DownshoreDrift

Bonhoeffer on the Kingdom of God and Self

Doing research tonight and I was reading about the German Confessing Church during the Nazi regime of the 1930's and 40's. Of course, I ran across Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Christian, Pastor, and philosopher who opposed the Nazi regime on the basis of Christian fidelity. Here are some quotes that challenged me deeply:

 “Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end all his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes. There is his commission, his work. 'The kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared' (Luther).” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community

“The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children."

“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.”

“Will not the very moment of great disillusionment with my brother or sister be incomparably wholesome for me becuase it so thoroughly teaches me that both of us can never live by our own words and deeds, but only by that one Word and deed that really binds us together, the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ? The bright day of Christian community dawns wherever the early morning mists of dreamy visions are lifting”

“Just as Christians should not be constantly feeling the pulse of their spiritual life, so too the Christian community has not been given to us by God for us to be continually taking its temperature. The more thankfully we daily receive what is given to us, the more assuredly and consistently will community increase and grow from day to day as God pleases” ― Life Together and Prayerbook of the Bible

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” "Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest, and sacrificial.” ― Life Together

“But discipleship never consists in this or that specific action: it is always a decision, either for or against Jesus Christ...Christ speaks to us exactly as he spoke to them. It was not as though they first recognized him as the Christ and then received his command. They believed his word and command and recognized him as the Christ--in that order.” ― The Cost of Discipleship

“If any man would come after me, let him deny himself." The disciple must say to himself the same words Peter said of Christ when he denied him: "I know not this man." Self-denial is never just a series of isolated acts of mortification or asceticism. It is not suicide, for there is an element of self-will even in that. To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us. Once more, all that self denial can say is: "He leads the way, keep close to him.” ― The Cost of Discipleship

“No sacrifice which a lover would make for his beloved is too great for us to make for our enemy.” ― The Cost of Discipleship

“The Christian must treat his enemy as a brother, and requite his hostility with love. His behavior must be determined not by the way others treat him, but by the treatment he himself receives from Jesus; it has only one source, and that is the will of Jesus.” ― The Cost of Discipleship

“Bless them that persecute you.' If our enemy cannot put up with us any longer and takes to cursing us, our immediate reaction must be to lift up our hands and bless him. Our enemies are the blessed of the Lord. Their curse can do us no harm. May their poverty be enriched with all the riches of God, with the blessing of Him whom they seek to oppose in vain. We are ready to endure their curses so long as they redound to their blessing.” ― The Cost of Discipleship

“The community of the saints is not an "ideal" community consisting of perfect and sinless men and women, where there is no need of further repentance. No, it is a community which proves that it is worthy of the gospel of forgiveness by constantly and sincerely proclaiming God's forgiveness...Sanctification means driving out the world from the Church as well as separating the Church from the world. But the purpose of such discipline is not to establish a community of the perfect, but a community consisting of men who really live under the forgiving mercy of God.” ― The Cost of Discipleship

“Luther had said that grace alone can save; his followers took up his doctrine and repeated it word for word. But they left out its invariable corollary, the obligation to discipleship...The justification of the sinner in the world degenerated into the justification of sin and the world. Costly grace was turned into cheap grace without discipleship.” ― The Cost of Discipleship

“To deal with the word of Jesus otherwise than by doing it is to give him the lie. It is to deny the Sermon on the Mount and to say No to his word...That is why as soon as the hurricane begins we lose the word, and find that we have never really believed it. The word we had was not Christ's, but a word we had wrested from him and made our own by reflecting on it instead of doing it.” ― The Cost of Discipleship

All quotes can be found here: http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/29333.Dietrich_Bonhoeffer

Why Dave Miller Won 2nd VP of the SBC

Last week, I was asked by Iowa pastor and editor of SBCVoices.com, Dave Miller, to give his nomination speech for 2nd VP of the SBC in New Orleans. It was an honor to do so. Dave was not supposed to win. He threw his hat in the ring on Friday evening, June 15, with the convention starting just a few days later. Also running for the position was Eric Hankins, pastor of First Baptist Church, Oxford, MS and author of the infamous Traditionalist statement on Baptist soteriology.  The convention was in Louisiana, the home state of Eric's father, David Hankins, the executive director of Louisiana Baptists. We were effectively playing on Eric's home turf, and home states and origin mean a lot in Baptist politics.  I called a friend of mine on Friday to ask him what he thought about Dave running for 2nd VP and me giving the speech. This guy knows his stuff when it comes to Baptist life. He said that he thought Dave would get beat badly. I tended to agree because everyone knows a blogger/pastor from Iowa can't win an SBC office, but I liked the insurmountable odds and more than that, I liked Dave. I was hoping for 15-20% of the vote, honestly. Nothing against Dave, but I thought I knew enough about Baptist politics to know that you don't beat an establishment candidate at the last minute on his home turf. You just don't.

