But we can't give up, just as the larger culture of which we are but a microcosm, cannot give up. We are family.

In a recent Associated Baptist Press article, "Louisville pastor criticizes church for hosting anti-filibuster rally" by Robert Marus, Ezell responded this way (emphasis mine).

"I'm saddened that some of these pastors that really, evidently, don't have a lot to do spend time criticizing other churches," Ezell told Associated Baptist Press. "I would encourage him to spend time reaching more people -- his numbers would seem to indicate he needs it," he continued, presumably referring to Highland Baptist's Sunday attendance figures.

He also took issue with Phelps describing Highland and Highview as "sister churches" in the Courier-Journal article. "I would think we're more like distant cousins," Ezell said.

It's sad that "Justice Sunday" has become Ezell's excuse for a beat-down of a "distant cousin" over their attendance numbers (by the way, Highland has added more members in the last year an a half than many SBC churches have in attendance).  Mega-church arrogance and personality-driven ministry has reared its ugly head and said what we small church pastors have felt they might have thought all along: size does matter. 

Now, I truly believe Ezell is growing sorrier by the minute as he is surely receiving criticism from some wise and thoughtful SBTS profs, Al Mohler, and others.  He hasn't handled a volatile public issue with much grace, and I'm sure he'll learn from it. 

But there is absolutely, without question, no excuse for Ezell's comments.  However you judge the moderate theology of Highland or Phelps, Ezell has made a personal attack.  This is a church attack.  And regarless of his view on politics, filibusters, or even the relationship between Highview and Highland, Ezell should publicly apologize for his silly comments. 

Maybe brokenness over our struggles to love one another (on all of our parts) will show we are all still weighed down with sinful attitudes and actions, still needing forgiveness, and in fact more like sisters than distance cousins after all.  God help us.

For more:
Washington Post
Louisville Courier Journal
Lexington WKYT
Lexington Herald-Leader
KY Post
Associated Press

UPDATE:
Louisville Courier-Journal - various links concerning "Justice Sunday": Link 1 (specific to comments mentioned in my post), Link 2,  Link 3, Link 4, Link 5, Link 6, Link 7

Not More, But Better

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Just when there seems to be a hint of a trail-head leading 'emerging SBC leaders' out of the SBC's denominational morass, we may find our feet plugged in the muck once again.

Jimmy Draper is the leader of Lifeway, the uber-resource for Southern Baptist publications.  He is also the one SBC leader who had enough guts to care about and facilitate talks with young SBC leaders.  In the mix is Lifeway's Younger Leaders Solutions board, which is an almost worthless (though noble-intentioned) place for emerging leaders to offer our 2 cents about the need for the SBC to change.  I've offered an alternative which is growing every day, Emerging SBC Leaders.

For the record, I am very encouraged that Dr. Draper has spent time with young leaders, opened his ears and heart, made an honest attempt, and so on.  I am encouraged by his concern, have nothing against him personally, and I look forward to meeting him at the SBC Annual Meeting in June.

That said, the gap between those emerging and those mired in the ways of yesterday is ever clearer as Dr. Draper has offered a new article on the gospel in Baptist Press.

Draper thinks we need a lesson in economics.

Evangelicals need a basic business lesson. Research shows that evangelicals are not supplying the Gospel in a manner that matches the public’s demand.

What is demanded by Americans?  Draper gives his opinion.

A recent MSNBC/Newsweek online survey asked readers the following question: “Do you believe that Jesus rose from the dead after the crucifixion?” Eighty-one percent of those who answered responded “yes,”....It reflects other research showing that the population at large is searching for meaning in life.  

So, according to Draper, people's belief in the resurrection shows they are searching for meaning in life.  And churches are failing to supply the meaning of life to those who demand it.  Why?

Draper believes it's because evangelism isn't the highest priority for pastors.

Sadly, according to a previously released Barna Group study, fewer than half (46 percent) of the Protestant senior pastors surveyed listed evangelism and outreach as a ministry priority. Spiritual development finished No. 1 at 47 percent. (Sixty percent of Southern Baptist pastors place evangelism as their top priority).

