12 Witnesses

When I arrived at my new church, I found that we had a mess for a “church roll.” 1,600 members - 300 non-resident, 500 SS enrollment (which is inflated by about 150 from a mission church) and we were averaging about 150 in SS attendance. Less than 10% of our “membership” in Bible Study.

Now our attendance and membership numbers have risen over the last three months. We just passed a visionary, but reachable budget at a 100% vote. But our ACP is looming.

The Committee on Resolutions, for whatever its reasons, chose not to present to the SBC Dr. Tom Ascol’s Resolution concerning integrity in reporting our numbers.

A resolution is not a binding thing. It is meant to be a standard to which other aspire. Well, with or without the endorsement of the Committee on Resolutions, this resolution has become a standard to which I aspire.

While we will not throw away any names or addresses, our church will be cutting to real numbers of active members and Sunday School Enrollment when we turn in our numbers. We have people on our roll that we know are members of other churches, but because they joined a church of a different denomination, we never got a request for a letter, and never removed them. I am also sure of some who joined “By Statement” and never requested a letter, therefore they are being counted twice.

The world’s largest denomination is about to lose about 1,000 members. I hate that. I am for the SBC. I want us to grow, not shrink. However, those 1,000 folks have been gone for a while now. The truth is, we are just going to own it this year.

Then, when we start winning our community to the Lord, baptizing them and connecting them to our local body… the numbers reported will be relevant.

Thanks for the standard, Dr. Ascol.

Art Toalston of Baptist Press has written a great overview of the week Executive Committee meeting this week. You can find it here:

SBC trustee matters among items weighed by EC

Besides giving a very good overview, and saving me the work, he just has a distinguished name. I feel as though I can trust him, for some reason.

Well, everyone seems to want a really good picture of Marty, so I am posting this one.

I think it is good because he is doing what he does so well: Blogging.

I am flying back to Tulsa today. Play nice in the comment string while I am gone.

This will be my last “Live Blog” from the EC. There was no dissent to the amendment of the Business and Financial Plan. That was great. I knew who was supposedly going to challenge the action from the floor and was watching closely. When the issue arose, he started rocking heavily in his chair, but never said a word and did not vote against it. I think he should be given the benefit of the doubt - if not for being completely uninvolved, then for being wise enough to not stand against such an important move.

I will be posting more details about this session of the EC later, but right now it is too much to get onto the blog.

Here are a few interesting tidbits, though…

Paige Patterson was humorous and self effacing.

Al Mohler’s report showed a desire to reach a new generation.

Phil Roberts’ report was crystal clear concerning enrollment numbers.

Danny Akin’s report revealed a willingness to trust his own children to our SBC Academic Institutions.

Jeff Iorge showed why he is the “outside the box” leader - I was very impressed.

I missed Chuck Kelley’s report.

Dr. Fish’s report revealed a genuine heart for winning the lost and trust in the staff of the North American Mission Board.

Dr. Rankin was in Korea and unable to be there, but I will share with you another interesting story concerning him. In conversation with a different denominational servant than the one mentioned above, he said this: “I have never known anyone, myself included, who shouldered the weight of the world the way he does. He takes personal responsibility for the soul of one lost bushman in Africa. It’s amazing.”

That’s a great story.

Just came out of the EC Administrative Sub-Committee meeting. There is a strong recommendation for a change in the business procedure concerning accountability of entities and their officers coming from this sub-committee. There was no opposition within the sub-committee. The recommendation comes to the full EC this afternoon.

I hear rumors that there may be opposition in the full committee from someone not on this sub-committee. I will let you know what happens.

This is a vitally important change concerning the oversight of our entities. The Chairs of each Entity Board will have to sign off on the annual management letter that discloses the details of the financial workings of the entity. This requires the Trustees to affirm oversight.

In light of many things ongoing in the SBC, not the least of which is the NAMB issue, this is crucial. It will not have to be voted on by the full convention as the EC has the authority to institute it on its own. [correction: Any change in the governing documents WILL have to be voted on by the convention]

Once again referring to my poll, the EC is going to have more impact on the SBC this year. Just my opinion.

Dr. Chapman gave the President’s report and showed a DVD detailing a chronology of the Cooperative Program. You should check it out. A copy is being mailed in the next issue of SBC Life. The EC would like for you to show it to your church at some point. This will take a little creativity on your part as the video is about 30 mins long.