Well, Dave won. He had 40% of the vote on the first ballot leading to a runoff because Brad Atkins, pastor and president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, also entered the race on Saturday. In the first ballot Dave got 40%, Eric Hankins got 35%, and Brad Atkins got 25%.  After I gave my speech, I left the Convention Hall and went and did some other things. I did not expect Dave to win, so when I heard about how he was leading in the first ballot and it was headed to a runoff. I was surprised, but still did not give it a lot of thought. I went to get some coffee with a few guys across the street and got a text message telling me that they were voting again for the final election. So, I ran back over to the hall to cast my ballot for Dave. Later, I heard that Dave won with 60% of the vote to Eric Hankins 40%. I was surprised.

Since then, I have had a few conversations with people who were speculating as to what the election meant. Was it a repudiation of Hankin's Traditionalist statement on Baptist Soteriology? Did the Calvinists rise up and elect Dave? Was it a triumph for social media in the SBC? Was it because Dave was from outside of the South?  Maybe it was some of that, but I doubt that 75% of the messengers know what is happening on Baptist blogs and with theological statements that people are signing. A lot do, but probably most do not.

Here is what I think happened:

1. Baptists love missions - Dave is the son of missionary and pastor parents.

2. We want to diversify - Dave pastors in Iowa. We know we need to expand leadership outside the South.

3. Dave's church led Iowa in CP and Lottie Moon giving - that resonates.

4. Baptists love the idea of unity - Dave is a unifier and that was clearly stated.  Even though, as Jerry Rankin said on his blog, realized unity is often just an illusion in the SBC. We tend to attack and divide from one another. But, I think that deep down, Baptists WANT to be unified with other Baptists. Dave's election was an appeal to the better angels of our nature. If we aren't there yet, we want to be.

5. We want to cooperate in missions - Dave calls for that.  We want this for the same reasons that we see in #4, even if we do not always do it.

6. [EDIT] - Blogs/Twitter - While not the reason that Miller won, social media did stir up support and get the word out to a percentage of messengers who would not have known Dave or knew what he stood for. It was not a majority, but enough knew Dave from his role in Baptist Blogs to give him some identity. Plus, there was a big "get out the vote" campaign for Dave on Twitter that did not hurt.

I do not think that Dave's election was a repudiation of Hankins or the Traditionalist document or an affirmation of Calvinism or anything like that. I am not in favor of the Traditionalist document nor am I a Calvinist, but I don't think that those issues really came into play because I just don't think that most of the messengers keep up with all of that as much as we here in blogland would like to think they do.  I think that they saw a guy from Iowa who was doing a good job of calling us to work together who had a heart for Christ and for missions. I think that Dave is who Baptists want to become and who we hope to see more of in non-Southern states.

Dave talks about a new Baptist majority. I think that we might just see one and I think that it might look a lot like Dave Miller - regular guys who are working hard for the Kingdom in out of the way places with a focus on Christ, a love for the lost, and a desire to work together.  I am not trying to pump up Dave here - I am talking about us, what we want and who we hope to be. I think that the election of Fred Luter goes along the same lines. Rev. Luter is imminently qualified, but I think that we are also saying that it is time to stop being a white denomination and truly be multiracial. We believe that Rev. Luter is the person to help us do that.

In a year when we voted to allow for an alternative name to help us in ministry outside the South (Great Commission Baptists), we elected our first African American president, we voted to pass a resolution on unity in the gospel according to the BF&M, and we elected a 2nd VP from a small church in Iowa, I think that the message is clear: Baptists want to unify around Christ and His gospel, we want to be diverse both ethnically and geographically, we want to cooperate in missions to the ends of the earth, and we want to stop arguing about small things.  Those are pretty strong statements and I think that Dave Miller's election was part of it. I hope we live up to them.

Implications of ObamaCare Ruling

As you have no doubt heard, the Supreme Court in a landmark 5-4 ruling declared that the individual mandate in ObamaCare was in fact constitutional - not under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution (the ability of Congress to regulate commerce (buying and selling) in the United States, but under the power of Congress to tax.  Effectively, ObamaCare is now considered a tax, and on that basis, it is Constitutional.

Except, the Obama Administration argued all along through the whole debate - endlessly and with precision - that it was not a tax.  It was NOT A TAX. Those arguing against ObamaCare could not do so on the basis that it was tax, because the proponents said that it wasn't. Those arguing against it said it was and on that basis, do we really want to raise taxes in America by TRILLIONS of dollars over the next decade? Do we wannt to penalize Americans who do not want to buy health insurance with a fine (i.e., TAX)? We ARE effectively forcing Americans to buy something by threatening to tax them if they do not. Land of the free?

George Stephanopolous interviewed President Obama Sept. 20, 2009 and argued with him about whether or not this is a tax. Obama flatly rejected the notion:

STEPHANOPOULOS:  But you reject that it’s a tax increase?

OBAMA:  I absolutely reject that notion.

