SBCOutpost

1985. Some mark 1985 as something of a watershed in the survival of the Conservative Resurgence. It was the year of the Peace Committee appointment (the report came in 1987). It was the year of the Battle in Big D. It served the high water mark for messenger registration - more than 45,000.  It was the year the New York Times reported it unlikely the two groups vying for control of the SBC would find a way forward together. It was the year of the re-election of Charles Stanley. It was the year. It was the year of, “Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego?”

Marty Duren was a young lad - in his mid 20’s. Who knows where he was geographically or historically. In fact, who knew Marty Duren? Who cared? After Jimmy Draper’s alert the SBC was losing young leaders, Marty emerged as an interested “young leader.” Once the Lifeway message board devolved into something of a pointless exercise in the way forward Steve McCoy and Marty Duren initiated blogs of their own.

Marty is the originator of SBCOutpost.com. Too often critics assume Marty’s withdrawal from regular contributions to the Outpost signaled a separation from anyone who sought to keep the Outpost viable and alive. Recently, it was reported the Outpost would soon be defunct. Should the Outpost ever cease it will come on the back of sentiments similar to what Marty will explicate in a series he began today at ie:missional. Detractors, Baptist Identity constituents, and many others will break open a soda and celebrate if we ever fade into the history of Baptist blogs. Some of us believe those who need a fight need the Outpost. Something like the fact that Rush Limbaugh needs a Clinton in the White House.

So, with that lengthy introduction we will re-post Marty’s series here with permission. We will learn, “Where In the World is Marty Duren?”

The Impending Disintegration of American Denominationalism

Posted by: Marty Duren in Church, Culture, God, Gospel, Life, Mission, Missional, News

Ten months ago when I began this blog, I purposed not to engage in discussion about the denomination in which I have pastored, the Southern Baptist Convention, unless it crossed paths with a subject about which I was writing. This is one of those times.

A recent report from missiologist Ed Stetzer of Lifeway Christian Resources indicated that the Southern Baptist Convention, once characterized (because of its cultural dominance) as the Roman Catholic Church of the southern United States, has entered a downward trend of growth which, he predicts, may not turn around. If you are among those who haven’t yet, you can read the initial report here and the follow up article here.

As would have been expected, the report was hailed in some places (see Ed’s comment threads) and questioned in others. The question that does not seem to have been asked during this is simple: Has the time for heavily organized, bureaucratically inefficient denominational structures passed? My thesis is a simple one and flows from what I see happening:

The era of denominationalism is ending, therefore, time and energy spent attempting to revive them is not redeemed time.

Rather than reviving them, we should be having a planned euthanization. I will not be arguing “post-denominational” in the sense of personal preference or lack thereof, but “Post-Denominationalism” in the sense of no SBC, UMC, PCUSA, etc.

Though Stetzer’s commentary is specific to growth patterns in the SBC, all other denominations in the United States are and have been in decline with the single exception of the Assemblies of God which counts but 2.8 million members (2005). Even the respected National Association of Evangelicals has lost some of its luster since the fall of Ted Haggard, though, as we will see, it never had quite as much luster as was thought. Regardless of the denomination none have matched, via conversions, the growth rate of the population (excepting possibly the AoG), so in percentage of population terms all American denominations have been in decline for decades. At best, a few denominations have grown at the expense of others, the common scenario known as “swapping sheep.”

Is the motivation to “save the denomination” a good enough motivation to go into hyper-drive in funds promoting or doomsday scenarios? I don’t think so. When Jesus said to the people of Jerusalem, “Behold, your house [the temple] has been left to you desolate,” He was warning them that there system of belief was coming to an end. There were no more sacrifices needed, no more pouring out of animal blood, no more Day of Atonement; it was over. Their mistake was that they continued to cling to a structure that God Himself had abandoned. Shall we repeat the same mistake?

Writing with an eye to the Southern Baptist Convention, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary prof, Nathan Finn, recently asked:

So does the SBC have a future? It depends upon what you mean by “future.” I suspect the name will be used by some Baptists until Christ comes back. I also think the people called Southern Baptists will always have denominational entities that they financially support. So in one sense, I remain confident that Southern Baptists are here to stay. But if by “future” one means a vital existence in God’s economy, I have my doubts. Collectively, I fear we are too insular, too sectarian, too pugnacious, too “Southern,” too reactionary, too pragmatic, and for sure too proud to have any real future.