Spiritual development is important, but it is not the primary purpose of the church....We’ve turned churches into comfortable country clubs for members when, in fact, the purpose of the church is to reach those who are not members. Evangelism is the proper expression of mature, or discipled believers.

I don't think Draper adequately shows that a cultural belief in the resurrection means people are seeking the meaning of life.  Honestly, I'm not sure what it shows.  It probably shows that most Americans are liars, or have cultural beliefs but not real beliefs, or are willing to go along with what mommy and daddy told them to believe.  I think he makes a tremendous leap here to make "supply and demand" seem plausible, but I don't see it.

But I do believe it's a biblical notion that God has made us for something bigger than the mirror, and therefore everyone is in some sense looking for meaning in life.  People are inescapably religious.  But sadly people are usually falsely religious because they reject the God of Creation for other things (Rom 1).  Let's leave that theological point aside and focus on those who are truly hungry.

Draper's answer for meeting this innate spiritual hunger is to avoid focusing on discipleship more than evangelism, and then do more evangelism. 

But we should never attempt to put evangelism against discipleship. Jesus didn't when he said in Matthew 28 to make disciples of all nations.  That means more disciples (evangelism, baptism) and better disciples (teaching/discipleship).  Evangelism and discipleship are organically connected vines, not puzzle pieces locked together.

But Draper seems to understand this already when he says, "Evangelism is the proper expression of mature, or discipled believers."  I think he realizes it's not less discipleship, but better discipleship that results in evangelism. 

And I think Draper's answer, that we need more evangelism, only hints at the problem.  Surely there isn't enough evangelism, but we don't need more bad evangelism.  We need more better evangelism. 

We need evangelism that doesn't see people as a demands to be supplied, but as image-bearers to be loved.  We need evangelism that is not first organizational, but organic and relational.  We need evangelism that is not about keeping a tally of distributed tracts (look for the tally at June's SBC), but about spending time shooting pool with sinners. 

It's no wonder that Draper and other SBC leaders are struggling to understand emerging generations.  He takes statistics and economic ideas and tries to paint the church as a failing business that needs to retool on the fundamentals of 'supply and demand.'  But emerging generations see things more organically. 

SBC leaders, please hear us.  We will not be professional pastors who are running a "supply and demand" business.  We want better disciples believing better theology and doing better evangelism through better families and homes and churches.

Draper told us that Jesus said in Matthew 9:37, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few."  No doubt, we need to pray for more laborers.  That's biblical.  But more of the same evangelism and discipleship we see today will never solve our problems. 

That is, in my opinion, a big part of what being an emerging SBC leader is.  The status quo is not acceptable.  Reformission is necessary and good.

Emerging Church Threat to the Gospel

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When are Southern Baptist leaders going to do more than shout from afar at those involved in the emerging church conversation? 

Baptist Press has once again added to the misinformation on the emerging church in a March 23rd article by David Roach: "Leaders Call 'Emerging Church Movement' a Threat to Gospel."  The article includes quotes from Don Carson, a series of quotes from Al Mohler's critique of Brian McLaren's book, A Generous Orthodoxy, and quotes from Brian McLaren. 

Some of us are trying to enhance the conversation about the emerging church "movement" with thoughtfulness.  But BP (to this point) and other thinkers are trying to fill the SBC with anti-emerging noise and knee-jerk reactions as quickly as they can.  It feels like propaganda.  With every article like this published for the masses, the hope for fruitful dialogue fades.  Misinformation will need to be fixed, stereotypes will have to be dropped, and straw men will need to be put back in the corn field where they belong.

For the record, I have emailed an SBC pastor (a regular contributor to BP) about one of his articles that is heavy on judgment and without grace to some in our culture (which emerging folks are fed up with).  No response.  I have emailed and informed Russ Moore of my response to his article on the emerging church and Brian McLaren.  I know he received it, but no response. 

I'm doing all I know to do to encourage emerging SBC leaders like me to work patiently in the convention to see biblical change.  But SBC leaders are (unintentionally?) working hard to push away many in emerging generations rather than talk about the truth together. 