Obama maintained that it was not a tax. But, it is found constitutional as a tax. I guess that Nacy Pelosi was right - we have to pass the law to know what's in it. Apparently, even Obama and the proponents of the law didn't even know what it was - they had no idea that it was actually a tax. The Supreme Court had to tell them it was. If you don't know what you are voting on and you argue for it/against it on completely separate grounds, how can the Supreme Court then step in and say, "Well, what you really meant was . . . ?"  We won't even talk about the bribes to states so their Senators would pass it as NOT A TAX.

This whole argument is illogical.  When I was a kid growing up, Louisiana had really strange drinking/alcohol laws. The law was that a place could sell alcohol to anyone over 18, but you had to be 21 to buy it. It was a conflicting law that created a loophole in favor of the drinking establishment and put the burden on the 18-21 year olds for breaking the law. ObamaCare has the same feel.  They can't make you buy it, but if you don't they can tax you. If you don't pay your tax, they can take all you have and ultimately imprision you.  It is twisted logic. 

Even worse than ObamaCare, what will happen next now that the Supreme Court has invented this new way of controlling the American people?  What else can Congress tax us on (with the threat of heavy fines and/or imprisonment if we don't pay those taxes)?  With as much corporate money as we have flowing through our government, what other products are we going to be forced to buy in the future under the threat of taxation if we don't?Can Congress decide that every vehicle must get 35 miles to the gallon and if you buy one that gets 30 miles per gallon they can tax you? Can they do this to our food purchases?  The neighborhoods we live in?  Do we now think that lawmakers can decide for us what to do and buy? The implications are mindboggling. I really am not trying to be alarmist, but when the Supreme Court finds a new power for the government in the Constition, the people never end up with more freedom - but always with less.

Chief Justice John Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court in the decision on McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) said,

"The power to tax involves the power to destroy."

This Supreme Court just gave the Federal Government the power to tax if we do not buy the product that they had decided we should buy. If you don't pay that tax, you will be fined and/or imprisoned - because that is what happens to people who do not pay their taxes. 

Liberty died a little today, helped along by the results of greed and sloth as one group tries to make as much profit as they can and another group wants the government to pay for everything. Because healthcare prices are out of control (greed) and because there are many people who don't take care of themselves (sloth) and are not able to provide for themselves for other reasons (systemic injustice), we need Big Government come in and provide for us.  We will be provided for, like all children are, but we lost our freedom in taking the provision.

The power to tax involves the power to destroy.  Think about it.  

 

This Life Is Not All There Is: Thoughts From a Cemetery in New Orleans

We stayed in New Orleans for a couple of extra days and on Thursday, Erika said that she wanted to visit one of the cemeteries in New Orleans that had the above ground tombs and mausoleums. We ended up in the Garden District and stumbled upon Lafayette Cemetery, No. 1.  While walking through, we found a tomb that stopped us cold.

This was the Ferguson family. Sercy, 1 day old, Mary Love, almost 2, and Edwin Given, not yet 5, died within a day of each other from the Yellow Fever outbreak of 1878.  Tragic and sobering. Could you imagine a plague hitting your town and taking 3 of your small children in one day?  I have heard people say that they wish they could go back to a simpler time, like back in the "Little House on the Prairie" days when everyone knew one another and life made sense. No they don't. They have no idea what they are talking about. Walk through an old cemetery and see how many graves have little children in them. It was a common thing for small pox or yellow fever or some other disease to just wipe out families. We are so blessed today.

Here is a bit of history on this particular Yellow Fever outbreak in 1878:

There were comparatively few cases of yellow fever during the Civil War. Peacetime brought a boom of trade as improved rail service and shipping allowed people and goods -- as well as disease -- to travel easily in the united nation. By 1878, conditions were ripe for a powerful epidemic of yellow fever in the Mississippi Valley.

Seeds of an Epidemic
The beginning of the year presaged trouble. In the spring, yellow fever cases were high in the Caribbean, in particular in Cuba. There, thousands of refugees fled the island after the end of a war of independence from Spain. Many came to New Orleans. On April 26, President Rutherford B. Hayes signed the Quarantine Act of 1878 into law, giving the Marine Hospital Service responsibility to stop disease from coming ashore via sailors from ships.

The Beginning
In an attempt to stop the disease from entering New Orleans, a quarantine station on the Mississippi River south of the city inspected incoming ships. The Emily B. Souder arrived there in late May. One ill sailor, diagnosed with malaria, was removed from the ship. The ship was fumigated and cleared to dock in New Orleans. The night the ship docked, a crew member fell sick and died; another died four days later. When the Souder left to return to Havana, another ship, the Charles B. Woods arrived. Within six weeks every member of the families of the Woods' captain and engineer had contracted fever. They recovered, but a 4-year-old girl living in the same neighborhood died in July -- the first official fatality from yellow fever recorded that year in New Orleans.