While I appreciate Nathan’s balanced thinking, I, for one, am not convinced that any denomination is here to stay and am convinced that the era, like the telegraph, is passing into the historical record and that we have entered the Post-Denominational (PD) era.

Commenting on Ed Stetzer’s original post, SEBTS prof Alvin Reid noted,

For several semesters I have asked our students “how many of you came from an SBC church?” The vast majority. Then I ask, “How many of you want to go back and serve a church just like that?” Almost none. These are seminarians, the ones we still have, and they see a serious need for change. Again, this is anecdotal and simplistic, but here is another idea–have someone do a survey of current seminarians to find out who they listen to on podcasts? Might be revealing.

This is not merely true of the SBC as other denominations are dealing with the same issues. No one is important enough to have cornered the market here.

Also responding to Stetzer was SEBTS president, Danny Akin, who said,

I could not agree with your assessment more! I go to bed thinking about this every night and wake up the same.We are in serious trouble. Our denomination is at a crisis moment and we will either repent, seek the forgiveness and mercy of God and perhaps experience a true and genuine revival from our Lord, or we will continue our present course and simply fade away with the Lord Jesus justly removing His hand of blessing.

But what if no amount of repentance and seeking of forgiveness will bring revival and revitalization to the SBC or any other denomination? What if, like the sacrificial system, their time has run it’s course and God is preparing a new thing? I pray that it will be embraced rather than feared.

Over the next few posts, I will be exploring why I think we will continue down the road toward a Post-Denominationalism world. We’ll see that the SBC and evangelicals have not had either the numbers or the power that we’ve thought and will continue to lose both in the US; that the Kingdom of God is shifting again (as it has before) this time from dominance in the West; and that technology has rendered the need for heavily bureaucratic, densely centralized, financially profligate organizational structures obsolete and that the lessening of the influence of denominations in culture will be inversely proportional to the influence of local churches networking in culture.

In late February the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma hosted its second Missional Ministry Conference. One of the featured speakers, Ed Stetzer, offered illustration of recent Lifeway Research during a breakout session. During the Q and A he sought to break down some of the technical features of statistical analysis for we average folks. I was left thinking it may be good to include a course in statistics for seminary students - and so we pastors.

I, like many pastors, tend to watch “trends.” For example, one of the trends I have watched over the past five or so years is attendance. Now that is not to imply some kind of weird disinterest in previous years. Instead, I began noticing attendance patterns changing in our church. I will go out on a limb and say ours is not the only church where attendance has “leveled” after a period of growth while we have continued to see additions to our membership over the years. Since we place such an emphasis upon the size of a church in order to imbue another with a sense of honor and prestige it is nigh impossible for we pastor types to leave attendance concerns to someone else. Why, when news breaks about a potential SBC President, it seems we always find mention of the size of church and the kind of growth of said church during the tenure of the “prestigious” pastor. But, I digress.

Growing up in an SBC church meant gauging “regular” attendance by weekly attendance. Over these past five years or so I have found we may need to re-think “regular” attendance. I cannot recall where I read it but it seems that we (SBC) have even adjusted our ruler for “regular” attendance to twice a month, and maybe even monthly. What do these patterns mean? We self-conscious types wonder what we may have done, who we may have neglected, what we have forgotten. After all, when attendance flags the most dreaded description has become, “plateaued or declining.” Yet, I wonder how often that particular category denigrates the work of a local congregation because analysts fail to take into account a host of factors involved in any given local context. When we see the trends we ratchet up our rhetoric and cast about for ways to invigorate and inspire to new heights (read: numbers).

Read the rest of this entry »

Art Rogers pointed me to a post by Timmy Brister. “Ministerially Speaking” is a euphemism for exaggeration. Many over the years have given a free pass to those of us who preach when we have overstated to make a point. You may have heard, or said yourself, “Now this is not ministerially speaking.” The reference indicates our own growing discomfort with the reality words mean something. Exaggeration should not pass as the truth.

I repost Timmy’s indictment on us all to continue to make my point our issues tend to be systemic rather than exclusively connected to a single persona. Had Timmy taken the same data from our church he would have made similar discoveries - and dare I say we all would succumb to the evidence of our own pastoral contexts. Tom Ascol’s repeated calls for accountability when it comes to church membership make the same point. Something is amiss when we pass ourselves off as something we are not.

Please note there the peculiar reason Timmy used the illustration he did. Rather than excoriate him, or me for re-posting, pause and think reflectively on the issues at the heart of this problem. Maybe you will offer a solution or corrective. This post is offered with the author’s permission.

