DownshoreDrift

Whatever Happened to the GCR? (And how we can still have one).

The Great Commission Resurgence. This was the rallying cry of the new SBC 2-3 years ago. Southern Baptists had a task force that met for a year and made recommendations to the convention that dealt with funding mechanisms, an emphasis on church planting, and a suggestion to get more money from state conventions to the International and North American Mission Boards. These are good suggestions, but they weren't exactly the things that would lead to a true, grassroots resurgence of the Great Commission on the front lines of Southern Baptist life - the local church. We've had some tinkering with our entities, some coalescing of power in the upper echelons of Baptist life, some more money flowing in particular directions - that's about it. I am not even saying that the changes approved 2 years ago are bad. Honestly, they might be fine suggestions for those entities. But, I can tell you that any movement toward a Great Commission "Resurgence" is not evident, nor do I see any real move toward it in the only place that matters - the local church.

The thing is, I am not hearing anything about the GCR. Not a thing. I haven't heard anything about it in over a year. No one is talking about it, nor are we talking about how local churches are going to lead the Convention. We just had a name change committee that met over the past year to give us a nickname - Great Commission Baptists, because they found out that it would be financially and legally irresponsible to actually change our name. So, we have a nickname now that is supposed to give us a better reputation. But, a self-appointed nickname does not make for a Great Commission Resurgence. It is almost as if we engaged in a lot of sound and fury to make some cosmetic changes and move some things around. But, cosmetics will not bring about revival or resurgence or a missional awakening or even greater personal devotion to Christ. Only faith and repentance will do that and the repentance we need is to turn from everything we have trusted in apart from Christ, including our size, wealth, influence, power, knowledge, strategic plans, and history. We need Jesus to stir our hearts.

But, by every possible metric, the decline continues.
Baptisms keep dropping.
Church attendance keeps dropping.
Giving keeps dropping.
People keep turning to idols in increasing numbers.

Maybe all of this is necessary. Perhaps it is all inevitable and maybe there is nothing that can be done - what is dying will die and that is all there is to it and there are cultural and social tsunamis happening that cannot be defended against. Maybe God is doing something different and the institutional church and the SBC is not meant to continue on as a strong convention of churches. Maybe a pruning is needed. Jesus Himself said he would cut off every branch that does not bear fruit (John 15). Maybe. Some might say that.

But, I still think that there is a call upon us to repent, return to the Lord as our only hope, and believe God to make all things new. I believe that God can do anything, even revive and awaken churches. I even think that God can cause churches to work together and support one another and be the hands and feet of Jesus in a community - together. So, because of this, I believe that there is hope for a real Great Commission Resurgence, one that happens in the hearts and hallways of every believer and church in the SBC and not just in the boardrooms of our agencies.

What if? What if, over the next 6 months to a year, all employees and executives of Baptist entities, state conventions, and local associations endeavored to meet with local pastors and church leaders in small groups in their communities for the purpose of finding ways that they could work together on the ground for the purpose of witnessing to Jesus where they are? What if, those same Baptist workers, also encouraged those local believers and leaders to talk about how they could work together globally? The IMB could then serve that movement. What if we tried to find ways that we could specifically demonstrate unity, sacrificial love, and support for other believers in our communities so that the world would know that Jesus is real? Then, we might take a step to fulfill both the Great Commandment AND the Great Commission.

What if the leadership of our seminaries, missions agencies, and other entities actually put real effort toward bringing us together relationally instead of just through the giving of money so that other people can do the work? What if stronger churches helped weaker churches with their mission instead of being content to receive their people because they offer better programs so they can grow their own churches at the expense of others? What if we all worked together to serve and love and preach and demonstrate the Gospel of Jesus to our communities?

I am sitting at the Alabama Baptist State Evangelism Conference and am listening to Frank Page speak about the state of evangelism in the SBC as I think about these things. He just said that personal evangelism is at an all-time low in Southern Baptist life at the highest levels - meaning the local church. He is saying that we now look at personal evangelism with aspersion. We think it is beneath us and that people are not interested in spiritual things. That is a heart issue. We are full of unbelief. Rearranging entity structures will not bring a resurgence and obviously, it has not. We need to actually meet with people, pray, listen, get involved with others, and speak the Word to one another to build our faith. But, we cannot do that when the main things that we want are power and more money. We cannot spread faith until we are willing to suffer alongside those who have lost it or have never had it in the first place.