Spread of the Disease
The news that yellow fever had again hit New Orleans drove one-fifth of the city's population to leave, leaving streets and businesses barren. "Only our mosquitoes keep up the hum of industry," reported the New Orleans Picayune. Physicians who cared for victims watched helplessly as their patients died; attempted treatments with bloodlettings, carbolic acid, and doses of quinine proved useless. The state board of health declared an epidemic on August 10, after 431 reported cases and 118 deaths. But the epidemic was not contained to New Orleans. On July 27, a towboat dropped two crew members with yellow fever in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Another infected crew member died on the boat that night. In August, 100 cases of yellow fever were reported in Grenada, Mississippi, about 100 miles south of Memphis.

Trauma in Memphis
In response to the spreading epidemic, the mayor of Memphis on July 28 imposed a quarantine, which blocked railroad lines. Local businessmen threatened a lawsuit unless the city released a train of goods from New Orleans. City leaders allowed the shipments to enter. In early August, a steamboat crew member who had avoided the quarantine died in a Memphis hospital. On August 13, a local resident who operated a food stand near the riverfront died from yellow fever. As in New Orleans, Memphis residents fled when they heard the news, an estimated 25,000 to 27,000 out of 47,000, traveling to rural areas or north and east away from the river. While some places accommodated them, others established "shotgun barricades," with armed men insuring that no one would enter their towns. The disease would travel with fleeing refugees as far away as Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio.

The Toll
Those who remained in Memphis relied on volunteers from religious organizations to tend to the sick. The madam of a local brothel, Annie Cook, helped out by converting her place of business to a hospital, where she nursed the stricken. She died from the disease in September. By the end of the year, more than 5,000 were confirmed dead in Memphis. The New Orleans health board listed "not less than 4,600" dead. The Mississippi Valley experienced 120,000 cases of yellow fever, with 20,000 deaths.

The Aftermath
 In New Orleans, the city's Medical and Surgical Association argued for improved drainage and sanitary measures to quell future yellow fever outbreaks. Such efforts, though they were undertaken to eliminate germs, helped to remove the breeding grounds for mosquitoes, and New Orleans never again experienced the scope of the 1878 epidemic. The $15 million in losses caused by the epidemic bankrupted the city of Memphis. The federal government convened a commission to investigate the outbreak and established the National Board of Health in 1879. In a report to Congress shortly before the national agency was created, John Woodworth, the Marine Hospital Service surgeon general, emphasized the gravity of the situation: "Yellow fever should be dealt with as an enemy which imperils life and cripples commerce and industry. To no other great nation of the earth is yellow fever so calamitous as to the United States of America."

How would you respond to an event like this?  Is your faith in God strong enough? Perhaps not, but do you believe that God is strong enough to carry you even when you cannot stand? Would you continue to look to Him even if you lost 3 of your children in 2 days? Many of the people who went through this plague were Christians. In many cases, it was Christians who tended to the sick and dying. This event, not too long ago, reminds me that this life is not all there is, that tragedy can strike at a moment's notice, and that we cannot put our faith in the things of this world. We can only entrust ourself to God who raises the dead.

I love studying history. It really gives perspective to the silly complaints and controversies that we often find ourselves engaged in.  May we have an eternal view on things and look to God who holds all things in His hand.

SBC 2012: The Great, the Bad, and the Sad

SBC 2012 in New Orleans was a good gathering for a denomination that is known for its ugly fights and petty disagreements. It is easy to dismiss the SBC (and other denominations) as simply an unnecessary organization that has little to do with true Christianity. But, I would disagree. While I don't place my faith in the SBC, it is a group of Christians that are commanded to walk together in unity (as are all Christians). When that happens, it is a good thing. Overall, there was a sense that most desire unity and a focus on Christ and our mission to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. The talk in the convention halls (at least in the conversations that I engaged in) almost exclusively involved mission, unity, and moving forward. Of course, there was talk about controversy and division, but it was primarily couched in the perspective that we hope we can move past this and just get along instead of hoping one side or another "wins."  Maybe the "winner-take-all" language is beginning to wear on Baptists for the time being.  I am hopeful.

A few observations about what I found Great, Bad, and Sad. Each of these points could turn into future blog posts, if I am so inclined. Some of these things are particularly related to my own experience at the Convention and would not necessarily be shared by all. There is certainly a lot to reflect on:

