12 Witnesses

Baptist Press has an article that focuses on the statement of John Sullivan to the Florida State Convention. John’s the Executive Director - Treasurer of the convention and his statements came during their annual meeting during a segment called, “Concerns of Florida Baptists.” During his comments, Sullivan says that he was “embarrassed” that the SBC debated the Alcohol Resolution (the infamous Resolution #5) for 30 minutes.

He pledged, to resounding applause, that the Florida Baptist State Convention would soon move to mirror the amendment to the resolution that Trustees be “teetotalers.” The FBSC, apparently, will soon move to require that all trustees of Florida Baptist institutions be abstentionists.

Let me clarify that statement. Sullivan has confirmed to someone I know that he means by the term “teetotaler,” not that they just abstain from alcohol, but that they believe that the only valid interpretation of Scriptures be that every Christian should abstain.

There are other statements by Sullivan that you should read. Voddie Baucham also has some interesting words on the subject, presented prior to Sullivan’s comments.

I’ll link to the article at the end of this post. In the meantime, however, I would like to point out a few things about this development.

1. This has nothing to do with Alcohol. The debate was over the Sufficiency of Scripture. The fact that so many leading the Convention miss this, astounds me. Again, I am a “teetotaler,” but I allow that the moderationist position, while not my position, is a valid, orthodox position in Christian Theology. Let me be clear, I think the moderationist position is wrong, but according to John Sullivan, I am not qualified to serve as a leader in our convention. I have no aspirations in this regard, but I know several good men that should be considered, but whom would also be ruled out.
2. The debate was also over our tendency to condemn lost people for being lost. Our Convention is viewed by the lost culture in America as “against everything.” Why wouldn’t they? All we have to say to them is, “You’re wrong!” Surely we have something more to say to them. Something gracious, perhaps?

3. We have now gone beyond Alcohol, Sufficiency and cultural relevance. Now we are about absolute control over every theological belief. While this is a direction that we have been trying to avoid, it seems that John Sullivan has taken us to a place of exclusion that may divide us irrevocably.

I have been writing passionately about my commitment to the Southern Baptist Convention and how we need to work for reform. There have been a lot of actions that have stoked the fire. This commitment to control the theology of SBC leaders to this level should be the red alert, defcon 2 for all of us that are afraid the SBC is about to start circling the drain of implosion.

Regardless of whether you agree with anyone over the Alcohol issue, the PPL issue, or anything else on the radar screen for us, this ought to get your full attention.

Here’s the full article:

Sullivan pledges “teetotaler” agency trustees

Dr. Patterson fielded some questions from students during an “open forum” style chapel yesterday.

You may find some of the questions and answers interesting. The video can be downloaded at the Seminary Chapel Webpage.

Bob Pearle, pastor of Birchman Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, where Dr. Patterson attends, talks about Baptist preachers. Very interesting. It seems that unless we are offending culture, we are not actually ministering to the lost.

I think that there is a place for the prophetic voice to culture, no doubt. I don’t think that all we can do is scream condemnation at the lost, however. Is there no place to preach grace to the sinner? There is just such a lack of balance in our denomination. Why must we do one without the other? Still, it is no wonder why we continue to produce resolution after statement after boycott if this is what we are trying to constantly accomplish: Offend the lost culture so they will come under conviction. Yet this mindset is juxtaposed against the comment that our Baptist churches are baptizing fewer and fewer comments each year.

So, if we are prophetically condemning sin and our conversions are less and less, what would that say? Wouldn’t it say that constantly condemning the lost for their “lostness” is losing traction? I know. Dr. Pearle was saying that the reason our conversions are down is that we are not confrontational enough that we are losing ground because we are trying to be “palatable.” I have a hard time with that.

How many of our churches could reasonably be classified as “Emergent?” Almost none. Of the 80% that are in decline, how many are “emergent?” The fact is, the traditional church is in decline in our own denomination. It is not because they are not confrontational enough, either. It is primarily because they are not relevant to new generations.

Tomorrow is Johnny Hunt. I am curious to hear what he has to say. Remember that he called Ronnie Floyd “Missional” in the nomination speech in Greensboro. I wonder if he will defend the concept against some of the comments given today.

