Why does it seem that James A. Smith, editor of the Florida Baptist Witness, has targeted Dwight McKissic? Not since Benjamin S. Cole set his sights on the occupant of the President’s chair at SWBTS has there been such a laser beam focus of one editorialist on a subject.

Consider the Florida Baptist Witness issue of a couple of weeks ago that seemed to have a theme: Critique Dwight.

Now, to be sure, anyone in the public eye, especially in such a role as Dwight, deserves a fair and honest critique - and a thorough one, to be sure. The question is, has he received a critique that is thorough, but is also fair and honest? I wonder when a state paper focuses so heavily on one person if it can be considered thus.

Let me give you a couple of links, and you can read for yourself.

First, this is a search of the word “McKissic” on the FBW website: McKissic-FBW. That’s a lot of talking about one man and his theology. For the most part, the theme seems to be trying to link Dwight to either Charismatics or Liberals.

Speaking of Liberals, be sure to read this: Prof’s 1980 lectures framed Sandy Creek-Charlston analogy

Written for Baptist Press, Smith follows a trail from Walter Shurden through Leon McBeth to Dwight McKissic. Specifically, Smith insinuates that because Shurden was openly critical of the Conservative Resurgence and that McBeth used statements from Shurden made at the same time as a source, and McKissic used McBeth as a source, then McKissic must be against the Resurgence. If you doubt that this is the intent, consider this quote from the article:

While McKissic speaks approvingly of the Conservative Resurgence which brought about the current leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention, Walter Shurden delivered a two-part lecture in November 1980 offering a harsh critique of “inerrantists” who in ensuing years would successfully convince Southern Baptists change was needed in their denomination.

Note the “speaks approvingly” phrase. This, especially in light of the indictment heavy balance of the article, seems to indicate that Smith thinks that these words from McKissic are just that: words.

Interesting what lengths we would have to go through to link Dwight to Liberalism in the form of Shurden. In fact, you don’t really have to go this far. McKissic quotes Shurden himself directly in his booklet on the Sandy Creek - Charlstonian Roundtable. You don’t even have to go through McBeth to link these two.

However, does it stand to reason that if someone quotes historical sources from someone who is not a conservative inerrantist that they are not a conservative inerrantist? Rather, like Roger Moran, James Smith seems to be participating in a guilt by association indictment - only Smith does it with an state paper’s platform. He also does it with a little more finesse, not outright calling McKissic a liberal - just insinuating.

The end result, however, is not so different.

I called and asked Dwight McKissic about the insinuation. He hadn’t read the article yet, but when presented with the idea that if you quote a liberal, you must or even might be a liberal, he chuckled and sounded like he was shaking his head. Maybe the head shaking was just me.

Having recovered, somewhat, from back to back Baptist Identity Conference and Mission Trip to Mexico, I want you to know my upcoming plans for blogging.

Next week, Paul Burleson will be with our church as we host a “Week of Renewal.”

I think we confuse the issues so much when we have “Revival.” Too often we mix evangelistic/crusade style services with a theme that is targeted toward Christians drawing together. We are focusing on the church with no illusions about it being a crusade. On the other hand, it is my fervent prayer that this week will stoke our evangelistic zeal. Dr. Jack MacGorman pointed out, when I took his class on the book of “Acts,” that every time the Holy Spirit was poured out, one thing consistently happened: The church became incredibly evangelistic and thousands were won to the Lord.

Obviously, my mind has been, and is, focused on the week ahead.

Still, I have a series of posts that have been germinating in my mind for the last month. This series will take on the issues of convention politics, emergent Southern Baptist churches, Glocalization, Young Leaders and the future of the SBC. Just to name a few.

Frankly, this series has my full attention and is the culmination of many, many things. As such, and to give enough room for a healthy discussion period, I am going to separate the articles by several days and may post other, news related, articles between these major posts. Or maybe not. It depends.

Later this week:

The Organic Revolution

We held our last “VBS” in Canales today. Tomorrow, we will finish out their brand new school. Tomorrow night and Friday morning we will begin to make our way back to Tulsa in different cars.