“Ministerially Speaking”

“Though official statements still affirm the doctrine of regenerate church membership, statistics indicate a different reality for the great majority of Baptist churches in North America.”
- John S. Hammett, Professor of Systematic Theology, SEBTS

Introduction

A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting in class when my professor was discussing characteristics of biblical leadership, and during that discussion I learned of a term often used when talking about churches and their statistics. The term “ministerially speaking” is used when someone does not accurately present the facts or stats but rather exaggerates or embellishes the truth to their own benefit.

In Southern Baptist life, numbers and statistics seem to be a big deal. You will hear the defense and argument everywhere from the fact that we have a book in the Bible called “Numbers” to the pragmatic rationale of management principles for ministerial success. Over the course of my experience as a Southern Baptist with the heightened emphasis on numbers, I had become frustrated because of my conviction that we had auctioned the church off to corporate America and unrestrained pragmatism in the pursuit of upholding denominational dominance and triumphalism. Every time for instance, when you hear that we Southern Baptists account for 16+ million people, we of course are “ministerially speaking.” For example, while in 2004 Southern Baptists reported a total of 16,267,494 members, only 6,024,289 (37%) were on average present for Sunday morning worship. The 16 million is the number we report to the secular media, and the 6 million is the number we report to God–and that on a good day.

“Ministerially Speaking” in Focus

But at this particular juncture and season of SBC politics, “ministerially speaking” perhaps is best seen when Baptist Press announces another candidate for an SBC office. At the very heart of their reporting, you will find a lot of numbers, most of which comes from the Annual Church Profile database. For instance, let’s take the most recent candidate for president, Frank Cox, pastor of North Metro Baptist Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

Baptist Press reports,

“Cox has been North Metro’s pastor for more than 27 years. Under his leadership, the church has grown from 700 members to more than 4,600, with 3,600-plus individuals added to the church fellowship as baptized believers.”

I have to pause for a moment to emphasize a stat that I love, perhaps the most important of them all. Cox has been at North Metro for 27 years and stands as a testament to pastoral permanence in a flighty generation. I praise God for men like Frank Cox who find their life assignment in loving a congregation and leading them to reach their world for Christ.

But notice with me that the church has grown to 4,600 members with over 3,600 added through believer’s baptism. Those numbers are certainly impressive. But “ministerially speaking,” it could be even more impressive if you consider what Bob Terry, editor of The Alabama Baptist recently shared. In the February 21, 2008 editorial, Terry wrote the following:

“Other out-of-state speakers include Frank Cox, who is returning to the Alabama Baptist Evangelism Conference, and Herb Reavis Jr., senior pastor of North Jacksonville Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Fla. Cox, who previously spoke at the 2005 and 1998 state evangelism conferences, is senior pastor of North Metro Baptist Church, Lawrenceville, Ga. During his 25-plus years as pastor, he has led the church to grow from just under 500 members to more than 5,400.”

Now which is it? 4,600 members or 5,400? That’s a significant difference, don’t you think? But we must go on as more numbers await us.

A couple of paragraphs further in the same BP article, they add:

“The most recent information available, Southern Baptists’ 2006 Annual Church Profile Survey, lists 110 baptisms and primary worship service attendance of 1,737 for North Metro.”

According to Baptist Press, North Metro has at least 4,600 members but only 1,737 who show up on any given Sunday. We are not talking here about Sunday School, service, or ministry; rather, we are talking about those who simply sit in a pew on Sunday morning. Doing a little math will reveal that 37% of their membership are visibly present on Sunday (exactly the percentage from 2004 stated above), or put another way, nearly 2 out of 3 members do not attend “primary worship” services. Now the question then, is, why do we not talk about the numbers which are more realistic than the big, bloated numbers which so often get touted on newspaper write-ups and articles? But we must go on as more numbers await us.

