What to think about the 2021 SBC annual meeting

Overwhelmed

20k people in one room for a meeting is very interesting

Parliamentary procedure is also something very interesting

Times alloted for certain things to be addressed, ways you vote for things, amending resolutions and many other things all have their procedure and they should for a crowd like that

I wanted to to talk about some positives

IMB is still sending missionaries to hard places all over the world

Baptist core theology is unchanged

Seminaries are still training pastors and ministry leaders

I didnt realize but SBC seminaries provide 1/3 of all theological training for North America

Disaster Relief is still being supported

Mission Dignity- providing for retired pastors and their wives in times of need

WMU, NAMB, Church planting, and the list goes on

All made possible through SBC churches giving to the Cooperative Program

As you give to the church, the church tithes its income out to various organizations and the Cooperative program

Resolutions this time did not have the fireworks as in 2019

Resolution 2 was the primary resolution that created some discussion during the convention

It was on Racial Reconciliation but implicitly spoke to any theory that denied mans sinful nature to be his primary problem and denies anyone ethnicity to be the primary way of identifying themselves

For 2 years people waited to hear what would be said concerning Resolution 9 with CRT/I

1300 people submitted resolutions about it

Between the presidential voting and this resolution- the messenger crowd was substantially more than usual

The overwhelming struggle was why so vague

Many felt that they were trying to play both sides with this

Some thought that instead of being singular in focus it spoke to all godless theories

James Merritt spoke for the resolutions committee and gave an impassioned word against adding the verbage of CRT/I pretty much denying the necessity of it

However their was a resolution made on the abolition of abortion from the floor.

There was a little debate about this but it to was passed with a slight amendment being made to it

A couple issue we do need to think about

Ed Litton- known as more progressive conservative

Which is telling of the convention when it was 48%- 52%

One viewed as ultraconservative and the other as a moderate

His role are president doesnt mean he gets to change anything but he does do a alot of talking to people, so his influence becomes a concern

Abundance of ethnic diversity language

Im not saying that a more diverse SBC isnt a good thing

But every time a committee presented anything, they must make mention of their diversity

Non-Anglo terminology all over the place

It seemed as if they had to make mention of it because society is making them care

Lots of allegations

Russell Moore leaked letters two weeks before the convention saying the EC didnt handle sexual abuse and racial issues appropriately and then left the SBC

He used some pretty harsh words to describe what he knew was going on but didnt say anything for 16 months

thats a problem in itself- if there is an issue between brothers- brothers talk and if necessary they bring 2-3 more and if necessary they tell the church

The more Benji and I have spoke, the EC may have been bullied around some.

The EC is the part of the SB’s that works the other 51 weeks out of the year

They work ad interim for the you and I

They have been selected by SBC and serve the SBC

But I didnt hear much of anything against the EC until R. Moore leaked his letters

Ronnie Floyd, the president of the EC, was asked if there were any unresolved sexual abuse cases and his answer was “No”

However one messenger- Grant Gaines- pushed and stated that the EC could earn back their trust by doing what he recommended and getting some outside the SBC to investigate the EC

I wasnt too fond of him

So why does this matter and how do we digest it all

I came back Sunday morning and spoke briefly to the SS classes to give some info because I knew many wouldnt be here tonight

However, I have been far more specific with details than tonight

I said Sunday and still believe, we can stay up confidently in the SBC for now

2 years ago was an alarm- and thankfully we heard it and it will be our own fault if we don’t pay attention

1. Be aware and be watchful

Gone are the days where we can believe “just trust me”

Its not wise in many fronts

I’m reminded of

Acts 17:10–12 ESV

The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.

As Paul taught in the synagogue, the faithful Jews listened intently but examined the Scriptures for themselves

They could have taken Paul at his word- Im not saying that would have been wrong but it woudlnt have been the wisest move

They went back and evaluated the bible themselves

Lord, willing you do the same with me

Some of the reason I give those notes sheets is that it allows you to write down all my references I use to backup the truth claims in our text

You can go back and look and evaluate yourself

Accountability is a good thing- Its good for you and me, if you study well to hold me accountable to Scripture

I would do the same for you and thats a good thing

We want to get the Scripture right

We also want to hold those in leadership to biblical standards

2. We are to bear, believe, hope and endure all things

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 ESV

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Lord Willing, the SBC is a group of churches who are filled with those who have been born again.

They are our brothers and sisters in Christ to whom we are to love

We most certainly do not want tot rejoice in wrongdoing but I hope would long for the truth

The SBC is not the church or a church- its just a group churches that work cooperatively together for the advancement of the Gospel

But while we work in midst of these days and ones ahead- until otherwise proven unbiblical or we are given sufficient reason to leave I think we must bear, believe, hope and endure all things amongst brothers

If for nothing else-

A. we have missionaries all over the world sent out by the IMB

-We can find another org that may be put together well but not like this one

B. The seminaries are the theological training ground for 1/3 of North America

-if we dont continue to push for strong conservative candidates- then the trustees will never be changed- these are the ones that assign the presidents of the seminaries

c. This church has given thousands upon thousands to the Cooperative Program over the years

-Are/have we reached the point to cut ties on that investment? I dont think so

3. At times we will need to speak up

Galatians 2:11–14 ESV

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Peter needed correcting- so Paul spoke to him

-we may not see all the stuff that is going on but there are others who are very much involved in these things

-We need to be doing some investigating and at times speak up

-in the SBC- that is done by voting

-If you dont like the direction it is going, vote someone else in next time

-I bet less than 25% of churches send messengers

-We can have 7- 2 years from now the SBC is in Charlotte

-it may be wise to have all 7 slots filled

4. The great thing about being Baptist is our autonomy

-no one dictates to the individual Baptist churches what they can and cannot do

-to be apart of the SBC you must meet certain criteria and affirm the BFM 2000 and if for some reason you deny this, your church could be called into review by the credential committee and investigated for removal

-But that doesnt remove our Baptist faith tradition- just our SBC involvement

-They work for us, not us for them

If we dont like what they are doing or we dont trust them at the moment- we can earmark money specifically for certain uses and send just the minimum into the Cooperative Program

-When the pocketbook is hit hard- people start thinking a little more clear

But even then, nothing the SBC does is binding on the local church- we enjoy local church autonomy

5. Pray more

I very rarely pray for the SBC leadership but I need to start making it a priority

Its the largest Baptist denomination, Largest protestant denomination in the world- second largest religious group behind RCC

I need to pray more for it

I say all that to say this- I still think in the SBC world there is something to fight for

May we be like the Bereans who checked the validity of Pauls teaching and evaluate what we see and hear