Listen, I don't agree with everything in the emergent conversation, or by McLaren.  But much of the emergent critique of the evangelical church is showing brilliance every time an article like this one from BP is published. 

This is a public call to Baptist Press and Southern Baptists, coming from a young Southern Baptist pastor, to talk about the emerging church with some young SBC leaders.  We certainly need to hear you, but you also need to hear us.  I think a little dialogue will show that it's actually possible to engage in the emerging church conversation and be a committed Southern Baptist at the same time.

Young SBC Leaders

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Is the Southern Baptist Convention worth changing?  Can young "emerging" leaders not only feel welcome, but also start to influence this denomination?  Should we? 

I'm a Southern Baptist.  I heard the gospel for the first time in a Southern Baptist church in Southern Illinois and was converted as a 21 year old college student.  I've been a member of Southern Baptist churches in Colorado, Texas, and Kentucky.  Now I pastor one in Northern Illinois.  (It was nice not to say "Southern" one more time.)  I'm excited about our mission focus, our historical doctrinal understanding, and our cooperational goals.

I'm also engaged in the conversation called "emergent" or the "emerging church."  While emergent is not monolithic, and though I'm still learning myself, I have found all kinds of people taking part and working to reach emerging generations with the good news.  I'm excited about shedding some modern barriers to understanding the Bible and Jesus, dropping my judgmental attitudes toward culture, and embracing a biblical call to social justice that has been missing in my life. 

The thing is I would guess that many SBC'rs would read the above and think that any tie to emergent is a silly postmodern sellout.  (Or they would say, "What's emergent?")  And many in emergent would probably read the above and think that anyone who is thinking emergent thoughts is crazy to stay in the SBC fundamentalism morass.  (Or they would say, "SBC'rs don't dance, right?")

I think it's time for young Southern Baptist pastors and church leaders to start a conversation of our own.  I know Lifeway has facilitated that on their own discussion board and through some meetings hosted by Jimmy Draper.  But after perusing the board, I'm not sure that conversation is really going to be helpful.  Young SBC leaders, in my opinion, need a place outside the denominational web pages to find each other and get our own conversation going. 

If the Southern Baptist Convention is going to be relevant in the future, some pretty dramatic changes are going to have to take place.  That doesn't mean abandoning truth, becoming postmodernists, and producing The Deconstructed Holman Christian Standard Bible.  It means realizing that reaching emerging generations will mean much smaller and very different organizational structures, talking differently to the culture (boycotting boycotts, etc.), and getting leadership from emerging leaders among other things.

I've already found some helpful thoughts from Adam.  I know Joe is game.  If you are a young SBC leader and realize some of these changes need to happen, I invite you to leave a note, spread the word to others, and let's start building a conversation of our own.  Share your ideas about how we can encourage more conversation.  And if you aren't in the SBC but you know SBC'rs who need to be in this conversation, please encourage them to come here.

Evangelunacy

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I'm the pastor of a church associated with the Southern Baptist Convention.  For many reasons that's a good thing, but today I'm not too proud of it because I got this from our main press organization, Baptist Press.  It's an article promoting "revival meetings" to reach the younger generations.

I'm sure SBC evangelists think they are trying to get the word out on what they believe is important, but it feels more like they are low on cash and need to put out some pro-evangelist propaganda.  And if it was just propaganda, I wouldn't freak out about it.  But it's much worse than that.

The author (who is the president of an organization of Southern Baptist evangelists) seems to think "revival" meetings are the key to evangelistic success among 9 to 29 year olds, who happen to be coming to Jesus in fewer numbers.  He says, "What is the cure? Hold an old-fashioned revival meeting."  Why? 

"Thirty-three to 50 percent of all baptisms come from revivals and harvest days. Use an evangelist! Ninety-eight percent of the time that a vocational evangelist is used to preach the revival services, someone accepts Christ. If there is adequate preparation for the revival, that figure jumps even higher."

Wow, this guy has God figured out.  Push the right buttons, get the right results.  God is a cosmic vending machine.