Can a local Association become Missional? If I could offer my paraphrase Ed Stetzer’s definition of the word Missional in this way, “Being and living the Mission of redeeming our lost culture with the Gospel of Jesus,” which would include engaging our culture with service, grace and conversation, then I am skeptical that any association or convention is able to do this. In trying, our associations and conventions have become more and more bureaucratic over the years.

The problem, it would seem, is that these entities are taking on the roles of the local church. They create ministries and then need to staff and equip those ministries. That takes money, time, buildings and people. We now have, very often, ministries in which churches are involved operating in the same area as ministries of their own cooperative associations. We duplicate our efforts and divide our resources.

Not so with the Tulsa Metro Association of Baptist Churches. This year, our association has divested itself of duplication and bureaucracy. While other conventions and associations fight for control over ministries, TMABC has turned over all of its ministries (such as a campground, a clothing center, crises pregnancy center, etc.) to the local member churches who had a passion for those efforts. The results? The various ministries are growing with new ideas, money, people and passion.

What has the TMABC done with itself? I mean, why exist, if not to do these things? The staff at TMABC has been reduced and the TMABC has broken itself down into only four administrative teams made up from the local member churches. These groups sole function is to facilitate the ministry of the local church, and they are the Church Planting Team, the Church Strengthening Team, the Church Leadership Development Team, and the Church Staff Support Team.

Outside the salaries, which are now fewer, the budget for the TMABC is divided among these four teams. I guess those budget meetings are getting shorter.

Rather than taking on the task of the local church, which is to be Missional, Tulsa Metro Association has reorganized itself to facilitate churches being Missional. You can read about the vision and the plan in Dr. Charlie Cruce’s own words on the With All My Heart webpage.

“Can a Local Association be Missional?” The answer to that question, I suppose, is “No.” Though Associations and Conventions often attempt to be Missional, they are ill equipped for the purpose and result in sluggish bureaucracy. God has called the Church to accomplish the Mission. Associations and Conventions would do well to focus on what they can do well: facilitate churches in their work toward fulfilling the Mission.

A tip of the cap to Tulsa Metro Association.

If you are reading this, I hope that your family is all asleep and you just couldn’t, which is how it is with me right now.

With Marty and Wade on blog fasts I am wondering if I missed a memo or something. I wondered if I should impose a blog fast, but decided that I had already done it. I just didn’t tell everyone. Before I moved to Tulsa, I was posting almost everyday. When we moved, I didn’t have the internet in my home and blogging at work was not only undesirable, but was impossible.

With that happening, I took about 6-8 weeks off without even trying. Not that I didn’t blog at all, but I was dramatically cut back. I had (just had) to go to Starbucks down the road to get connectivity with my laptop so I could write anything. I read almost nothing - I didn’t have time.

Since then, my blogging has gotten much better. I sleep more, since I don’t stay up into the wee hours typing and scrolling. I comment far less. Commenting on everything takes up so much time. I used to wonder why Marty hardly ever commented outside his own blog. Now I get it.

I read more, but mostly I scan. I still read everything Kevin Bussey writes, but his stuff is just so interesting and succinct. We should all take a lesson. Mostly, I rely on Bloglines to keep me up to date on what everyone is writing. That saves a lot of time.
In the end, I have come to a better balance about everything.

If you are reading this on Thanksgiving day, I pray you have not made it this far. If you have, I pray that your family is all relaxed somewhere and you aren’t missing out on the good stuff.

Nah. I know my readers aren’t foolish enough to give away family time just to read my thoughts in the early morning of Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving.

At the upcoming Roundtable meeting in Arlington, the debate is already ensuing concerning the nature of any potential fellowship - what it is, will be, or will not be. I have spoken with several who have raised the issue to me, even today.
I am one of the organizers of this event, and I am also one who was concerned as this potentiality arose. I voiced my concern to the others involved and was received well. Allow me, if you will, to address my concerns and share the general response of the Roundtable’s organizers.

My first thought, when I read the title of the Roundtable, was that the initials SCCBF were, shall we say, unfortunate. Unintended, but still… That might not mean much to many, but among conservatives in the Southern Baptist Convention, having CBF in your initials is not kosher, so to speak.
The other thought I had was that the funding of another missionary sending mechanism would be a group that is juxtaposed against our current Southern Baptist Missions efforts.