The Great

•  The unanimous election of Fred Luter as SBC president is the highlight, for sure. It was a holy moment as 170 years of Baptist history as well as the founding of the SBC was practically repudiated by our call for an African-American to lead us. As Russell Moore said, "Jim Crow is dead, Jesus Christ is alive." Death has been swallowed up in victory and we experienced a bit of that as we see once again that God is reconciling all things to Himself in Christ. This election demonstrated once again that racism as an ideology will be forced to bow before the Cross of Christ. If you understand our history at all, you will know how amazing this is.
• Overall sense of unity.  A resolution on unity around the understanding of the Gospel as presented in the Baptist Faith & Message passed almost unanimously. That is a good thing. Even though we have Calvinists and Non-Calvinists in the SBC, we do not wish to divide over soteriology or present one side over another. The SBC has spoken. The tent is large enough for both views and we will not tolerate one view trying to assert itself over another. Can we move on, now?
• Election of Dave Miller for 2nd VP.  This one is a bit personal, as I was asked by Dave to give his nomination speech. Dave winning this thing was not supposed to happen. He is a pastor/blogger from Iowa on the same ballot as a strong Traditionalist leader from Mississippi in the home state of his father, the Executive Director of Lousiana who announced weeks ago. Dave's announcement was Friday night on this blog (and, of course, SBCVoices). It was inconceivable that Dave would win, but I don't think we know what that word means. Dave got 60% of the vote.   I think that Dave is a good candidate who desires to see Baptists work together. He has strong opinions and I hope that he continues to share them as editor at SBCVoices.com. We need leaders who will speak out for the things that Dave believes in, not be quiet now that they are in leadership. I am glad to see a candidate like Dave and I was happy to be a part of electing him to help us work TOGETHER.
• Passing of Resolution 8 on the Gospel and Human Needs Ministry.  I wrote this resolution to affirm and encourage all Baptists to see the meeting of human needs through acts of kindness, service, and love as implications of the Gospel. In Christ, false dividing walls come down and we are called to love others sacrificially. The Scripture clearly shows that demonstration of good deeds is to accompany proclamation of the Good News. Many Baptists do this, but I am hoping that this resolution will push forward the idea that this is what we are all supposed to be doing in our life and ministry all the time. Again, more blogging will come on this later.
• LOTS of younger people at the SBC this year. More than I have ever seen, and that can only be a good thing. It seems that we might be turning a corner in this area and repositioning for the future. Also, there was more ethnic diversity than I have ever seen. With the news that over 20% of SBC churches are now majority-minority/ethnic churches, it is good to see minority leadership emerging. The presence of young people and minorities in the SBC, especially moving into leadership, gives me a great deal of hope.

The Bad

• There are still many in the SBC who greatly desire power and think that they are entitled to it. I don't understand this kind of thinking. It is great to serve and if asked to lead, we should do so humbly while making much of Jesus. I can't judge hearts and motives, but when I see people become angry because they did not get their way or because they think they lost power or influence in some way, then I know that their focus is on the wrong thing. I know this because I have done it before and had to just let things go and get a grip.
• Apart from the constant chatter from the floor about the use of microphones and parlimentary procedure, there was not much else that rates in the "Bad" category.

The Sad

• SBC Leadership on the platform choosing not to allow discussion on Todd Littleton's motion to agree with the ERLC Trustees and Richard Land that his comments on the Trayvon Martin Affair were wrong. Yesterday morning, I saw Rev. Luter being interviewed by Soledad O'Brien on CNN. She asked him if his election was not a token gesture since Richard Land made comments about Trayvon Martin that some deemed as racist. Rev. Luter had to back up and explain those remarks. The Messengers should have been allowed to AGREE with the ERLC Trustees and Richard Land that his comments were wrong in a motion that would show that the messengers and the SBC as a whole repudiated such remarks.  Not giving us that chance was shortsighted and could be construed as caring more about protecting Richard Land than making the right and prophetic statement. We need to think more about long-term consequences than we do.
• Not bringing out Dwight McKissic's resolution condemning racist language in Mormon Scriptures that have not been repudiated. Rev. McKissic made an impassioned plea for Southern Baptists to speak to these abusive comments, but we refused to do so. Some said that it was because we did not want to condemn just one aspect of Mormonism. Others said that it was because we did not want to get involved in a political debate. When have Baptists ever shied away from condemning anything?  When have we ever shied away from politics?  It can appear to some as though we are not interested in bringing up or condemning anything that might be perceived to be hurtful towards Mitt Romney and his campaign. But, bringing up the inherent racism in Mormonism and repudiating it now would have helped Mitt Romney in the long run by giving him a chance to repudiate the position of Mormonism in their Scriptures early in the summer. It would have also been the right and prophetic thing to do. 

I think that on the previous two issues, Southern Baptists chose to not be prophetic on procedural grounds. But, it appears (on both counts) that Southern Baptist leadership did not want to take positions that might hurt their political candidate or people in the inner circle. We have a long history of thinking primarily about what benefits our perceived interests in situations like this and we are better served to think about long-term implications to the positions that we take on issues related to race and justice.

Summary

Overall, it was a good, historic convention. I am glad that I was a part of it.  I am hopeful for the future of the SBC if we continue in this trajectory and I am excited to see the growing youth and diversity present in our largest gathering. Like everything else, however, we are only as strong as our dependence on the Lord. Let us look to Christ alone.