I shared the Gospel at VBS yesterday and today. I was excited that some were riveted, but it broke my heart that so many were disinterested. It was so clear that many of them were completely lost and had no idea that they were. I keep reminding myself that I am doing all that I can. The real power is in God’s hands. Then I wonder if I really am doing all that I can.

Please pray for the souls of these dear ones. They have no church near no hope for anything like it anytime soon. I would like to plant a church here. Pray about it.

I’m blogging with my Treo, so please forgive misspellings and short posts.

7 miles across the border of Mexico there is community of crushingly impoverished people. There was a group of young girls, maybe 9th grade aged, who came to our “VBS” today. I was told tonight that they would be married with children within a couple of years. They are trapped.

But their community has begun to invest in education. while everyone lives in broken down shacks, some as small as 10 ft x 10 ft and none bigger than 10 ft x 20 ft, the nicest buildings in the whole place are the schools. The Elementary School is huge compared to any other structure, but after that, all kids above 6th grade are in a 15 ft x 30 ft one room class. The dropout rate is almost absolute.

Things are changing, however. Today we erected the exterior walls and roof trusses of a two room, 25 ft x 40 ft Sr High. This will make room for the ones already swelling the other, one room building and encourage others to stay in school. For the desperately impoverished, education is their only way out.

And because we were giving so much, the principal is letting school out early every day, so that we can host “VBS” in the school yard. So today, these kids who had never heard the story of David and Goliath, yes - they are completely unchurched and have no Biblical understanding, heard about a young man who stood for God against a giant.

I will try to post pictures next week. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement.

I am flying out today to meet up with a mission team from my church on the border of Mexico. Tomorrow we cross the border to help in building a school, distribute food, distribute clothing and teach Bible Clubs to the local kids. I will be out for the week.

I am taking my computer, but I am quite sure that I will not have connectivity where we are. I am taking it to use in downloading pictures from my digital camera and in composing my sermons for next Sunday.

I do have one post, a funny one, set to drop tomorrow. In the mean time, place nice in the comment areas.

If I can post during the week, and find time, I may do so. No promises, however. Have a tremendous week in God’s presence.

Timothy George - “The Future of Baptist Identity in a Post Denominational World”

My original title, and the one I will speak on, is “Is Jesus a Baptist?” in spite of this being the home area of Graves and Pendleton. (Landmarkers, I think he is joking…)

Brief personal prelude. I was born near Chattanooga. My family was what is known today as dysfunctional. First person in my family to receive a college education. My family could not read or write, but could think and argue. We grew up in an impoverished neighborhood. In that community, there was a little Baptist Church. They were a country church in the urban city. Sandy Creek tradition. Received Christ and began to preach wherever I could. I am a baptist because of the Baptists that invested in me and brought me to it.

I never liked what was going on in the resurgence, but realized there were several very real issues that needed to be addressed. Had the leaders of the time (moderates) reacted differently when parity was sought, we would not have had the rupture that we have had. I am glad we have stopped accepting leaders who cannot affirm the veracity of the Bible. Nevertheless, we will never make the future by fighting the battles of the past.

3 strategies

1. Retrieval for the sake of renewal. We must retrieve the Baptist heritage so that we can equip ourselves for the future. The reformation was about this. They went “back to the source” - the written Word of God. Understanding our heritage will help us deal, constructively, with the things that are facing us now.

a) Are Baptists a creedal people? We are confessional, but have never been “creedalists.” We have, in fact opposed state enforced conformity. Believing that God alone is the authority, that no one has the right to attempt to require conformity. We also look only to Scripture for authority. There is no man made canonized statement to which we hold. We have held our confessions as revisable in light of Scripture. Confessions must be used carefully. Confessionalism, like Creedalism, can choke. When secondary and tertiary matters are elevated to primary importance, we are approaching a situation where tradition reigns.

b) Are Baptists Calvinists? Some are and some aren’t. It has been thus for 400 years. *LOOOONG List of Calvinist Baptists* I know of nothing that has happened since them that makes what they said wrong. We need not kill each other over such things. This is a family discussion, and we need not divide over it - Frank Page. Extremists on both sides threaten to kill us, and to pull themselves, and possibly the SBC with them, into the heresies of Pelagianism or , real - not merely alleged, Hyper Calvinism, respectively. Let us do away with the label “Calvinism.” It is an “in” word for some and a badge of pride for others. Let us simply love one another and work together for the Gospel. All are welcome *Long quote from Spurgeon.* Jesus will receive all, for no matter who comes, He will not cast them out.

