Roundtable Letter to the President of Lifeway

Dec 6th, 2006 | By art rogers | Category: SBC

This is the letter to the President of Lifeway.

If you were unable to attend, but would like to add your voice, you have permission to reprint this letter, add your name and send them yourself.

December 5, 2006

Dr. Thom Rainer, President

Lifeway Christian Resources

One Lifeway Plaza

Nashville, TN 37234

Dear Dr. Rainer:

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and congratulations on your first year of service to Southern Baptists as the President and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources. We wish to thank you for the innovative strategies you have already implemented at Lifeway to build this unique ministry of Southern Baptists to equip churches to fulfill the Great Commission.

In particular, we are writing to thank you for the ministry of Lifeway Research, now guided under the careful and commendable leadership of Dr. Brad Waggoner, to whom we have copied this letter. As we understand the new ministry of Lifeway Research under your leadership, it is your desire to equip church leaders with insight and advice that will lead to greater levels of church health and effectiveness. One of the areas where we feel a special need for research and education is in the area of spiritual gifts.

As you are well aware, our convention has been experiencing a heightened discussion concerning the continuation of all spiritual gifts, specifically the gift of tongues, and the proper use of these gifts in the context of public and private worship. There are some who are suggesting that one view or the other is the sole view of Southern Baptists on this issue. It is our belief that diversity rather than uniformity characterizes Southern Baptists on this issue, and we would welcome in our churches any assistance that Lifeway can give for us to better teach these issues of biblical interpretation to our congregations.

Therefore, we are requesting that you consider employing the resources of Lifeway to conduct a survey of Southern Baptists, much like the recent study on this issue of Calvinism, to discover where Southern Baptists are on the issue of tongues, private prayer languages, and the acceptability of their use within our denomination. We further request that you consider having Lifeway Christian Resources prepare and present a series of doctrinal studies for Southern Baptist churches to help understand these complicated issues of biblical interpretation that now present themselves for our convention’s consideration in a new way.

May the Lord richly bless as you allow him to use you for his purpose and glory. Please trust that we send this letter of request with our prayers in your behalf.

Sincerely,

Wm. Dwight McKissic, Sr.

Wade Burleson

Benjamin Cole

Arthur T. Rogers