Let me be clear. My concern is for the reformation of Southern Baptist entities. I have no desire to leave the SBC, but a great passion to call all of our entities to cooperate with fellow CONSERVATIVE INERRANTISTS for reaching the lost. The issues that are now dividing us seem trivial to me. I want the SBC to accept that they are trivial issues, and should not be ones that separate us from one another. They are “third tier” issues.

The response from my colleagues was genuine. We do not desire to leave the SBC nor do we desire to compete with the SBC. We desire the SBC use Southern Baptist men and women who are also Conservative Inerrantists. On issues of interpretation, particularly the issue of Spiritual Gifts (which seems to be the lightening rod issue that represents all the other cooperation issues) none of us can claim orthodoxy as an absolute. There are a good many Conservative Theologians who view these issues with some diversity.

So what of the Sandy Creek-Charlestonian Baptist Fellowship? Dwight told me that he had been reading the history of the Sandy Creek Baptists and was so moved by what he had learned that he was drawn to the name. A friend advised him that the Charlestonian influence was also profound, and as it would seem that thoughts and history from both places seemed relevant, the name ensued.

What of the purpose of and future of such a group? The purpose of such a group, should anything of that nature be born, and this was shared from Dwight McKissic to me today, would be for the encouragement and fellowship of like minded pastors and laymen.

What about church planting? Southern Baptist Churches plant other churches all the time. They also associate with each other, often times, to do it. I received an email today asking for Southern Baptist Churches to join together in aiding a church plant in our area. The mailing address came from our Association and I was one of several Southern Baptist pastors to receive the email. I affirm and encourage every Southern Baptist Church to plant other churches and to associate with other churches to accomplish the work. Such things should never be left to NAMB or the IMB alone. If all we do is throw money at missions, then we are doomed for failure. We, ourselves, must engage.
Such action will not be the purview of this Roundtable or the design of any fellowship this Roundtable fosters. As Dwight told me, “I wouldn’t even know how to do such a thing.” For those who are thinking that we are about to hit the “eject” button on the SBC, I assure you, that we are committed to the betterment of the SBC through Conservative Cooperation.

Concerning the Roundtable, we are looking into the ability to provide a live feed on the internet. It is possible that the feed will not just be audio, but may be a live video feed. Hold on to your hats.

By the way, this idea just hit me today. I was already in an email conversation with Micah Fries and asked him what it would take. By the time he emailed me back, he had already made arrangements and someone else seeking out venues for a feed service. We are rapidly making it happen for a little bit of money (under $50) and equipment we already have. Would somebody like to tell me again why the SBC, and primarily the IMB, cannot create a live feed for their Board meetings? Especially with the resources available. I mean, we’re just poor small church preachers and look what we are doing, y’know?

Also, if you are coming to the Roundtable, you need to make reservations. When you register on the website for Cornerstone Baptist Church - Arlington, you can let them know if you need a ride and if you are bringing other guests. Lunch is provided free of charge.

I hope to see you there.

Just because my name is Arthur, don’t think this Roundtable is mine.

Sorry, just had to get that over with. Now we can move on to the good stuff. Actually, the reason we call this kind of thing a Roundtable is a reference to King Arthur’s table around which his knights would gather as equals. No one more important than the others.

A discussion of equals is scheduled to take place at Cornerstone Baptist Church on Tuesday, December 5, from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm. The issues of the day, primarily the narrowing of parameters in the SBC, and specifically, but not limited to, the PPL issue, are on the agenda for discussion. This is not a call for only like minded individuals to attend. All viewpoints are welcome - hence the name, “Roundtable.”

Lunch is provided for free, but necessitates an RSVP. The CBC website, linked above, will allow you to do so, as well as give you an opportunity to download other information.

Already signed up are Southern Baptists from across the nation. Your participation, whomever you are in Southern Baptist life, is desired.

I look forward to seeing you there. If you have questions, feel free to post them here.