2. Particularity in the service of unity. Theology matters because truth matters. We can not fall head long into ecuminism at the expense of papering over truth. Is Jesus a Baptist? The question should be, “Are Baptists Christian?” We are part of the Church, the universal, holy, catholic and apostolic church. We believe, by the way in many things invisible. Demons, Holy Spirit, etc. The reference to the church in Scripture is about local churches, but also about the universal church. “Upon this rock I will build my Church,” not “churches.” We are called to pray for, work for and embody the unity of John 17. We need particularity in the service of unity. There is no need to give away our Baptist distinctives in order to work with others whom are not those who hold to them. Jesus gives the ability for the lost to come to Him through the OBSERVABLE love for one another. William Carey, a strict Baptist, called for the first Missionary conference so that working together with other Christians would have “great effect.”

3. Humility in the presence of the holy. 2 caveats: 1. It is difficult to preach on humility. Not something to be cultivated, but a by-product of the fruit of the Spirit - the fragrance of the fruit. 2. Isn’t it somewhat narcissistic to be speaking about Baptist Identity? There is a fine line between looking to Baptist past and a “Baptocentricity.” Let us keep ourselves in perspective. There are more Muslims in the smallest province of China than there are Southern Baptists in the whole world.

When we lose our humility, we will lose our blessing from God in His endeavors. We are no more than donkeys - called by our master to carry our master’s burden.

(I’m not blogging the Q&A. Sorry.)

Ed Stetzer - “Toward a Missional Convention”

Not interested in joining a controversy. Not my role, not NAMB’s role. Yet compelled to speak.

Ecclesiology and Missiology will be the defining issues in the next years.

“Missional” being used across the SBC, but are we? What are the signs? How can we get there?

Origin of the term. Not new, not mine. 1907 Oxford English Dictionary. A sending God, sends His church. The normative expression of NT Christianity. It has become a buzz word and lost its context for many. We have always attempted to be Missional.

Seminaries, conventions, associations and pastors are calling for missional plan. There is a distinction between “mission minded” (in favor of others doing missions) and missional (us all as missionaries). The use outside evangelical circles lead some to believe it is a liberal paradigm, but it is being used widely within evangelicalism as well.

It is taking root across the SBC, but not everyone is happy about it - mostly because of some roots in ecumenicalism.

Missional is who the church was created to be and needs to be in current context.

Missional is not about terminology, but focus.

Conservatives often avoid anything that non-conservatives are doing. If they are doing it, we must avoid it. Still we cannot simply distance ourselves from such or we will be forced to abandon Scriptural terminology itself.

We have embraced it in International Missions, but we have failed to realize that we must implement the thoughts within local context.

11% of SBC churches are growing through healthy evangelism. We separate ourselves from the culture we are supposed to reach. The frontier Baptists that are often held upas our models were criticized, in their day, for being “too close to culture.”

Being mission minded is not Missional. We must adopt the same training and practice we expect of our international missionaries. We are missionaries in our culture. We are not doing it, and we are, therefore, failing to reach those in our surrounding communities.

We are trying to press the old models of reaching culture to work today. If we just work the paradigm, it will work. We just need to work it harder. The culture that those paradigms reached no longer exists.

Our current cultures are mission fields that are untapped. We are the missionaries and we must engage them. Our task is not to pine for the methods that once worked but to capture the motivation that spawned them. We must find the “best practice” that will make us effective in reaching the lost.

It is risky to be contextualized. There are many things that will pull our kids and parts of our body into things that are not healthy for them. Still, it must be done lest we never reach the lost next door.

Many do not accept what they do not understand or simply don’t like. Nevertheless, it is working. We can make Missional work.

3 things for success:

Contend for the faith. We must engage, work hard and get involved.