Taking the same ACP data Baptist Press uses for their statistics, I have compiled the relevant data from 2000-2006 regarding North Metro as it is not really fair to look at a church over one year. So I wanted to see the church over a decent period of time, so I choose this seven-year period, and here is how the numbers shaped up:

Analysis

2000

3980 members
2636 resident members
141 baptisms
185 other additions
2003 primary worship attendance

2001

4000 members
2921 resident members
209 baptisms
246 other additions
2000 primary worship attendance

2002

4488 members
2960 resident members
140 baptisms
229 other additions
1425 primary worship attendance

2003

3931 members
3164 resident members
193 baptisms
219 other additions
1496 primary worship attendance

2004

4055 members
3278 resident members
140 baptisms
214 other additions
1676 primary worship attendance

2005

4188 members
3396 resident members
162 baptisms
199 other additions
1944 primary worship attendance

2006

4302 members
3486 resident members
110 baptisms
228 other additions
1737 primary worship attendance

Total Baptisms 2000-2006 1,095
Total Other Additions 2000-2006 1,520
Membership Growth from 2000-2006 322
Attendance Growth from 2000-2006 -266
Number of “Inactive” Members 2,565
A/A Differential* 2,615/-266
UCM Index** 60%

* A/A Differential = Total additions 2000-2006 / Total attendance growth 2000-2006
** UCM Index = 2006 Inactive Membership divided by 2006 Total Membership

The last paragraph is the totals of 2000-2006 combined. Take a moment, and consider these numbers with me.

First, while North Metro added 2,615 through baptism and “other additions,” their membership increased by only 322. What are we saying about the relationship of baptism and church membership? Ministerially speaking, the church grew by 2,615 members; biblically speaking, church membership increased by 322.

Second, again while North Metro added 2,615 during those seven years, they had a net decrease of -266 in primary worship attendance. What are we saying about the gospel and conversion when we baptized 1000+ people only to see a church decline in attendance during that same period? Ministerially speaking, the church added 2,615 people; biblically speaking, the church declined by 266 people.

Third, the total membership in 2006 was not 4,600 or 5,400 as Baptist Press reported but 4,302. But even with that number, the average attendance of 1,737 divided by 4,302 comes to 60% of the church not fulfilling their basic responsibility of worshiping God and hearing the Word preached on any given Sunday (a total of 2,565 “inactive” members. What are we saying about church discipline and the covenant community we call the local church? Imagine a corporation (if we go that route) where only 4 out of 10 of its employees ever showed up to work. How would it continue to function? So ministerially speaking, the church is comprised of 4,302 members; biblically speaking, the church has 1,737 members.

Conclusion

I could go on, but you do not need more numbers or my analysis to get the point. Numbers do matter - even the ones we cringe to look at and accept. But we must accept them. We must not be “ministerially speaking” but “biblically speaking”. My dean, Dr. Chuck Lawless, has a great blog entitled “Biblical Church Growth,” and I believe that is what we need today. I think it is clear to us all that adding 2,600+ members to one’s church should result in something more like 2,600 regular attenders (roughly speaking), not a decrease of 266 attenders. You see, behind these numbers tell us a lot about how serious we examine our churches, church membership, church discipline, the gospel, conversion, and a whole host of other things that distinctively make us Baptist. But more than being Baptist, we must be biblical, and to be biblical, we must begin with a humble confession and a honest assessment of where we are today. The problems we face will never be solved by denominational politics or presidents or anyone else “ministerially speaking.” They will be solved when we take a look at the Bride of Christ and say, “I will give my life for her that she may be pure, holy, and devoted to Christ our Head.” The reports in heaven will set the record straight, but God forbid that we wait until then to see our great need in the here and now.

It just doesn’t have to be that way, and we don’t just have to be “ministerially speaking” either.

The SBTS website noted the successful surgery of Dr. Mohler. We pray the pathology report comes back with more good news. Pray for him, his family and Southern Seminary.

Small town pastorates afford a variety of experiences for the pastor willing to engage the community. This is no slight to pastors in larger towns and cities who by virtue of imagination and willingness may also find a virtual kaleidoscope of ministry opportunities. Rather the statement stems from personal experience.

Attending my first town hall meeting nearly 20 years ago I heard Lloyd whisper in my ear, “We have enough votes to elect you if you will agree to run.” Talk about wanting to run. Unsure of what I had gotten myself into, I discovered the new young pastor was considered “City Council” material. It did not take long to figure out that meant, “Since the pastor only works one and a half days a week, he can read water meters, chlorinate water in the water towers, and haul garbage.” We would hire and fire. We would budget and plan. I met more folks and found more ministry opportunities than I had imagined. Conversations with townspeople garnered quick trust and a grand time in that small church.

Contextualization meant this city boy must quickly learn “country.”

We moved on to pastor another church in a small town, a small Texas town. Now only Sooner fans would make such an intentional distinction. (And yes, I did painfully watch the recent Big 12 semi-final between OU and UT. Great first half! Not so much the second half.) Quick friendships with teachers and administrators at the local school provided other opportunities - substitute teaching, bus driving and one year as basketball coach.