We need to quit mobilizing, recruiting, and fundraising for our things and start healing, restoring, and journeying with one another, arm in arm. I truly believe that a real GCR, or the beginnings of it, could be just 6 to 12 months away if we would do the work of the ministry instead of just talking about it and expecting others to do it. If only 20% of SBC churches and pastors, participated and worked together, that would be over 8,000 churches working together in new and fresh ways. Something would happen in our communities. From that base, those churches could draw in others and plant new churches in areas of need. SBC entities need to stop dictating and directing the work and asking to be given more and more money and begin facilitating and serving the work that could only truly happen in the local church in unnamed and out of the way places. In an age of technological innovation that is making grassroots social entrepreneurship possible, the very best tool we have for reaching the world for Christ happens to be the very one that Jesus instituted - Hia church. What if we really believed that?

Then, we would not need to give ourselves a nickname. We would be known simply as those who follow Jesus and we might find a resurgence of many things that are needed.

The Deadly Danger of Being Hard to Impress

We live in a world that gets bored easily. We keep looking for the next big thing - for something spectacular. At any moment with a click, we can watch the greatest singers and athletes in the world. We can see every beautiful spot on the planet. We can hear the best music, read the best books, watch the best movies, and be visually, emotionally, and intellectually amazed constantly.

And, the result is that we are perpetually bored. We can't wait for the new iPhone or iPad to come out and a few months later when we hear about the next one, we are like little kids who forget the old toy at the introduction of a new one. We are disappointed with what we have because someone else has something newer. Nothing lasts and this approach isn't working. Even our ventures into nostalgia are usually just phases that we go through until we get tired of it. The pop superstar or star athlete of today is quickly forgotten when the next big sensation comes along as it is almost required that we move on in our affections. We can travel with ease and if we spend more than a month without taking a little trip somewhere, we begin to get despondent. What is happening to us? Our constant desire for entertainment has left us without the ability to think, process, relate to others, or produce much of lasting consequence. We are people craving the spectacular while continually being unimpressed with all that we see. In our constant boredom and rush for the "new thing," we are proving that, down deep, we know that there is more to life than what we can see, taste, or touch. Our simultaneous boredom and capacity to constantly grasp for something new tells us something, if we will listen. We have a deep desire to be ultimately satisfied and we continually confess that we cannot find it because we keep moving from one thing to another. Yet, we tend to believe that the next thing that comes our way will actually satisfy. When will we learn? 

CS Lewis said, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

So, this boredom and lack of satisfaction with things actually tells us that we are made for another world. The boredom speaks to the idea that satisfaction does await us somewhere - but we cannot grasp it here. The problem comes in when Christians experience the same boredom. When Christians are not excited about what God is doing in the world, when we think we've seen it all before, when we become so sophisticated that we cannot rejoice in God's work in another person or be surprised by daily miracles, then we are experiencing a soul sickness that can be devastating. We might just be spiritually asleep, having been lulled to sleep by the siren song of the world that promises much but delivers little. 

Little kids are always excited. They dance around, play, laugh, and have big eyes and wide open mouths at almost everything. They believe things. We do not see their movement to dourness and cynicism as a sign of maturity. Instead, we see the loss of innocence and excitement as a tragedy, not as a coming of age. We need to be like little kids - dancing, playing, laughing with eyes and mouths wide open. We need to be people who are easily impressed, who can grasp and be amazed at what God has done in Christ, and who have hearts open with joy to the work of God! If we lose our sense of wonder, excitement, and praise to God for what He has done and promises to do, then what do we have left?  We are only left with our fears, failures, and our own strength, which is not much. But, if we truly look to the Lord and are willing to see God's work in the life of others, if we have eyes to see what God is doing, if we can actually accept that God is breaking in and doing a new thing everyday, then we will begin to be restored to a sense of wonder, joy, and excitement in life as we live it with God. We will see with eyes of faith!

Cynicism is a deadly solvent that can tear our lives apart. We need joy. Let us go back to the Source of life and joy, namely Jesus, and ask Him to break the hard crust of cynicism and allow us to see the wonder of His Creation and the beauty of His work in our lives. Let us see Him!

The End of the Christian Right in American Politics?

This election cycle is something of a disaster for what remains of the Christian Right in American politics. On the one one hand, you have Mitt Romney, a Mormon, running against Newt Gingrich, a thrice married, newly converted Catholic with a history of ethics violations including leaving 2 sick wives for mistresses. Rick Santorum is also a Catholic who has strong conservative moral credentials, but he cannot get any traction. Ron Paul, a Baptist, is a libertarian and he also cannot get any traction among Conservative Christians. He was booed in South Carolina for trying to apply the Golden Rule to international relations.

