Douglas Baker posted this thought-provoking assessment of the issues facing the SBC. This observation was especially insightful:
Overnight, this has made every denominational employee a missiologist. Intent on retaining the portion of funds allocated to the various agencies, the entire denominational superstructure has morphed into a public relations machine showing how their particular program or initiative is “mission critical.”
Baker gets at the heart of the issue for the SBC as I see it. Will we demonstrate the flexibility and humility to change? Or, will we circle the wagons and defend the status quo? The establishment is threatened by the Great Commission Resurgence task force. Denominational agencies fear the conclusions the task force may reach and the recommendations they may propose. Structures (and jobs) are potentially on the line. People are beginning to scramble to make sure their turf gets adequately protected. Anyone who has ever worked or served in an organization understands this impulse – whether it is a church committee or the SBC.
The revered Baptist distinctive of local church autonomy turns out to be a two-edged sword. Churches are exercising this autonomy in the way they view SBC entities and in the way they fund those entities. More and more churches are designating to causes which they view as part of the core mission of the denomination. These churches are no longer content to just write the check to the Cooperative Program and trust that it will be properly invested. These churches are diversifying their giving portfolios so to speak. Many of them have begun mission and church planting projects which are specific to their congregations and have no formal connection to the SBC.
If the Cooperative Program and SBC entities are going to remain viable and thrive in the future, then changes must be forthcoming. The bureaucracy must be examined and streamlined. Sluggish programs must be eliminated. Brand loyalty can no longer be assumed. It is going to have to be earned. Leaders are going to have to demonstrate humility and teachability. Models for ministry are going to have to be adapted. SBC leaders are going to have to come to terms with what is doctrinally essential and what is peripheral. My impression is that younger pastors in the SBC are passionate about doctrine. They just don’t want to be marginalized over non-essentials (prayer languages, church planting networks, etc). The SBC is going to have to stop measuring everything by quantity and start taking a hard look at the quality of our statistics.
I love the SBC. I love the CP. I am a life-long Southern Baptist. I have pastored only Southern Baptist congregations. I believe that this juncture could prove to be a turning point for the SBC in a very positive way. Our self-evaluation and subsequent change could launch the SBC into a period of great usefulness for God’s glory.