 

"Jim Crow Is Dead, Jesus Christ Is Alive," and Other SBC 2012 Observations

That was a quote via Russell Moore on Twitter today after Fred Luter was unanimously and with extended standing ovation elected as the first African American president of the Southern Baptist Convention. As Dr. Moore went on to say, the descendent of slaves is now the head of a denomination that was started over the issue of slavery.  It was a holy moment.  Tears were flowing all over the convention hall, including down my cheeks.  I thought about how much history was spoken to today, how we are now telling a better story, and how all things are being made new in Christ.  It was a great day and was the primary reason that I came.

Fred Luter's election also signifies the fact that God is reconciling all things to Himself in Christ. Jim Crow, which seemed so intractable in the South 50-60 years ago, has given way to the Cross of Christ. Injustice will not stand. What is wrong will be made right. Divisions will be healed. The Lion will lay down with the lamb. We experienced an "on earth as it is in heaven" moment today and I praise God that I was there. No, it does not solve everything. There are still racial problems in the SBC - still divisions over personal preference, culture, fear, economics, and prejudice. But, it was a good step along a path that we need to be walking. It matters that the white leadership of the SBC recognized the Christlikeness of Fred Luter and submitted themselves to his leadership today. In Christ, racial distinctions go away and that was demonstrated today.

Fred Luter is completely qualified. This is not a token election just to make a racial statement. He is the right man for the job in every way.  But, today, we were able to see how Christ has qualified an African American man. In the past, we missed that because we were completely blinded by fear, racism, and a desire to protect our "way of life" that stood opposed to Christ. Today, the blinders came off and we saw the beauty of the New Creation, not regarding Fred Luter from a "worldly point of view."  Fred Luter has been qualified. That was never in question. But, today, the SBC became qualified by seeing, just as Dr. King said, the content of a man's character is more important than the color of his skin.

The Young SBC

Has anyone noticed how many young people are at the SBC this year?  When I was last at a convention in San Antonio in 2007, it was primarily senior adults. Now, the number of people under 40, even under 30, is astounding in comparison to past years. We have a long way to go, but again, we seem to be moving in the right direction.

Ethnic Diversity in the SBC is Really Happening

A decade ago, the SBC was 95% white churches and 5% everyone else.  Now, it is more like 80/20 in churches. That is a huge demographic shift in just 10 years. I think the pace of this will just increase. I hope so. But, now we need minority leadership in SBC entities, trustee boards, and positions of leadership. I hope that we will help Rev. Luter appoint qualified minority leadership from all over SBC life to better reflect where we are as a convention and where we are obviously headed.

The IMB/NAMB Seems to be Shifting

I had good conversations with guys from both NAMB and the IMB about their desire to come around local churches and help them lead out in mission and initiate. That is key and it opens the door for the ChurchAsMissionary concept that many of us have been trumpeting for years to grow. I like it.

Lifeway and the Gospel Project

I am really excited about The Gospel Project that Lifeway has put out. I had a couple of conversations with Trevin Wax, the editor of the project. The fears of it being a Calvinist only work are completely unfounded. It seems really solid. I want to look at this more closely and am thinking of using it in our Wednesday Night studies. Trevin and Ed Stetzer showed this video today to introduce the Gospel Project. You should watch it:

  

It has been a good convention. Tomorrow morning at 8:35am, I get to nominate my friend, Dave Miller, for 2nd VP of the SBC. Prayers appreciated.

Initial SBC '12 Observations

Arrived in New Orleans yesterday with CJ Falcione, Gateway's associate pastor. Love New Orleans. So happy to be here. And, I am also happy to meet up with Southern Baptists again.

Met up with some bloggers last night who were asking good questions about the SBC. Saw lots of old friends as well, here and there. Enjoyed reconnecting.

The Calvinism/Non-Calvinism debate: Everyone is talking about it, but more in a "We're sick of this. Do we really have to talk about this again?" type of attitude. Most people really seem to want to move on. It seems that the general attitude is one of wanting to move toward working together for the gospel despite our differences on interpretive issues. That is what I'm hearing, anyway.

Tomorrow, I give the nominating speech for Dave Miller for 2nd VP. I am just going to talk about Dave, his heart for the Lord, and his desire that we work together to advance the gospel. That should be the desire of every leader. I am not too concerned with who wins the election - they are all good men and that doesn't matter too much. I just hope to give glory to God however I can and make a call for unity in Christ.

I hope to have a resolution affirming a holistic, word+deed approach to gospel ministry come up tomorrow or Wednesday. It needs to come out of committee, and I don't know if it will yet. I will know in the morning. But, I am hopeful.

There seems to be a real, growing hunger for Christ and a desire to move away from the religious game-playing and power struggles of the past. It has been a good Pastor's Conference. Christ-Centered preaching and a call to pursue Christ and lay down our lives for the nations has dominated what I have heard. I have been convicted and encouraged.