There are no Ronald Reagans, George W. Bush's, or even Mike Huckabee's out there. So, where does what is left of the Christian Right go this November in the presidential election?  If history is any guide, whoever is running against President Obama will be re-baptized as a legitimate conservative with bona fide religious right credentials and be voted for en masse. But, what has happened to the movement overall?

The New Republic has an article out by Michael Kazin that says that the Christian Right is dying and is no longer influential in American politics. He says, "In fact, the Christian Right is a fading force in American life, one which has little chance of achieving its cherished goals." A counterpoint to this is found in the Salon.com article by Peter Montgomery where he says that the Christian Right is alive and powerful. So, which is it? Is the Christian Right still a political force to be reckoned with, or is it a shell of its former self?

Pesonally, as a Baptist pastor in the Deep South, I think that there is no doubt that the "movement" as we once knew it is in steep decline. The energy of the 80's and 90's culminating in the election of George W. Bush and the Republican Senate and House in 2000 has given way to a great deal of apathy and resignation regarding the idea that taking over the political process is not the best way to "restore" America or even make much of a difference. The drum-beat towards America embracing a more liberal present and future continues on, almost unchecked. Sure, a law is passed here and there in a state legislature or in Congress, but overall, things are continuing to unravel for the Christian Conservative, at least according to the standards put forth by the Christian Right.

I remember when I was younger and The Christian Coalition led by Pat Robertson or the Moral Majority led by Jerry Falwell or Focus on the Family led by James Dobson would issue statements on the next big fight over abortion or gay rights or a supreme court justice nomination.  People would talk, letters would be written, preachers would preach, and rallies would occur. No more. Those days are gone. No longer do we believe that winning a battle over a piece of legislation is going to make a major difference.

There are still millions of Christian Conservatives out there. But, by and large, I think that they are disillusioned. While they still have enormous potential political power, they have lost their political will, by and large. I think that most Christians have realized that winning elections does not equal winning the hearts and minds of people, and that is where the battle must be fought and won.

I see a return to grass-roots activism and a more holistic witness among Christians. I think that we have finally realized that we cannot take America back for God, whatever that means. I am seeing a return to an embrace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as our only hope and a greater desire to live out the implications of our faith in real and tangible ways. Personally, I think that Christians should be involved in politics just like we should be involved in every arena, since we should all play a role in how we govern ourselves. But, I think that our future engagement is going to look much different than it did in the past.

No, the Christian Right is not dead in America. But, may be less Republican and less "Right" and perhaps it is more prophetic in that it is not as beholden to any political party or ideological perspective. Perhaps we are better off if we lose our power here on earth so that we can exert influence derived from God's Kingdom instead of man's. Maybe if we are not tied to one party, we can critique and offer alternatives rooted in the Way of Jesus to BOTH parties.

Maybe we can be more prophetic than political, and in that, point to Christ as our only hope and the Savior of the world.

Difficult People Are In Your Life for a Reason

I am becoming more and more convinced that the trials and struggles that we face in life, including the hurts and wounds and the people that we find hard to love, are all there for a reason. Perhaps the situations that we try to avoid are exactly what we need to grow up in Christ? Maybe, just maybe, the people we are trying to get away from or we don't want relationships with, are people that God brings into our life to teach us patience, long suffering, what it means to forgive, and how we are to love unconditionally. 1 John 3 & 4 tells us that if we love God, then we will and we should love people as well. But, we often don't. Perhaps we are pleasant enough with others, but we often just try to avoid people who are different from us or who do not affirm us or who are difficult. But, what if those people - the people who frustrate you and who you don't understand are in your life to serve as an object upon which the life of God can pour out of you? What if they are there so that you can exercise patience and compassion? So that you can fight for their hearts? So you can forgive? So you can demonstrate Jesus? What if we've had it all wrong regarding relationships and "safe" people? What if the goal is not escape but it is engagement? Perhaps our sin is not what is most true about us, but we are all made in the Image of God and there is something worth blessing and recovering in each of us and it only happens when we bump up against one another and love sacrificially. That is how Jesus is with us. Why aren't we that way with others? If we applied this view to our marriages, our churches, and our relationships and communities, maybe we would stop running away and start settling down with people for the long haul.