Contextualize. We have to plant indigenous like we do in International Missions. We used to plant colonial churches that sought to convert people to westernism as much as to Christ. Within our own culture, we must make our churches indigenous within a new culture in which we already live, rather than attempting to pull our culture back to where the church paradigms worked - the 50’s? We need to be Biblically faithful, culturally relevant and counter culturally significant. We must have inerrancy and sufficiency. We can’t hide in theology alone, though it is important. Still we must see if that theological introspection is working in winning the lost.

Cooperate. Are we going to tell an entire generation of younger leaders that they are not needed or wanted in the SBC? We have already done that with an entire generation of Purpose Driven leaders. How can we survive, if we do? The result of preaching against innovation at every denominational gathering is that the best and the brightest have left the SBC, or are leaving. They are NOT seeking appointments, etc. They are leaving and it may be our end. We must cooperate around our mission and our agreed upon theology. If we can’t cooperate, we must prepare for our demise. We must not force one another to be like us, no matter who we are.

The infighting and controversy will kill the SBC, but will also condemn millions of souls to hell. Let us get on mission together. Will you join me?

Q&A

Alan Cross: Went to Golden Gate, and back to AL. Ignored around the denominational gatherings and when they talk about missional, they don’t understand and the conversation focuses around their frustration. What do we do? ES: I’m sorry that we have failed you and that you have to go to other places to find out how to be Missional, and I understand - I love denominational gatherings because they make me feel young and thin, put that on your blog - but we need you. There are more Scriptural validations for you having a concubine than for us to form a denomination, put that on you blog, but we need you in this denomination, because we can do more together than we can apart.

Marty Duren: How do you respond to leadership who denigrate missional as “culture chasers” when it appears that they don’t understand what is going on? ES: Preaching against culture is like preaching against their house - it’s just where they live. I don’t think they are really as opposed to engaging culture as they sound.

How can we welcome in the missional pastors at the institutional level - they are providing separate gatherings rather than integrating them into the current platform and power structure? ES: You are right. We are hurting ourselves by separating. We can only get there if you stick around.

Greg Thornbury - “The ”Angry Young Men’ of the SBC”

Background - The provenance of the phrase. Speculations in a conversation about the bloggers (techno tractarianism): They aren’t being invited to serve on enough committees, they are gnostics, they are ‘angry young men.’ Is it right to put “the” before “bloggers?” They are not uniform - should not be one set. Are they angry?

Biblical definition of anger - emotion is judged by the actions that are produced and whether the emotion is appropriately controlled. In verbal expression it belittles and divides.

What about righteous anger? Neh 5:6, Mk 3:5.

Mostly the Scripture teaches us to avoid being given over to anger. Ps. 37:8, Jas. 1:19-20

Looking through the blogs, most anger seems to be coming from commentors, not the author of the post.

*several angry quotes - presented in a very humorous way*

Are they angry young men? I am not persuaded. They are irreverent and humorous and bright, but not overwhelmingly anger.

Frustration vs. Anger:

Upset over the lack of respect for men in the leadership positions fo the SBC.

The demise of revivalism, and the rise of Calvinism frustrates revivalists.

Calvinists are frustrated because they feel misrepresented.

Assumpton that postmodern=relativism (Missional/Emergent leaders)

Narrowness and cliquish agendas (protesting)

The overall feeling among each of the groups feel disenfranchised in the SBC.

A Different Description:

Malaise and disillusionment towards denomination life. Local ministry is upbeat, but not connected to the SBC.

What does it mean to be a Baptist? Lack of clear answers produce new networks.

Interest in other sources of encouragement for local ministry. Rather than spending their conference money on denominational meeting, where the speaker rants, jokes, etc. rather than exposit, they go to non-denominational conferences that they think will be more beneficial.

Mood: Not what I signed up for.

Wired magazine: Expired, Tired and Wired for Baptist life

Expired: Baptist Programs, Tired: Baptist Battles, Wired: Baptist Basics

Baptist Basics:

Regenerate Church Membership

Rediscovery of Holiness and Ancient Forms of Discipleship

Awe and Wonder of the Bible

The Prophetic Voice of the Church

“Every culture has a question that only the Gospel can answer. Listen for the question.” - Hal Poe

The Grand Ennui (and other loose ends):

We are still drawn like moths to the flames of controversy.

Are we proving Bill Leonard right? He predicted that the conservatives would turn on one another after the Resurgence.