Fred Luter will be elected president tomorrow. He is a good man with a great ministry record. He is optimistic about the future and is full of faith. He is also African-American and will make history as the first African-American president of a denomination that started almost 170 years ago to enable slave owners to be missionaries. It will be a good day.

Prayers continually appreciated.

Dave Miller for 2nd VP of the SBC

Just like the entire leadership structure of the SBC, everytime I want to know what is going on in Southern Baptist life, what the issues of major concern are, and what both pastors and lay people think about what is happening, I go over to SBCVoices.com. SBCVoices is the one-stop-shop of Southern Baptist opinions and opinion makers. Every Baptist blog of note (including this one) is included in the blog aggregator at the top of the page. There are also multiple articles a day posted on the site itself from contributors from all walks of Baptist life. It is a great place to learn, interact, talk about ministry, and hear the opinions of others. One of the major reasons that it works so well is because of its editor, Dave Miller, pastor of Southern Hills Baptist Church in Sioux City, Iowa.  Dave is fair, balanced, and generous in his role as editor. He also has a great wit and a fantastic sense of humor as well as a sharp theological mind and love for Christ and people. Whenever I see Dave chime in, I know that I am going to hear a perspective that is well thought out, reasonable, fair, and Christ-centered.

It is because of all of these qualities that I am glad to be able to nominate Dave for the office of 2nd Vice President of the SBC next week in New Orleans.  Dave is exactly the kind of guy that Baptists need in leadership right now. He is the son of a Southern Baptist pastor and his parents became SBC missionaries. He is a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and has served churches in Florida, Virginia, and for the past 21 years, he has pastored in Iowa. He has the background to know how the SBC functions in all respects, but he has also served outside of the South and knows where the SBC should be headed if it is going to thrive in an increasingly post-Christian America.

In addition to Dave's experience, his passion is to see Baptists continue to work together in ever increasing ways. Dave believes strongly (as do I) that our true unity is in Christ, that the Baptist Faith & Message (BF&M) is our standard of doctrinal unity and that all who agree with it should be able to work together in Baptist life and mission. He also believes and promotes the fact that we should cooperate in the Great Commission both locally and globally and that we should do that through the Cooperative Program.  Dave's church, Southern Hills Baptist, is the leading CP church in Iowa as well as in Lottie Moon and total missions giving.  Dave clearly articulates his hopes and prayers for the SBC in this post at SBCVoices. Good and needed words.

Dave's heartbeat is that we would work together as Baptists according to what we already have in common to know Christ and make Him known to the ends of the earth. He provides a platform for discussion and mutual understanding everyday through SBCVoices and he leads his local church in faithful mission both in Iowa and around the world.  Dave is exactly the kind of leadership that Southern Baptists can hope to have to lead us forward, and for that reason, I will gladly give him my support.

The SBC Is Already Unified, I am Headed to New Orleans, And Other Things

Next week, I will be going to the Southern Baptist Convention's Annual Meeting in New Orleans. There are several reasons that I am excited about this:

1. We get to hopefully elect Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans as SBC president. He is a good man with a sterling ministry record. I heard him speak at the Pastor's Conference in Greensboro, NC in 2006 and he did a fantastic job and has been a real leader in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the rebuild. I look forward to how he will lead the SBC into the future. He is also African-American, and will be the first ever black president of the SBC. If you know anything about our origin and our past, this is a good thing.
2. I get to spend a few days in New Orleans, my birthplace and favorite city in America. Can't wait. I love it down there.
3. I am bringing a resolution on holistic ministry in the SBC. I pray that it makes it out of committee and I think that it will be a good encouragement as we move forward into ministering to our communities in both word and deed.  You can see the text here: A Resolution Supporting Holistic Ministry.
4. I get to see old friends. I used to be heavily involved in Baptist Blogging about 4-5 years ago and knew a lot of people through that. It was a good experience, but life moved on and I did not have the energy to stay involved in controversy. I still participate in discussions every now and then, but not as much as I used to. However, I have met a lot of great people through it and many of them will be in New Orleans next week. Looking forward to reconnecting.

Here are the things that I am not excited about:

1. Calvinist-Traditionalist Controversy. Baptists are fighting again. It is unnecessary.  I don't know if there will be any official move by either group to assert themselves over the other, but the Convention has definitely been affected by this division.  It is more about power than it is about theology, in my opinion. I can tell that because you only have to talk to a representative from each camp for just a moment before they begin to complain that those of their ilk might be shut out of participation in Baptist life in some way.  If it is not directly about power, then it seems to be about access to power. Everyone needs to calm down and carry on according to their convictions.
2. The aging and decline of the SBC. It so often seems as though we are trying to hold on to some greatness that we think we once had.  It is kind of discouraging to go to Annual Meetings because you really do see how gray the SBC is.  I am glad for the participation of the older generation. They should not stop. But, it is indicative of the decline of denominations and all institutions, really, when younger people just don't participate. I think that things like denominations will continue into the future, but they must change the way they do business - instead of having ministry flow through them, they need to facilitate networks of churches to carry out the mission wherever they are. The GCR was supposed to give us that perspective, but it seems to have fizzled out.
3. SBC Name Change - there is a proposal to give the SBC a nickname - Great Commission Baptists - and keep the old SBC name for legal purposes. But, a rose by any other name is still a rose, thorns and all.  One, I don't like nicknames. Two, few will use it and it will die out, I am afraid. And Three, we should not be defined by the Great Commission, but by Christ. Our unity is in the person of Jesus, not a mission that we do together. Which leads me to my next point.