One year the high school English teacher needed to take care of family business out of state. She would need a long term substitute. The call came and I accepted. One of the main assignments for the period I would be teaching centered on George Orwell’s Animal Farm. I have been intrigued ever since.

Reform agendas come and go. We here at the Outpost, according to commenters, have spurred both hope and fear when discussing reform. Criticisms run the gamut. The more pointed reservations by some readers question just what kind of reform. Tactics of some writers are more criticized than the content. In my first installment I noted a quote from Tom Nettles’ The Baptists: Key People Involved in Forming a Baptist Identity (327-331),

“If loyalty becomes equated with silent consent to programs, however noble, the stench of encroaching death with be evident.”

I return to Nettles’ work for this second part (again 327-331). Connecting the precarious nature of a free church denominational construct and the calls for reform by those in the SBC characterized by Dr. Patterson’s 1980 Shophar paper, Nettles’ notes,

These tensions formed the context of one of the Shophar Papters of 1980 written by Paige Patterson. Patterson noted that ‘denominational executive offices can become “Protestant Meccas” to which all must bow, with “programs” being substituted for righteousness.’ Any person, Patterson contended, that questions procedure or raises doubt about programs makes himself odious in the eyes of denominational leadership and may be ‘virtually anathematized by those who claim to be “loyal”.’

Surely dear reader you could see my temptation to simply let that quote stand for a time so that it may sink in, especially for those who consider calls for accountability and some measure of reform to be wholly disrespectful of those who led the charge that was/is the CR. Instead, I would quickly add Dr. Patterson’s words represent the nature of ongoing reform, it is the semper reformanda, it is the continuing conversion of the church, and in this case the denomination.

Rather than attack Dr. Patterson, calls are for the system to continually engage the very matters he raised in that paper nearly 30 years ago. According to Nettles’ Dr. Patterson went on to outline three areas where denominationalism tends to usurp biblical ecclesiology.

1. Only literature published by the official publishing agency of the denomination may be used.

2. The Cooperative Program is the sine qua non of what it means to be a Southern Baptist.

3. Denominational periodicals can become responsible primarily for “defending the denomination” rather than for accurate, unbiased, thoroughly researched presentation of news and truth.

There are current corollaries to the three Dr. Patterson noted then. For example, in our contemporary setting seminary presidents inform messengers they know better than anyone how to prepare young people for ministry - the local church nor its leaders possess any such capacity - is akin to “only using the literature we produce.” Questions then about the Cooperative Program today give way to one’s local churches giving percentage to the CP as the qualifying criterion for service to the denomination. Finally, now that the CR leadership firmly influences the “denominational periodicals” we need only say, “Amen” to Dr. Patterson’s charge.

Nettles’ asserts,

Patterson wanted a new kind of denominationalism. Openness to criticism, servant to and not master of the churches, meaningful deliberation among a wider spectrum of concerned people, a more open system of convention operations in selecting of personnel, etc. to avoid the old system of king-makers: these seem to be desirable patterns to pursue.

Some misunderstand even the controversial Ben Cole. What is most oft overlooked is that Patterson’s words inspired a generation to reform and they are words many still believe even if he and others do not. When actions betray the very sentiment that stirred the foment of reform appear to no longer apply calls for renewed reform are inevitable. Many have registered complaint about tone and tenor of some posts. I may have written them differently myself. However, the most important overlooked matter pertains to giving a group the promise of integrity only to give evidence it is more rhetorical than literal. We all fall prey to such a state. It is the linchpin which when removed jeopardizes our own attempts at leadership. These matters are systemic and not personal, though often we see the effects of the system on the person.

The “money quote” from this section of Nettles’ work indeed raises the systems question,

The warnings that Patterson issued do not lose their relevance when the doctrinal stance of denominational leadership changes toward conservatism. Doctrinal recovery thankfully provides firmer grounds for confidence in any associational structure of Baptists. Unity at that point provides the most basic strength for powerful and effective voluntary union. The union itself, however, must be structured with a system of checks and balances that defy the tendency for a top-heavy denomination unresponsive to church concerns. Diligence to observe the intent of these appropriate checks will go far in protecting the advantages for ministry of denominational organizations. The tendency of power to corrupt these structures, however, may again prove to be too overwhelming without special measures being taken by those most susceptible to the temptation. These seats of control may be just as alluring to the confessionally orthodox as to the doctrinal latitudinarian. Conservatives may just as easily fall prey to the allurement of importance as moderates. Imposing the agenda of a small group on an entire denomination, achieving a virtual hierarchy, can provide to be just as satisfying to the ego and marked up as spiritual success to one who is doctrinally pure as to one who is doctrinally indifferent.

