SBCOutpost

Recently Nathan Finn wrote a fine piece alerting the SBC to the realities of the Internet. In an even handed manner Finn noted the mediums used to chart a new course in the SBC by those who used, “computer mailing lists” and the like. Some recall “Town Hall” styled meetings and “Whistle Stop” tours rallying troops to stand with the assertive new leaders to stem the tide of liberalism, rescue the denomination and ensure the authority of the Scriptures. Enter Al Gore’s “Internet” and look out. Conference calls and snail mail fliers cannot compete with the speed of a DSL connection, a chat program and yes, one’s own website.

These developments give anyone, including me, an occasion to opine about something, anything. Occasionally good questions will be asked and, though not often enough, healthy conversation ensues.

Yesterday while listening to KOSU, Sooner fans don’t excoriate me, an opinion piece was aired drawing attention to the influence of the postmodern mood on our culture. The speaker considers the incessant, and petulant, chasing after conspiracy theories to be something of an expression of the loss of truth to “my truth.” Critiques in our quarters, Southern Baptist that is, regarding postmodern philosophy and its influential mood often point up the loss of meaning for a given text. Or, to put it another way, rather than let the text speak we seem to practice the literary theory to have emerged from or within the postmodern shift, namely “Reader-Response Theory.”

The assumed meaning of the text shifted from what the author may have intended to the reader’s interpretive framework - preconceptions, psychological proclivities and long-held biases. Many who read here at the Outpost, and many who say they don’t but do, want very much to rest in the perspicuity of Scripture - that is, there is a plain meaning of the text. Authorial intent and its form hold what is needed. Yet, since words are on the screen you our faithful readers and detractors will decide for yourselves what is said and what is intended. It is always a risk someone will “mis-read” or “mis-interpret” what is being typed.

I recently wrote a piece here describing my thoughts on recent Lifeway research. One interlocutor determined I lay claim to “Kreskin” like skills and wrote a piece asserting I knew the hidden motive of another thereby questioning my motives. Imagine my shock and amazement, not to mention un-mitiaged belief, that same writer who finds the Outpost a great source of material, writes a response to the recent Rodney Hammer letter released by The Biblical Recorder snooping as it were among the paragraphs and sentences for a conspiracy to expose. That’s right, Rodney Hammer looks to bring down the IMB by making his opinion public and asserting the need to re-think policy. Having sought to express himself to the point of reprimand, he wrote to me, to us, to say “I am concerned.” If the best someone can do is come along and look for a conspiracy in accountability then said person has way too much time on their hands. Furthermore, if this is the best kind of defense, we in Okie land call it “mis-direction” recalling the bygone days of the amazing “Wishbone” era of Sooner Football, critics and the like have to offer then “Nashville, we have a problem.”

Let me make my motives clear. I hold no animosity for another who seems given to twist the obvious. I simply believe that when a man stands on his convictions and is willing to take the heat in the public square then we must listen to his words and not to the ruminations or imaginations of another. Yes, yes, dear reader you will comb the archives being sure to note every instance where we here at the Outpost may have done the same. So before you do it, “Shame on us.” If we have attributed motives to another without proper verification we stand under your scrutinizing eye. But, if we have knowledge of another’s motive and for whatever reason determine not to share it - yes, I am invoking the reality of anonymity here - you will have to take extra Rolaids at what will appear to you a contradiction.

My hope, read “motive,” is that we could really engage in honest, healthy conversation. Calling someone’s motive into question, assuming we know the strength of another’s “ecclesiology” based solely on a comment in a post thread, or ramping up our rhetoric charging ecumenism or the loss of inerrancy to hijack an otherwise honest attempt at dialog is in view. No hidden agenda here. No attempt to subvert what it means to be a Baptist.

Oh, and while I am at it, there is little credibility in slamming Ben Cole, or referring to him in dark terms. Your cries and laments fall helplessly on deaf ears when you claim to want to engage in honest conversation. For our dear critics, like a good addict, you return driving site statistics with your curiosity as to who will slam Ben next or what “juicy” post will follow. Posts offering thoughtful ideas and interjections into the future of the SBC, denominations and the like to you are as boring and uneventful as watching paint dry. So, let’s, in the motive of this post, have an honest conversation. We like to read the tabloid stuff. Our leaders were masters of the invective. They could rally the troops with just the right euphemisms whether or not they accurately described the situation and or person or not.

So, the motive of this post - call attention to Rodney Hammer’s words. Read them understanding his concerns only serve as a tip of the proverbial iceberg. Southwestern Alums recently received their fund-raising letters asking for contributions to keep the lights on. Is it increasing or decreasing enrollment? We here at the Outpost often receive communiques from the mission field noting a lack of resources for “evangelism” and matters they are not to speak of but are certainly causing a great deal of discomfit and interruption in service. Let’s not spin this one. No amount of posturing is going to solve our dilemmas. Open and honest conversation will be the way forward.

I hope I have illustrated that. With that, I point you to Hammer’s letter.

The Biblical Recorder posted the full letter from Rodney Hammer which had been leaked in “bits” around the Internet according to the Recorder. We direct your attention to the letter with no commentary on the content.

Pathways is reporting Avery Willis will be nominated by John Marshall in Indiana to be the next President of the SBC. No wait, word is out Johnny Hunt will also be nominated. Three. Four. Five. Some seem to be forgetting Wiley Drake.

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).

