Union University recently hosted a Baptist Identity conference, and the audio is here.
Here’s the lineup:
Session X – Timothy George
Session IX – Ed Stetzer
Session VIII – Jim Shaddix
Session VII – Gregory A. Thornbury
Session VI – David S. Dockery
Session IV – Paige Patterson
Session III – Mike Day
Session II – Thom Rainer
Session I – Frank Page
As I listened to some of the messages from Baptist Identity conference, I got to thinking about reason to belong to the SBC. These men and many other have spent a lot of time trying to keep everyone calm regarding the SBC. Time perhaps better spent on God’s work and not men’s work. If folks have differing views on Doctrines of Grace – so be it. I believe in the Doctrines of Grace and I “truly” do not understand, if folks will look at and study the Scriptures, they can have the views they have. I have listen and discussed with friends and they simple will not look at Scriptures. Back to original questions please give me some “good” reasons to even belong to the SBC.
Dear Larry,
Thanks for your note. I think the best reason to be in the SBC is the reason cited to me by Mark Dever: the IMB, with all its warts, is the best mission agency in the world. Supporting the SBC allows us to support the IMB.
I would also refer you to this post: http://jimhamilton.wordpress.com/2006/03/27/the-future-of-baptist-theology-according-to-timothy-george/
And, here are some great reasons to be encouraged about being in the SBC (in the order they come to me not in order of importance):
1. The Faculties at the Seminaries (see especially recent books by Schreiner, Ware, Hammet, Nettles, Kostenberger and many others).
2. The growing influence of 9Marks Ministries among the younger generation
3. The young men graduating from the seminaries. My experience of these guys heading out to pastor is that they want to preach the word–all of it–and they want to be serious about church health.
4. The fact that two of the 4 key players in the Together for the Gospel movement are Southern Baptists. Did you go to that conference? If you were there, you had to be encouraged by the hordes of young men exuding love for the Lord and his word, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, responding to the preaching of John Piper and the others.
And I say again, the best reason to cooperate with the SBC is so that you can help fund the IMB. If you want to be put in touch with some IMB missionaries, I have some friends on the field and I would love to pass their contact info on to you.
I hope you find this compelling!
Blessings,
Jim
So you can’t fund the IMB any other way, independently of the SBC?
Not wanting to argue with you at all, here. As a matter of fact, I feel a bit flattered with what you say about the IMB, and us, in general, as IMB missionaries. However, that really does put a lot of burden on us. We all have our defects as well. I am especially concerned for the implications of what you say here, if the IMB Board of Trustees cannot come to a satisfactory conclusion of the controversial issues they are dealing with now.
Bryan,
I don’t think so. I think that would be like asking if you can fund the Astros apart from funding their management operation. The one entails the other.
JMH
David,
Hearty thanks for your note. I pray God’s best for you as you serve him on the mission field.
The whole point of the SBC from its inception has been the funding of missions. That’s why they split from the northern Baptists back in 1845, so they could send missionaries from southern states.
On the whole, I am encouraged by other things. I think that the flashy, silly, mean, trivial, disappointing things are largely on the surface. That doesn’t mean that deep down we don’t have our problems we need to deal with, but I think that some things are healthy deep down and promise positive change.
Glad you are where you are, and praying for you to keep fighting the good fight!
Jim
Thanks Jim. I didn’t realize that IMB from the SBC and primarily funded by the SBC. I thought they were kind of independent but worked together (I don’t know a whole lot about the SBC). I figured there was a way to contribute directly to the IMB and not just the SBC who decides where to distribute the money.
Blessings,
Bryan L
Jim,
Slight correction: The SBC was formed so that the southern states could send slaveholding missionaries as the Triennial Convention (rightly) would not appoint slave holders. (They did this in a de facto matter by refusing to act on the Georgia Test Case (Home Missions) and Alabama Resolution (FM). The Triennial Convention mission boards were perefectly willing to appoint non-slaveholding southerners as missionaries.
Although it seems minor, this is an important point. Historically, the SBC was birthed out of a desire to preserve the dominant planter/slave culture of the South, its people generally opposed Reconstruction, participated in the enactment of Jim Crowism and resisted desegregation. Unfortunately, I fear that similar sentiments run deep among many SB’s.
Warm regards,
Miles