You may by now see my contention, the system fails the reform. For Orwell, the animals who ran the farm did no better than the humans. Lest you think I am drawing down on our current leadership and assigning them the unseemly role of the animals now running the show, note the Farm did not change for Orwell. For me the system bears the inherent need for reform. Some people seem to have fallen prey. And pray we must.

Stay tuned for one final thought in part 3.

After reading Dr. Yarnell’s paper on cross-cultural ministry, I was struck by the perceived necessity to create a false dichotomy. Here is a video that may well illustrate both/and rather than either/or. We are praying for our missionaries. We were tipped off to this video by an M.

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

The other morning on The Early Show while I was putting away my morning bowl of oatmeal John Fund responded to a question about the fall of New York Governor, Eliot Spitzer. He commented, “Hypocrisy is common in politics.” Evidently he agreed with the litany of illustrations noted by Leonard Pitts Jr, of the Miami Herald. In his piece, “How Can A Man Do Such a Thing To His Family?” he notes others who have succumbed to similar passions,

Consider the astonishingly long list of high public officials and self-appointed moralists found — or in a few cases, strongly suspected — to be preaching one set of values while living another. It starts, of course, with the aforementioned Bill Clinton, whose indiscretions precipitated a constitutional crisis. But the list also includes: Jesse (”keep hope alive”) Jackson, Larry (”wide stance”) Craig, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, former Spokane Mayor James West, the Rev. Ted Haggard, Newt Gingrich, numerous priests of the Catholic Church (It’s 10 o’clock — do you know where your altar boy is?), Strom Thurmond (apparently, he liked integration more than he let on), Mark Foley, Rudy Giuliani, New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey (some of us pronounce it, ”McGreasy”), Gary Condit, Dan Burton, Bob Packwood and Henry (“a youthful indiscretion”) Hyde.

And that’s just in the last decade or so. Go back a few years and you’ve got Jim Bakker, Wilbur Mills, Gary Hart and Jimmy Swaggart, crying tears that would shame a crocodile. Go back even more, and you find John F. Kennedy and Thomas Jefferson.

It seems power and its accompanying illusions are endemic to politics.

Many will argue these illustrations convey the darkness of the human heart. I would agree. However, there must be something to those who make historical observations and point up the unhealthy way power indeed corrupts. Old adages aside Pitts does not let clergy off the hook. I am told Leno or Letterman put a video montage of high profile “fallen” icons while the song “Stand by Your Man” played.

It is indeed an irony of ironies when one will stand to declare what will benefit the majority only to, once leading the majority, forget the very planks in the platform on which one stood. Questions will always be asked, “Is it the person?” Or, “Is it endemic to the system?” Are these pitfalls always present? What would lead to the avoidance of such? Could it be these systems do not adequately account for the need for accountability? Rather than leave this into the hands of a selected few, could it be a community of people would provide the best course for those leading to new places?

Who said,

“When priorities are set without regard to biblical revelation, the seeds of decadence are planted. If loyalty becomes equated with silent consent to programs, however noble, the stench of encroaching death will be evident.”

Jason Epps was first to comment and right to note Dr. Patterson made this comment. Later it was rightly added this quote came from a Shophar Paper written in 1980. Some may not be familiar with these early Conservative Resurgence writings. These “tracts” often outline the call for reform in the SBC. The “trumpet” was being sounded. The battle cry went out. Troops were marshaled.

The call for reform was larger than planners, architects. Certainly the nexus may have been an earlier meeting, but once the troops were rallied the movement was enjoined by those wanting to affirm the authority of Scripture and stall real or perceived leftward drift. This post is not about rehashing the tactics, triumphs and missteps. Instead, this post is about how a community must rise to rescue what may have been beneficial challenges for correction have led to a condition noted in the above quote, “If loyalty becomes equated with silent consent to programs, however noble, the stench of encroaching death with be evident.”

Should commenters seize this post as assault on Dr. Patterson the point will be tragically missed. Questions about the motives and intent of the Outpost have fallen prey to conjecture. When those who challenge whether or not Dr. Yarnell has been queried about removing his name from a recent document without direct inquiries as to any contributor writing a post regarding the intent, motive or idiom when calling for reform the rouse is exposed for what it is – a preference for silent consent.