The SBC Is Already Unified

Okay, so we fight a lot. We fight about a lot of different things. It seems that Baptists are always splitting into some camp or another. As this happens, you hear battle cries about being right and standing for truth. You also hear people bemoan the fact that we are arguing. Everyone wants to get their way and see their view reign supreme and we are upset about our lack of unity because we fail to agree on issues.

But, what if we were already unified and all of these disagreements were just dinner table discussions amongst family?  What if it was not up to us at all to maintain unity?

That seems to be what Jesus is praying in John 17:20-23.  He prays that we will be brought to complete unity so the world we know that the Father sent Jesus. Even though we disagee on issues and sometimes argue about how we see things, I will go so far as to say that if anyone is in Christ, he is a New Creation - the old has gone and the new has come. Though we once regarded people from a worldly point of view, we do so no longer (2 Corinthians 5:14-21).  In other words, we should see one another from a spiritual point of view where Christ has already established our unity IN HIM in the heavenlies.  Unity is not something that we create, but instead, it is something that we recognize and live out of since our unity is already established in Christ.  IN CHRIST, we are one. So, even if we disagree, we are still one because we are in Christ together.

So, even if we go to New Orleans and fight and disagree, we are still unified in Christ in the heavenly realms. We cannot get away from one another. But, knowing that should not give us permission to argue, fuss, fight, and try to dominate the other. Rather, knowing that we really are one in Christ despite our differences should actually influence how we treat one another. It should cause us to see our disagreements in perspective. It should cause us to fight with all our energy to live and work together and display the unity that Christ secured for us on the Cross. When we fail to see that, we actually fail to understand what Jesus did for us and we present a fractured witness to the world.

As we vote on a nickname to be called "Great Commission Baptists," which has to do with our witness, we will be simultaneously fighting and dividing over interpretations of theology, which actually harms our witness, undercutting the message we hope to proclaim.

Ironic, isn't it?

 

A Resolution on Holistic Ministry for the SBC in New Orleans

This is a resolution that I have submitted to the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention to be considered in a couple of weeks in New Orleans:

A Resolution Affirming Holistic Ministry and Community Involvement By Local Churches

WHEREAS, Humanity's greatest problem at the root of all other problems is that we rebel against God and are separated from Him because of indwelling sin and through continual sin; and

WHEREAS, The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only solution to our problem as it reconciles us to God through faith and to one another; and

WHEREAS, The requirement for Christians as we live in relationship with Christ is that we do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God; and

WHEREAS, The work and ministry of Jesus involved both proclaiming and demonstrating the Gospel of the Kingdom through both word and deed; and

WHEREAS, We are commanded by Scripture to both preach the gospel and do good deeds so that our light would shine before men; and

WHEREAS, We are commanded by Scripture to sacrificially love our neighbor and all those in need as we love ourselves with both material and spiritual assistance; and

WHEREAS, We are called to be ambassadors of Christ with the ministry of reconciliation to all who are alienated from God and are living under the effects of both personal, social, and structural sin; and

WHEREAS, we live in a country and world where animosity between races and socioeconomic groups, unemployment, poverty, crime, substance abuse, high school dropout rates, unwed pregnancies, and many other social concerns are greatly diminishing individuals, families, and communities; and

WHEREAS, Southern Baptists have a long history of providing aid to all people in times of need through disaster relief, physical assistance, providing food, clothing, shelter, and advocating for justice for the oppressed among other things; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, June 19-20, 2012, affirm and encourage the work of our local churches, associations, community ministry centers, state conventions, and missions agencies in their ministry to the whole person and the needs of our communities; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage every Christian and local church to see the spiritual, physical, and social needs of their communities as opportunities to proclaim and demonstrate the love of Christ for God's glory and man's good; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage every local church to engage the needs of their community with a strong gospel witness in both word and deed as God uniquely gifts, directs, and enables; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage generous support of those ministries in Baptist life that are specifically equipped to facilitate the work of holistic ministry and the involvement of local churches in the same; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage education, training, and equipping of Christians in holistic ministry as an aspect of discipleship and fidelity to our Lord as God enables, gifts, and directs us to be His hands and feet to a hurting and needy world; and be it finally

RESOLVED, That we eagerly pray for and await the Day when all things will be made right and reconciled to God through Jesus Christ as we live presently in hope that God's will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.