Thom Rainer – “Evangelism and Church Growth in the SBC”

Alarms are sounding in the SBC.

1950 – 376,000 Baptisms, 2006 – 371,000 Baptisms despite a 130% increase in our membership during those dates.

Since 1979, our theological correction has not borne fruit in evangelism. “A Resurgence not realized.” Why?

Observations from Dr. Rainer personally.

1. Eschatology – The denial of a literal hell. Denominations who abandon a belief in hell spiral. Before coming to Lifeway, Dr. Rainer researched and documented an erosion in this belief among SBC churches.

2. Ecclesiology – Unregenerate membership. Hello Tom Ascol? That which is dead cannot win the dead.

3. Sociology – We are more materially comfortable. We use our wealth on ourselves instead on on God’s purpose. Quoting Haggai.

4. Responsibility – This year, over 6 mos., 1/2 of Sr. Pastors had not made any intentional relationship with a lost person in hopes of reaching them. In the same time, 2/3 of laity in the SBC had not done so. We are not taking the responsibility to evangelize the lost personally.

If only one person in each church were winning once every two weeks, then Baptisms in the SBC would triple. No one is taking responsibility.

5. Humility – A great source of our denominational apathy resides, not in the bureaucracy, but in us. Evangelism is the natural outflow of a relationship with Christ. When we are apathetic about our relationship with Christ, we are not burdened to an establish a relationship for others. “I know that I am a part of the problem in the SBC, because I know that, too often, I lack the humility to realize that I fully dependent on God.”

Humility does not mean we do not disagree, but that we disagree with love. Humility does not mean that we do not point out sin, but that we first examine the log in our own lives.

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