Let us not too quickly abandon the Baptist ship.

Q&A

It seems that as new technologies have come into the fore throughout the ages, it seems that there has been a negative response. The blogosphere is media, neither right nor wrong. Your observations? GT: The medium is neutral. I have sympathy on those who are threatened.

You made the point that the issue is not in dealing with secondary issues, but that they are promoted over primary, but there is a group of people who see everything as primary. How do you deal with those people and create community? GT: We are challenged by the immediacy of the media, the anonymity of the situation - it creates a tremendous difficulty for conversation. We need to make the case that there is separation over these issues. If we don’t, people are going to splinter off and go elsewhere.

I think some people see themselves as collateral damage of bad Youth Ministries, how do we address this? We don’t teach spiritual formation, and we must.

CB Scott: I have seen quite a bit. I thank God for raising up young men who are righteous and involved. GT: This si the greatest generation of Christian young people in many generations.

Timmy Brister: Thanks for the fairmindedness. Blogging is self critique. When I read state papers, I don’t think they want to be held to the same standard of accountability that bloggers are being held to. It seems that the larger denomination is just continuing to splinter. What do we do? GT: Papers are held accountable by subscriptions. The rest must come to cooperation or we will split. TB: My problem is the misrepresentation of what I believe (Calvinism). GT: We must be humble and gentle with one another and deal in integrity.

(Jim Shaddix is speaking on the future of the traditional church. We are skipping it. )

Dr. David Dockery, President, Union University - “A Call For Renewal, Consensus and Cooperation: Reflections on the SBC Since 1979″

1. The SBC: An Introduction. Baptists often distance ourselves because we think we can do it better ourselves. We have been embroiled in controversy since 1979. That has created an identity crises, that will make us irrelevant if we do not settle it and in doing so, coalesce.

2. Southern Baptist History: An Overview 1845-1979. We trace our roots to two groups of Baptists in the South: Charlestonian tradition and the “so called” Sandy Creek tradition. Leadership in the early SBC were Charlestonian, but the Grass Roots were Sandy Creek. Landmarkism also had a tremendous impact. 19th Century Baptists looked to an authoritative Bible. Early 20th Century Baptists saw rapid growth and largely avoided the Modernist/Fundamentalist debate. We witnessed the diminishing influence of Calvinism, decline of postmillennialism, the rise of revivalism.The introduction of such matters of historical criticism and other issues. 1925 produced the BFM exalting the authority of Scripture as a response. From ‘25-’54 the SBC could be characterized by the growth denominational organization and efficiency. 1925 saw the birth of the Cooperative Program. The Executive Committee was formed. The Million More in ‘54 saw tremendous growth. Pragmatism was the order of the day and in this context critical approaches to biblical studies came into influence. ‘54–’79 grew to the largest protestant denomination. Leaders were embarrassed by its roots. The new models focused on priesthood of the believer. It was highly influential.

3. The SBC Since 1979: Paradigmatic Changes. Things changed during the 1979 with the election of Adrian Rogers as President. Conservatives sought to hearken back to the roots with an exaltation of the authority of Scripture. They looked to other sources for their own roots. The Chicago Statement on Inerrancy. Conservatives were elected year after year. Jimmy Draper sought to bring sides together, but it did not happen. Nettles and Bush wrote “Baptists and the Bible” while on faculty of SWBTS. Dilday answered with “The Authority of the Bible,” which countered the claim of strict Inerrancy. More books followed back and forth in discussion through the SBC. The Peace Committee Report ‘85-’87. The Glorieta Statement came from the 6 Seminary Presidents in 1986 affirming an imbalance on their faculties: The Bible has no error & they would hire conservatives on their faculty. The New American Commentary became an exegetical underpinning for conservative. The Conservatives really wanted Genesis to counter previous claims.

4. Fragmentation in the SBC: Beyond Moderates and Conservatives. Really four groups and more: Fundamentalists, Conservatives, Moderates and Liberals. Moderates and Conservatives were really much more diverse than that. All of the groups among the conservatives were needed for the resurgence. They were very diverse, but worked together. Now that the resurgence is complete, there is a need to re-establish the identity of SB’s. Many wanted a course correction, some wanted a full purging. Moderates did not really understand the differences. The strict Calvinists tend to still be rejected by fundamentalists and revivalists and feel very frustrated, as do many of the younger leaders. All of the conservatives connect outside the SBC better than they do within it. They will goaway if we do not rediscover a joint identity.