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“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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Comment threads present opportunities to either stay the course or chase any number of tangential matters. Recently in the post, “The Difference a Perspective Makes,” Dr. York thought it important to ask if Dr. Page had been asked to sign, “Loving God and Neighbor Together: A Christian Response to ‘A Common Word Betweeen Us and You.” I queried Dr. Page. He did not recall being asked to sign the document. I also asked Dr. Page if he had at any time taken an international mission trip. He replied,

I have been on multiple mission trips and was on one this past year among a group in

Africa, which I shall not name, but which is totally Muslim. I cannot tell you how many international mission trips I have been on for I lost count many years ago. However, I have been on every continent and have ministered and dialogued with an amazing array of people.

Since the original post centered on the differing perspectives between Dr. Mohler and Dr. Edens when it comes to conversations with, in this case Muslims, it should be noted Dr. Edens affirmed the theological position Dr. Mohler gave in the BP article. the issue then turns on methodology. The post stands as an illustration perspective matters.

International Mission Trips by Dr. Page - “lost count many years ago … on every continent”

International Mission Trips as President of Southern Seminary (14 yrs.) by Dr. Mohler - 0

Perspective matters when it comes to methodology.

“The second thing I feel strongly about is that personally as a Southern Baptist Church member for the last 35 years, I have been deeply hurt and offended by agency heads of the Southern Baptist Convention who have intruded themselves into the process of the selection of our convention presidents. I will not do that. Just as there are responsibilities and privileges that go with working on a gubernatorial staff, [so] there are also responsibilities and privileges that go with being the head of a Southern Baptist agency or institution. There are some things that a pastor of a church may be free to do and to say publicly but an agency head, in my opinion, loses that privilege when he accepts the privilege and the responsibly of being the head of an institution which belongs to all Southern Baptists.”

Taken from Richard Land’s 1988 job interview with the Board of Trustees of the Christian Life Commission (ERLC) Quoted from Volume 4 of James Helfley’s “Truth in Crisis” (pg. 179-180). Subtitled is “The Controversy in the Southern Baptist Convention”

Surely there would be a couple of easy deductions from Dr. Land’s position pertinent for today’s entity heads. Interjecting “white papers” through “Lieutenants” into entity affairs may give “plausible deniability,” but it strikes a blow to one’s ethical framework according to Dr. Land’s assertions.

And, lost in a recent comment thread is the question of ethics for an entity head serving in a capacity (SBC President) that would afford him a position of influence over those who would then be elected to serve as his Board. The commenter serves in an environment where that would not be possible as it is surely a conflict of interest. Here, it seems Dr. Land suggests that once a person assumes the position as entity head he/she forfeits certain privileges. Running for President of the SBC would then seem to constitute both a conflict of interest and assuming a privilege given up once serving an institution that belongs to all Baptists.

Would have been good to find this quote before other entity heads donned the title, “President of the SBC.” Maybe it will help us keep from repeating past mistakes.

Of concerns voiced by R. Albert Mohler Jr. of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, for example, Edens said in a statement to Baptist Press that “I personally agree with him in the areas of theology and assessment of Islamic teaching about God or our Lord Jesus Christ. However, we disagree in methodology. From my experience of over 20 years living as a missionary among Muslims, I am committed to a Christian dialogue and conversation with Muslims. So, in continuity with my witness there, I signed the document.”

BP ran two articles on January 11. One noting why Dr. Mohler did not sign, “Loving God and Neighbor Together: A Christian Response to A Common Word Between Us and You.” The other article offered Dr. Edens, NOBTS Professor and whose words this post begins, an occasion to respond to Dr. Mohler’s contentions the move was, “not the way to get into the conversation.” These debates are tricky for once you mention a means to engage others who do not share your convictions the watchdogs come out signaling the “giving up of ground.” Conversations however are just that, conversations.

Dr. Scot McKnight suggests many Christians do not know how to have a conversation. In a blog post dated January 8, 2007, Scot offers,

… “conversation” has a noble history and because not all Christians know how to “converse.” They know how to argue and denounce and affirm and confess and assert, but the art of conversation is not its most notable feature. To foster conversation, …

He then makes a number of helpful suggestions. Before anyone considers McKnight to be soft and non-committal, read his blog thoroughly.

Dr. Edens suggested his experience serving twenty years in a Muslim context informed his decision to sign the document as a way to foster helpful conversation. Dr. Mohler served in which Muslim context? Dr. Mohler has gone on how many international mission trips?

One more amazing note. Many of us who share the heritage of the SBC did not own slaves nor would ever want to. (No this is not intended to resurrect the recent flap between Wade and Peter over Dwight)Yet, years after the Emancipation Proclamation and nearly 30 years after the Civil Rights Movement, the SBC passed a resolution apologizing for our complicity in treating African-Americans as less than human beings created in the image of God. Many of us continue to applaud that decision and are willing to admit we still have rooom to improve in our mostly white, southern denomination. So when Dr. Mohler sees no need for Christians to apologize for the Crusades fearing a Muslim Europe and possibly North America, he seems to tragically miss the point. No one suggested those signing the document wanted to bow to Mohhammed’s Allah. But, the apology seems right when we consider in the name of Christianity people were killed becuase a group of people shared a different faith. That is, we should apologize unless we think we have the right to kill those who fail to submit to the Lordship of Christ today.

Personally, it seems unthinkable that post-Resurrection of Jesus we would employ language ignorming the humanity of others by suggesting despite the sin and atrocitites of the day we are glad.

 Suggestion - Rather than run for President of the SBC, let’s move at the next Annual Meeting in Indy that the Board of Trustees of The Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, KY present Dr. Mohler with a sabbatical of not lesss than one year to travel internationally. Consign him to serve alongside our SBC missionaires in foreign coutnries  learning the art of conversation with people who may be indignant toward our faith in Jesus, indifferent to our God in their various pantheon of gods, and return prepared to engage others in conversation for the cause of Christ before denouncing a document he did not sign because he was not asked. Maybe we know why he was not asked.

So moved.