In his work, The Baptists: Key People Involved in Forming A Baptist Identity, conservative, Baptist Calvinist, Tom Nettles analyzes the Conservative Resurgence within the SBC in an installment entitled, The Modern Era. Before noting the aforementioned quote from the 1980 Shophar Paper, Nettles suggests a number of tensions led to specific calls among those in the Resurgence and specifically giving rise to Dr, Patterson’s 1980 paper. He notes,

1. How may unity in doctrine and order be the foundation for an association of churches that have no authority over them but their own perception of biblical truth and the Lordship of Christ?

2. How may unified benevolent activities be supported with consistency and predictability while still recognizing the fullest freedom for the churches, as well as the state conventions, in the production and use of literature as well as discretionary involvement in the multiple facets of local and world-wide ministry?

3. This fear of disintegration, loss of power, and decline creates the incongruity of a faux hierarchy in a free church setting.

4. The need for continuity in leadership of the highest devotion and talent, how may an organization resist the temptation to make these leaders de facto a Sanhedrin or ruling council over the Convention to which they should be servants?

These points seem to also be endemic to denominational politics. More in part 2.

“When priorities are set without regard to biblical revelation, the seeds of decadence are planted. If loyalty becomes equated with silent consent to programs, however noble, the stench of encroaching death will be evident.”

Transistor radios intrigued me. How could a small box capture sound waves and convert them in a way I could listen miles from the station from which they emanated? Raised the son of an engineer drove a certain curiosity that led me on more than one occasion to take one of these boxes apart. Transistors, capacitors, diodes and other “parts” comprised these little “sound boxes.” Taking them apart did not answer the questions for me. My context and background were inadequate resources.

Marty Duren, the original Outpost blogger, and Todd Wright illustrate the often inadequate resources shape the framing narrative many a young preacher/pastor learns. Since our understandings of pastoral leadership, especially in Southern Baptist life, find formulation in the churches we attend, the sub-culture in which we spend a great deal of time, or even the seminaries propagating a “way” of doing church as “the way,” there is little doubt crisis of leadership, burnout, even moral failure lie just around the corner. Stresses too great when we consider the accompanying ruler of success proffered and celebrated.

In Journeys: Transitioning Churches to Relevance Wright and Duren take us on an odyssey of self-discovery. Certainly the context is the challenge of transitioning churches, but at heart these pages are more about personal transformation. Each author writes with their ecclesial contexts in mind and assert this to be a call for a “missional ecclesiology,” a call to which I would heartily join the chorus. Yet, I find a deeper resonance. The entry point for most who dabble with things “missional” or “emerging” may well be ecclesiology. Once there the matters considered trend well below the surface and force theological considerations. When Marty notes his discovery that mission lies really in the heart of God, this matter transcends ecclesiastical structures and moves compellingly to a thorough Trinitarian understanding of the “sending God.”

I confess to reading Journeys and feeling as though Marty and Todd had been “reading my mail.” Eerily I read of books and conferences outside our tribe and, though those I read and conferences I attended were different, found comrades on my own journey even though it would be some time later before Marty and I crossed paths in an exchange on the very first Young Leader message board set up through Lifeway.

Posting this review here at the Outpost serves several purposes. First, I believe you should read Marty and Todd’s book. The recent call to abandon traditional churches because they cannot or will not change spurs some of us to say, “Wait a minute, I love these people!” Ed Stetzer recently acknowledged the church is to be a “model” but looks more like Schreck but it is still the Bride of Christ - in all its forms. Second, cathartic writing helps others who often feel no one shares their struggles. The obvious painful experiences will likely resonate widely. You will be encouraged and often think, “I know that experience.” Finally, for those who still struggle with the motive for some of we who contribute at the Outpost, in many ways Journeys describes the systemic issues we face as a denomination when it comes to leadership and the church. Few of us don’t struggle with a form that tends to celebrate the hollow and minimize the transformational. One is often accompanied with very visible results, the other accompanied by deep change.

In the end Paul’s words to the Christ-followers in Colossae that he works with all the power of God to present the church (people) mature in Christ moves us to find the farce behind the “quick fix” patches offered at many a conference. His words challenge us to think more deeply than the triteness of simply praying more and doing more. Journeys illustrates the passion of a couple of pastors to love God and people in ways that challenge the status quo. And, everyone knows we at the Outpost sure do not mind that.