5. The Breakdown of the Cultrual and Programmatic Consensus: Where We Found Ourselves at the End of the 20th Century. The culture in which many were raised (RA’s, GA’s, Bible Drill, etc.) was across the board. Missions focus was unified. Even without the controversy, the intactness began to unravel - parachurch groups, Bible translations, diversity of music, varied worship style, heroes and models are now outside the SBC. We do not know our identity and heritage anymore. The previous SBC culture has unraveled.

6. Toward Consensus and Cooperation: Primary and Secondary Matters. We are the beneficiaries and victims of traditions. Much good, but much that needs to be questioned. The Bible must be the “last word” in sifting through traditions and challenges - 1 Thess 5:21 - hold to the best of what we have. It is naive to think that this would be simple. We must seek consensus or we will fall apart. WE need Southern Baptist Identity, Consistency, Core and Boundry Markers. Our biggest challenges are not the nuances of our differences, but in liberalism, neo-paganism, and postmodernism, not to mention militant Islam.

7. A Proposal of Renewal for the 21st Century SBC: Guidance and Hope. Hold to our best and move to a place where we do draw boundaries. Based on a full orbed doctrine of Scripture. defining the circumference is necessay, but WE SHOULD NOT DEMAND UNIFORMITY. (Emphasis his) An orthodox confession is necessary. We do not focus on uniformity, but on the truth of Scripture. We must take seriously the Biblical call to unity (John 17). Oneness that calls for the humility, gentleness… Eph. 4:2-3 and racial reconciliation. We need to be reminded of the need for the resurgence. Not everything is a primary issue. We need mutual respect to serve with those who disagree on secondary and tertiary matters and a like mindedness on first order issues like the primacy of Scripture. We must move to a new consensus and commitment to cooperation. We need Orthodoxy, but also Orthopraxy - the living out of these truths in our culture.

Q&A - Dockery and Moore

McKissic: You mentioned race relations, how will we give minorities some ownership within the SBC? Why should we be involved, since we have not seen any real changes since the “apology?” Dockery: We do need to rid of ourselves of our racist past. We are victims of that tradition. We have to promote diversity within the SBC & we need minority leaders to help lead that. Moore: It has to start at the local church level. Churches are going to have to become multiracial for us to progress.

Casper: Consistancy vs Identity: Is there anything beyond the BFM that would define consistency? Dockery: BFM matters and we need to hold to that to be a leader in the SBC. Moore: Some things become primary or secondary depending on what you are trying to accomplish.

CB Scott: Since ‘79, Presidents of the SBC have been Fathers of the resurgence or sons of it. Will we see a new formula? Dockery: Commitment to the BFM2000 will be vital. It will not be vital that they have been a part of the resurgence, but they have to appreciate it. Moore: They must be committed to the principles so that they can continue to deal with the issues that the resurgence dealt with.

Ben Cole (to Russ Moore): I am sometimes accussed for using elevated rhetoric, and I admit it. Sometimes I read what you write and say. What do you see is the way we can engage in intense, heated discussion and at the same time and still move as two oxen toward denominational identity in the future? How will you facilitate this conversation? Moore: You can’t ignore the divisions that are really there. There must be directness of speech that happens in love. I need to take time to think it through. It can’t come from sinful personal traits. *Cole: I see some instances of institutional coruption and I wrestle with how to address it without addressing corrupt bureaucrats? How can you do it without there dealing with certain personalities? The resurgence would never have happened without the citing of specific instances. Moore: The resurgence was about the issues, but not a hatred of the moderate leadership of the SBC. it cannot be seen as a personal vendetta.

How do we move to a local church identity since it no longer comes from our programs, etc.? Dockery: It rests with the pastors. They must be the teachers. Moore: It requires that pastors stay at churches more than 4 years. They must be trusted and use the ordinances and church membership as teaching tools. We must treat our diverse congregations with the attitude that “I am more concerned with my brother than myself.”