The other reports were pretty vanilla. Well, not really, but I have picked some of that stuff apart already, so I will just let it go.

The high point of the evening was Frank Page’s address. From the “Valley of Dry Bones,” he asked, “Can these bones yet live?” Before he got to the punch line, he was more honest than I think any other President has ever been in my lifetime concerning the state and direction of the SBC. He said that, although we won the battle for Inerrancy, we must now face the battle for Relevancy within our culture. Amen to that!

He has called for us to pray for a movement of the Holy Spirit in the answer to the question, “Can these bones yet live?” The prophet’s answer is “Oh, sovereign Lord, only You know.” If our convention will yet live in the future of our culture, It will be by the function of God, Who will choose to move among us.

Frankly, even though I was exhausted from a long day of travel, I was captivated. I was taken by Dr. Page’s honesty, composure, self deprecating humor and sense of gravitas. Well worth the trip.

Sub-committees report tomorrow and the real business begins.

I’m in the Kansas City airport on a monster layover, waiting for my connection to Nashville. What’s in Nashville? Lifeway HQ, the Ryman - which was originally a revival auditorium, and the Executive Committee of the SBC.

The EC meets tonight and will be dealing with some things leftover from Greensboro as well as new things for the near future. One new thing (though there is no guarantee of the EC addressing it specifically at this meeting) will be the open letter from Dwight McKissic concerning an amendment to the BFM that would address PPL once and for all.

You can read it at the ARB website.

Micah Fries has provided a link where by you can download the images of the letter for yourself.

I think the BFM is better left more open so as not to define us in an overly narrow fashion. However, as Dwight McKissic points out, this has left us open for other to define us more narrowly than I can accept. Perhaps, in light of this, we should specifically define ourselves as open on certain issues.

It may be that the Presidential legacy of Frank Page will be far beyond a few appointments. Who is on a committee addressing this for the BFM (and I am way ahead of myself as there is no guarantee of any such thing) will define the actions and directions of the SBC for many years to come.

More later today from Nashville.

Powerful message today by Frank Page, our current SBC President.

In this message, he challenges us to think critically about preserving the SBC. Afterward, several students asked aloud why the convention should be saved. Responding, a friend of mine told them that this man posing the challenge was not a denominational servant, had never sought a position of leadership within the convention nor was his retirement guaranteed by the success of the SBC to exist. In other words, he has nothing personal to gain, and, therefore, approaches the topic with integrity. We should give a listen.

You can give a listen by finding his address on the chapel website.

Chapel Schedule

You will find on Marty Duren’s blog, SBC Outpost, part of a report from a specialized subcommittee: The Interim Report of the Leadership Development Subcommittee to the Overseas Committee.

This subcommittee was charged to investigate questions raised in the now infamous “White Paper,” written by Keith Eitel and circulated under a cover letter by Paige Patterson.

The report of the Leadership Development Subcommittee (as reported by Marty Duren):

Summary Conclusions

1. For the past two years the Leadership Development Subcommittee looked at the programs of training offered at the ILC (International Learning Center). The conclusion of this study is that the programs are sound theologically. This includes but is not limited to missiology and ecclesiology.

2. There is adherence to biblical parameters as expressed in the BFM2k. IMB staff is cognizant of compliant with SBC/IMB positions on such issues as ecclesiology and the role of women in ministry.

3. There is a healthy cooperative relationship between those traning programs and the larger Southern Baptist theological training system.

a. The IMB participates in an annual consortium with the six SBC seminaries and Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. This keeps all parties abreast of concerns, trends, needs, and developments in the field of missions. The IMB is represented at these meetings by both staff and trustee attendees.

b. SBC seminary professors cooperate with IMB staff as regular lecturers at ILC.

c. SBC seminaries partner with the IMB in their established 2×2 [sic] programs and newer programs such as the MATSIL program at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. This program grants masterlevel credit for studies done at ILC as a part of the requirements for said degree.

4. While the ILC training processes are not exhaustive, they are healthy, growing, and effective.

Word of Commendation

[Given to two specific staffers, one at IMB and one at ILC.] They were responsive to the inquiries of the Subcommittee and forthcoming with all requests for information. The IMB staff gives every indication of being anxious to respond to Trustee inquiries and input.

Following this report, a trustee stood to report her son’s current experience at ILC: the word was EXCELLENT. This is his second time through (the first time as a Journeyman) and he had nothing but the highest praise for the training he had received and the teachers he was able to hear, including Dr. Tom Elliff and Dr. Jerry Rankin.

