The Southern Baptist Convention convenes annually for two days in June. The meeting is going on now in New Orleans. Messengers from Southern Baptist churches gather to conduct convention business, hear reports from Southern Baptist entities and agencies, and elect officers for the upcoming year. It's a Baptist business meeting on steroids!
The action taken by messengers that will get the most press is the election of Fred Luter as president of the convention. Luter is a pastor in New Orleans. He has built Franklin Avenue Baptist Church twice: once before Katrina and again after the storm. He's a passionate preacher. He's an evangelist.
He's African-American. That's what causes the great interest of the press. The Southern Baptist Convention was formed in 1845 by churches in the south in part because the previous organization would not fully include them in missions and ministry because of their stance on slavery. Electing a black man to lead the SBC is newsworthy. Maybe in a few years it won't be. This is a breakthrough for Southern Baptists that's been a long time coming.
The most divisive issue addressed by the convention messengers dealt with a recommendation from the Executive Committee calling for a non-binding, non-legal descriptor. A tagline that Southern Baptist churches may use to further identify them or to be used instead of "Southern Baptist." Those in favor of the descriptor claim that the convention no longer is only "southern" but exists and ministers in all 50 states. They say in northern and western areas of the country, the descriptor will help them reach people without the distraction of having to explain the name.
Those opposed to the descriptor say that the name has served us well and that we would be leaving our heritage behind. One messenger who spoke against the motion on the convention floor said this would be the second step to dismantling the SBC. Not sure what he thinks the first step was unless it was the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force Recommendation adopted two years ago at the convention in Orlando.
Outgoing President Bryant Wright pressed the issue a few months ago by calling for a task force to study the possibility of changing the name of the convention. The task force recommended to the Executive Committee that the convention not change its name due to several issues. The name recognition garnered by the SBC over the years is invaluable. The legal mess created by a name change would be long and costly. The cost to every church and entity associated with the SBC would be great as they had to update signs, printed material, and electronic sites; and to rebrand themselves in their communities.
The recommendation did include approving the descriptor "Great Commission Baptists" for use as churches and entities should desire. So a church can call itself whatever it would like. By the way, that's no change from before. My church can do nothing and that would be completely supported by the convention's action. A church might want to take the name "Cross Road Church" and add the descriptor "We Are Great Commission Baptists" and that would also be completely supported by the convention's action.
The convention voted to approve the recommendation by a vote of 53% to 46%. I'm for it and I will encourage our church to adopt the descriptor in some fashion. Yes, we are in the south and we are in the Bible belt. But what better way is there to remind us of our mission than to keep the descriptor in our eyes?
We are Cross Road Baptist Church - Southern Baptists and Great Commission Baptists.
No comments:
Post a Comment