An Open Letter to GCR Task Force Members #sbc2009

Disclaimer: I do not pretend that members of the GCR Task Force are reading my blog, but if I were able to sit down with them and mention a few things to them as they get started this year, the following comments are where I would start. Add to it in the comment section if you desire.

Dear GCR Task Force Members,

I praise God for an amazing week at the SBC Annual Meeting. So much of what was talked about, preached, and ultimately affirmed were things that have been on my heart for several years now. The SBC seems to be heading in a positive direction in the sense that we are beginning to realize the struggles that we are facing. That is a big step. I am praying for you as you begin this very important task and you should know that there are many people who have been talking and praying about these issues for some time now.  In reflecting on the events of the past week and thinking about the year ahead and the future of the SBC, I wanted to offer a few thoughts for you to consider:

1. I would humbly suggest that your focus be Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.  We need a compelling vision to rally behind and around. Jesus, the Man, the Message, and Mission is the only one that we ultimately care about and the only vision that will move us forward. We will not rally around saving SBC institutions and entities. We will no longer rally around the Cooperative Program for the sake of the Cooperative Program. We will not fight to save our state conventions, associations, seminaries, or missions agencies. We won't be motivated to save dying churches just because of a building and a history. We won't even be motivated to rise up to give money to send missionaries to the field if we feel that those missionaries are representing a bureaucracy that is out of touch with the local church and is top heavy with inefficiency and overhead. No, the only thing that will arouse this generation and cause us to work together is the very One that thrills our souls: Jesus Christ and His Gospel.  Focus on building and sustaining a gospel movement that involves and celebrates the participation of all of us and we will be excited about that and join together. The organization should exist to facilitate the movement, not the other way around. People are pretty sensitive to this type of thing and will bail if you don't keep the main thing the main thing.
2. Listen to diverse voices within the SBC.  This is not meant as a criticism because I don't think that it was intentional, but it is hard not to notice that the task force is not very diverse ethnically, geographically, or gender-wise. Only two ethnic minorities are represented from what I can tell(Johnny Hunt and Simon Tsoi) and only one lady is on the team. It has already been pointed out by others that only one team member is from outside of the Southeast. Most team members are either from megachurches or denominational entities. I know that you are shooting for some generational diversity, but it seems that your group could become pretty insular and could prepare us for the Convention that we already are in the present instead of prepare us for the future in a rapdidly changing world. Where are African American leaders like Fred Luter?  Where are small church representatives like Les Puryear? People from different ethnicities and parts of the country provide a different perspective that could be helpful, especially when we are trying to break free from our regional heritage.  If these people are not going to be on the task force, I would recommend that you sit down with them and hear their heart and find creative ways to give them a voice in the process. Todd Littleton has some great thoughts along these lines. 
3. Denominational Restructuring:   Article IX seems to have captured the attention of the Executive Committee, the State Convention leadership, and those involved with SBC entities. Be bold in this, but not self-serving. Start with the local church and really take a look at what will assist the local church in carrying out its mission. We say that the SBC exists to serve the local church, but it often seems like it is the other way around. There are many ideas that have been tossed around on the blogs about this since 2005.  The greatest need, in my opinion, in the SBC structure, whether we are talking about the local association, the state conventions, or national entities, is for real partnership, fellowship, and networking to occur amongst local churches to carry out the mission. What kind of theological education could be provided by networked local churches as the seminaries assist? What kind of global mission work could be done by networks of local churches with assistance from the IMB? Is there a real need for local churches, local associations, and state conventions to all be doing the same thing, just on different scales? What if state conventions really facilitated working partnerships with pioneer areas out West by helping connect local churches with church planters and emerging ministries in places like San Francisco?  There are many good ideas that are in place and have already been adopted, but they are underutilized or poorly applied. If we turned the convention structure upside down and allowed it to be led by the grassroots initiators while the organization served the movement, how much more could happen?  David Phillips has some interesting thoughts in this regard.
4. Love God, Love People:  While the Great Commission is important, it is hollow without a commitment to the Great Commandment that leads us to sacrificially love God and one another. This was talked about repeatedly at the Annual Meeting and there was a consistent call for repentance in this area. Keep focusing on this. If our hearts are not revived toward Christ and if we do not learn to truly love one another, despite some of our differences, then very little lasting fruit will be produced. You will face a lot of challenges over the next year. You will be opposed and attacked. People will fight tooth and nail to protect their turf and their levels of influence. But, calling for us to love God and to love one another with our whole lives, treating people with respect and dignity, and encouraging us build one another up will be things that bring us together and keep us focused on the mission that God has for us.  If we run over people to accomplish the "mission" then we have already lost the mission. The end does not justify the means in God's Kingdom. God is the end and the means. Please keep that in mind as you deal with those who oppose you. At the same time, I will pray that you have the courage and wisdom to confront those who have been acting as roadblocks to real Gospel advance in the SBC, whoever they might be.