Published by the good folks at Missional Press

Since the comment thread was hijacked by conversations about football and then devolved into some unrelated tit for tat I have closed comments hoping that one day we can stay on topic.

In the early days of the SBC Young Leader Initiative a person might be reading the comment thread over at Steve McCoy’s site and discover the handle, “iMonk.” Michael Spencer is internetmonk. On his site you may find this piece about Micheal, a 1984 graduate of Southern Seminary,

Internet Monk is the personal web space of missional communicator Michael Spencer. Michael is a missional thinker, communicator and writer living in southeastern Kentucky. “I am deconstructing and moving past my evangelicalism; rediscovering what it means to be vitally connected to Jesus. That process is always worth sharing.”

On Sabbatical retreat iMonk visited his alma mater. His reflections were recorded in a February 23rd post titled, The Empty Shelf in the Southern Baptist Bookstore. This post is offered here with permission. I am grateful.

The Empty Shelf in the Southern Baptist Bookstore

February 23rd, 2008 by Michael Spencer

I’m very interested in what current SBTS and other SBC seminary students have to say about your future in the SBC. Will you stay if Calvinism becomes a divisive, “lose your job” issue in the SBC? Would you prefer a Driscoll, Piper or Mahaney Network (T4G) to the current SBC?

CLARIFICATION: I’m a post-evangelical, and that applies to the SBC. But some of what I want to keep is stuff my tradition has in its attic! To be post-evangelical differs from being emerging in the sense that I want to keep my Baptist polity, historical (not current) view of the sacraments, cooperative missions vision and emphasis on missions.

Don’t stand too close to me in public. I’m going to blog your conversation. Yes, I’m that kind of writer.

After the Louisville Institute sabbatical orientation, I stopped at a few bookstores, including the large Lifeway Bookstore on the campus of my alma mater (’84), The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

I’ve been visiting the SBTS bookstore since the late 1970’s. I’ve watched it change through the years as SBTS and evangelicals themselves have changed. Today’s Southern Seminary Bookstore is a cornucopia of Calvinism, reflecting a seminary that is leading the Calvinistic resurgence in the SBC. If you are a lifelong Southern Baptist who would have ever found it difficult to believe that pastors in your convention would buy bobbleheads of Martin Luther, busts of John Calvin or framed prints of various infant-baptizing, state-church sponsoring reformers, I have news for you: It’s big business. There may be a head of Lottie Moon in there somewhere, but the business of little statues and pictures is almost entirely a presentation of Luther, Calvin and the Puritan-influenced reformers. (Apologies to your Roman Catholic friends can be sent directly to the IM post office.)

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a catholic Christian and I benefit from the gifting of the Holy Spirit to the church as a whole. But I was brought up in Landmark Baptist dispensational fundamentalism, and part of me is still a little rattled to see just how far the Calvinist resurgence has come in the SBC. I applaud its good fruit and pray for more, especially in the health and theology of churches. God bless The Founders, 9 Marks and their work. I also have many questions and concerns about what will happen in the SBC in the immediate future as thousands of Calvinist students make their way into a very evangelical, revivalistic, Arminian-leaning denomination.

Back to my evesdropping. I was standing at the “New Releases/Popular Authors” section. “Popular authors” these days include SBC Calvinists like Mark Dever and Al Mohler, alongside non-SBCers such as John Piper, John Macarthur and C.J. Mahaney.

Regular, Nashville published, fully Cooperative, SBC saved, trained and ordained authors? Not many. In fact, there were very, very few. A relatively empty shelf of significant influences and books, so to speak.

The subjects of my evedropping efforts were two students discussing Redeemer Presbyterian pastor Tim Keller’s new apologetics book. Keller, the rising star of the PCA and of conservative evangelicalism in general, has written the kind of book Southern Baptists have largely failed to write or promote in the last fifty years. Apologetics is just one area where the shelf of Southern Baptists is largely empty.

I don’t doubt that some Southern Baptist writers have written apologetic materials in the past, but for whatever reason, these materials passed quickly into oblivion, exerting little influence over the denomination that produced them. They are just one category of writing, thinking, teaching and publishing that find Southern Baptists largely awol. Aside from books on church growth, evangelism and the “popular” level of devotional literature, Southern Baptists have shown little interest in making major contributions to the evangelical conversation, including areas that it would seem SBCers would have taken up their pens and addressed.

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