There were several things that were quite enjoyable about the BGCO this year. I enjoyed seeing friends, meeting new folks and the unity of the place. I’m from Texas, but Texas Baptist politics is a wreck and I loath it. Six months ago, there was a possibility that I would be called to serve in a Texas church when we were pursuing God’s will concerning where we would serve. You have no idea how grateful I am to be where I am - the church, the association and the state. All are great and I have been blessed.

The BGCO’s best moment occurred during the report of the Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma. Recently, these folks helped us secure a very reasonable and flexible loan that is helping us to renovate the exterior of our building. It was long neglected and now is being revitalized. We were also pleased to learn that the proceeds from such loans all go to fund ministries. That’s right - 100% of it does.

The Foundation did a study last year and found that quite a few Southern Baptists viewed them as “stiff.” When Southern Baptists, who are a pretty “stiff” lot themselves, view you as more “stiff” than they are, brother, you have a public relations issue. In response, the BFO created a video for its report that was the highlight of the two days of meetings.

In the video, the President of the BFO, Robert Kellogg, was lost in Mayberry, USA, and the cast of the Andy Griffith show was played by high profile Oklahoma Baptists. I wish I had been here long enough to tell you who they all were, but I didn’t know most of them. Outgoing president, Bob Greene, was Andy and was hilarious. Aunt Bee and Opie were equally funny. Mark Brister, president of OBU, was a knock out of Barney Fife. “Nip it in the bud! Nip it. Nip it.” All the while, the characters of Mayberry were encouraging Robert Kellogg to get over to Floyd’s Barber Shop and get his hair cut. Finally he goes over to the shop and wakes Floyd, played by BGCO Executive Director Anthony Jordan.

As Floyd gives the hair a once over he starts trying to gets some goop out of a bottle but can’t. He says that sometimes that bottle just becomes clogged. At this point, a man reading the paper against the wall flips down the daily news and exclaims, “Did someone say ‘blog?’” You guessed it. Wade Burleson.

The room fell apart. Everyone was laughing and a few were all but screaming. No. There was no “Spirit of Holy Laughter” set loose upon the place. It was just riotously funny. I was sitting next to Wes Kenney and his wife and I was afraid that I might die from lack of oxygen, because I was fairly confident that Wes would not be performing mouth to mouth on me. Which is probably fine, as I think I would rather go on to the Lord, anyway.

Because this moment represented unity within the state convention, the ability to laugh at one’s self, the ability of people of opposing viewpoints to not be overly serious, and it highlighted a great organization, this was my favorite moment of the BGCO, 2006.

I love it here.

The SBTC has a had a couple of occurrences of note this week. Many preachers that spoke Monday railed against bloggers, including the last one, who was from Romania.

The other fun fact is that the SBTC passed a resolution opposing “tongues” in any form. Malcolm Yarnell was on the Resolutions Committee.

This may have been one of the most short sighted moves of the year. The PPL exclusionists, the most vocal of which reside in the SBTC, are assuming that the rest of the convention will follow their lead. I think that they may find themselves on an island when we get to San Antonio and the resolution that comes to the floor is one that affirms that we should not divide ourselves on such an issue.

[edit]

In response to a conversation in the comment thread.
The resolution is not against “tongues in any form,” but is decidedly against PPL. I refer to the comments for my reasoning behind this statement.

[/edit]

Anthony Jordan, Executive Director of the BGCO, brought a challenge from Hebrews 11. Paralleling Scripture, he recalled Oklahoma Baptists over the last 100 years and said that he felt they would call us to 6 things.

1. A call to the Word of God, Inerrant and Infallible.

2. A call to the church and the fulfillment of its mission.

3. A call to Baptist distinctives. He admitted this was a hot button, but said he was going in anyway. He did, but first enumerated the essentials - tier one issues.

The church the body of Baptized believers is the only Baptist distinctive mentioned, but I never heard the word “local” so that still leaves the issue of the universal church undefined.

4. A call to personal evangelism.

5. A call to cooperation. The unity of the convention was extolled, and done well. This certainly stands in stark contrast to Texas Baptists, both of whose state conventions are meeting this week as well. More on that some other time.

6. A call to take risks of faith. Amen. For great things to happen, we must risk much.

He said he would move through the points quickly. That must be “ministerially speaking” for “the better part of an hour.”

It was good, though.

Alton Fannin is our President.