The article continues as the evangelist talks about "Homer," his ventriloquist doll, who tells kids not only to accept Jesus into their hearts, but then to raise their hands and come forward during the invitation.  Here is Homer's advice for kids...

"I ask the children not to pray if they are not going to come forward at the end of the revival service. The word "faith" means commitment."

Look, I'm all for a faith that is a living faith, a real and committed faith.  But the invitation system forces faith into an extra-biblical mold.  So now our commitment to Jesus isn't enough.  It's not enough to talk to your parents or pray with your pastor I guess.  Why not just tell the kids the truth: "Little ones, you need to walk up and shake the hand of the funny chubby guy with the doll so he can prop you up as his trophy and notch your name on his belt."

Here's my response to these issues and more in this article: In 2003 the SBC boasted of more than 16 million members while the average attendance of church worship services was less than 6 million.  Could this be because decades of "old-fashioned revival meetings" have produced a lot of empty decisions but very few disciples?  Could this be because we love numbers more than souls?

This is the problem between real revival and "revivalism."  True revival is something God does in the hearts of people that brings real change.  "Revivalism" is a program or event that produces emotionally manipulated decisions through 14 verses of "Just As I Am" led by some guy with a bad comb-over and a peach colored suit. 

Hey, I know some people have probably been genuinely converted through "revival" meetings, The 700 Club, and maybe even through the preaching of false teachers like T.D. Jakes.  I don't mean to discourage these people as they follow Christ.  Stay faithful. 

But we need to call it like it is and reject this kind of evangelism.  We shouldn't reject it because it's "old-fashioned."  We should reject it because it's unbiblical and ultimately turns the culture off to the life-changing gospel.

Programs are not the answer for emerging generations.  People are the answer, people who know Jesus and who love and serve others.  We need to be people who are willing to be transparent and real so that we can have genuine and meaningful relationships where the gospel is not only spoken, but lived out.

Emmitt and "Church"

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Once again, the main news organization of my denomination is, like most evangelicals, trying so hard to find something worthy of praise in the sports world that discernment seems to go out the window.

Emmitt Smith, longtime running back of the Dallas Cowboys (with a career ending hiccup in Phoenix, probably for added yardage for records and such) has now retired.  He has had a remarkable career, though not very flashy.  And Smith seems eager to return to Dallas and his home church, and speaks openly of his faith in Christ and desire to point to Christ for the results of his career. 

So far, so good. 

But I'm frustrated with Baptist Press (BP) and this article because there is no concern about Smith's involvement in a church that doesn't believe in the God presented in Scripture.

Smith, along with other former Cowboys Deon Sanders and Michael Irvin, belong to The Potter's House, pastored by T.D. Jakes.  Jakes subscribes to the theological heresy called "modalism."  This is the belief that the Trinity doesn't consist of three co-equal and co-eternal persons, but rather that the one God (one person) manifests Himself in three different modes at different times.  This heresy has never been accepted as biblical and historical teaching, except among some fringe groups and Oneness Pentecostals. 

I know BP would probably rebut this by saying they are simply reporting the event, what was said by Smith, and how that would be of interest to Southern Baptists.  The problem is, they have made certain assumptions that less informed Southern Baptists will take for granted.  They assume that The Potter's House is a Christian church.  They assume we can speak of Smith's faith in the same breath as ours.  And they assume that because Smith points to Jesus that we should rejoice in that too.

I'm not on a witch hunt here.  I do believe it's all too common for true believers to be in a false movements and churches.  Smith may be deluded as to the truth of the Trinity.  But that doesn't mean that as he speaks of faith and church that he speaks of the same faith and "Church" that we speak of, especially when we can see the obvious false teaching of the particular church in question.

On top of this theological heresy, Jakes also teaches the "health and wealth gospel" and is considered a "faith teacher" which are both movements among some charismatics teaching that Jesus was a rich man and that believers should be rich and healthy, and that we can "name and claim" our desires and we will receive them if we truly believe.  It's no surprise that Jakes owns a 1.7 million dollar mansion in Dallas.

It's time for a little discernment Baptist Press.  You can read more about Jakes and his beliefs at the Christian Research Institute.