Specifically, here, the subcommittee has provided a stamp of approval for the educational process going on at the IMB.

I am, of course, glad to know that the IMB is doing a superb job of training our missionaries for service. I know that you are as well.

More specifically, however, the subcommittee has rebuffed the assessment of Drs. Eitel and Patterson.

Five years ago, a pastor friend of mine was preparing for a message to a civic organization. He was the guest speaker. When the planes hit the twin towers, his secretary went in and let him know what was happening, although he didn’t want to be disturbed. He gave it little thought. He was focused on preparing his devotional thought and didn’t want to be distracted. She should have simply told him that the world had changed and what he was doing was no longer relevant. He gave the most forgettable speech in that organization’s history.

This mindset of radical Islam, that would kill all who believe differently than they, now impacts the entire globe since that day, five years ago. We also find ourselves in a polarized global society where the opposite of radical Islam seems to be our American culture.

Among other things, Fundamentalist Islamics hate us because of the wickedness of our society - the excesses of worldly pursuits into which our culture dives headlong. Also, chief among the reasons they hate us is that America has historically been a nation of Christians. As a result, they have framed the war in Iraq as a modern day Crusade against Islam. So within America they find the two poles of worldly excess and Christian conservatism.

Radical Islam hates them both. In fact, that mindset doesn’t differentiate between the two, but melds them together and calls America the hypocritical nation of self-righteous infidels. This is a very simplistic sketch. There are many other reasons for their opposition, but these two are at the top of the list.

Strikingly, we realize it is our job to win these people to the Lord. They would rather we be dead and would gladly help us to find that end, and our responsibility is to go live among them and teach them that God does not belong to America but that all the nations belong to God.

Meanwhile, back at the IMB, we seem to be more interested in tweaking the folks who are actually ready, willing and able to walk into that context. The context where their children and spouses are in danger of torture and death.

I had the privilege of meeting with a 10-40 window missionary last month. He told me of a friend in a level three security country who said that normal transportation included a hair raising, 100+ mph blitz in a Suburban from one city to another. They have to drive that fast to avoid being killed by fundamentalist Muslims.

I just don’t get it. Should someone explain that the world outside has been revealed as grossly hostile, things are not what we thought they were and we need to not spend our time with insignificant issues? Have we not tried? What is the confusion?

Yes, I think that the PPL and Baptism issues WERE insignificant, until they were made significant. They should have been left alone. Period.

Let me be clear at this point. I know that every Trustee knows far more about the perils facing our missionaries than I will ever understand. So why are we still caught up in power plays? Let’s do the right thing and move forward.

As the IMB BOT meets this week, I would like to see some things and yet doubt I will see much, if any.

I am hopeful of a report from the two ad hoc committees studying the PPL and Baptism issues. They might tell the BOT how things are progressing. This may not happen, though, because of the scrutiny that any words issued from either committee will receive. Because of this, they both will likely choose their words very carefully and not say more than they must. Most likely, they will both issue a statement at the end of their studies and that is all they will say. The reports will contain an encouragement for the Board to stand on their previous decision, change their stance, or do away with the issue altogether - reverting back to the previous status.

At this point, I think it is more likely that the stance will either stay the same or be moderated to some degree. PPL will more likely stay the same and Baptism may be moderated to some degree. That is just speculation, but it is how I read the room, so to speak.

I doubt there will be a return to the previous status on either issue. If they did that, it would be tantamount (in their minds) to letting young bloggers tell them how to run the IMB. I think they would do anything to avoid encouraging our efforts by rewarding us with much success.

The other hope I have will be the appointment of an ad hoc committee to deal with Wade Burleson’s motion from Greensboro. The longer they delay announcing plans in this area, the more you know that their plans really are to avoid it altogether.

Depending on how this works out, San Antonio may be a place where genuine conflict falls out.

Or maybe not. Maybe the EC and the Presidential appointment process will give us enough hope that a real difference will be made so we can look toward another couple of years.

Meanwhile, lost souls are in the crux. I want change quickly, but realize that change like this is often incremental. In fact, the changes we have experienced over the last year look like lightening striking compared to the glacial speed of change normally occurring in the SBC.

We shall see what we shall see.

Be sure to check out SBC Outpost. Marty will be live blogging today and tomorrow from the IMB meeting.