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. :) )

Posts with related content

• No Related Post

TAGS: None