I praise God for you and the work that you are about to engage in. These are just suggestions and are offered humbly, recognizing that I am just a local church pastor and observer of what is happening. The SBC is very diverse and our challenges are great. We face an uncertain future. But, God is working and His ways are higher than our ways. He has wisdom for us both individually and collectively.  He is working around the world and, because He loves us, He invites us to join Him. But, He doesn't need us. We need Him.

I am praying for you.

Grace and Peace,

Alan Cross

Comments

[Debbie Kaufman]

Amen.

[CaryGrant]

Thanks so much for the great posts you have made all throughout #sbc2009, I have thoroughly enjoyed, and you are going in my Google Reader!

[Morgan Owen]

You can definitely add me to the list of the unimpressed. Balance does not reflect the makeup of this task force.

As a middle aged Southern Baptist conservative (who still considers himself a young leader who has been leftout), I find myself very dissatisfied with the lack of diversity on this panel. Here are my issues:

*If you highlight the states on a map of those represented, the first thing I see is what about a representation from the Northwest, Midwest and Northeast (and even some of the other southern states)
And what's up with having 5 reps from Florida??? Most have 1-3. I don't get it?

*17 males and 1 female---not a balance in my book. If we really wanted to get something done, there should have been more women involved. VBS...dare I say more.

*17 White people and 1 non-white person---We as southern baptists get so close to breaking the White mold. Not placing an African American was a horrible move.

*16 Over 40 years old and 2 Under 40 years old (from the pictures I've seen on the web, this is a pretty close guess)---So much for reaching out to the younger leadership of the SBC.

*15 career ministers and 2 laypeople---Are there no laypeople spiritual enough the evaluate the SBC effectiveness in evangelism?

*Pastors 8 Administrative 8 Laypeople 2---OK. A bit of balance. However, why do Akin and Mohler get to be the only Seminary reps? What about the other presidents? What about missions professors from the seminaries
Directors of missions are a good touch. I have great respect for these individuals who have a better idea on what's going on in the churches across the SBC.

All in all, I expected so much more from Johnny Hunt. I have heard great things about his ministry and influence on younger pastors. I was excited when he was
elected last year. But these appointments leave a bad taste in the mouth of this Southern Baptist.

[Alan Cross]

Morgan,

The lack of ethnic, gender, geographic, and vocational diversity in the appointments to the GCR Task force is a serious issue. The SBC is far more diverse than what is represented here (or it should be) and I think that this could end up being a problem.

I hope that the framers of the GCR understand that they have put all of their chips on the table and if they do not deliver something of substance that will address real issues in a significant way, there will not be other chances. I hope that something real happens here, but, the make-up of the team is not a good first step.

Still, I hope for the best. We'll see.

[tom kotouc]

Your emphasis one Jesus and loving God and people sounds like Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger's "Simple Church." Right on.

[John Alexander]

Big time thanks for blogging the Convention. Your site helped me follow events while I attended the IT Roadmap in Atlanta. (Yeah, computer guys get called to the pastorate occasionally.)

[Bob Cleveland]

One of the things I learned in business was that if you wanted a task force or a committee to be successful, you needed folks who like the deal, those who didn't, and those who were clueless on it. Otherwise all a committee or task force did was to decided how to do what you'd already decided they should. And that's sure not what the GCRD Task Force needs to do. They need to see if anything needs to be done, and what it needs to be done for.

I am skeptical.