DownshoreDrift

Can the Christian Church Help Montgomery, Alabama?

I live in Montgomery, Alabama. I have lived and ministered here for almost 10 years. This past week, a horrible division occurred on Montgomery's school board along racial lines. Today, an article comes out confirming what everyone knows: White flight has completely taken hold in Montgomery County.  In just 8 years, whites have gone from 50% of the population of the county to 45% and the number is declining fast.  What will it be in 10 more years? Blacks have gone from 49% to 54% approximately. Of course, whether the city is primarily white or black does not really matter - it is the stigma that is attached to racial differences here that is so devastating. Racial division increases here as whites move to northern counties to get away from the problems that exist in the city, both real and perceived. Suburban blight has claimed many neighborhoods that were once good places to live and retail areas that were once thriving now sit vacant. The public schools face serious performance and funding issues. Around 90% of the 32,000 students are black and 60% of those students live below the poverty line. White citizens don't want to fund a school system that they don't send their children to, so property taxes are some of the lowest in the state. There are basically two school systems existing of primarily white private academies and primarily black public schools. Crime abounds among a growing underclass population. The morale of the citizens of the city is very low and no one thinks that anything can be done about it.  Old Montgomery business interests keep building new developments to make more and more money without thought of how it affects neighborhoods and how it destroys communities as the developments and growth prove to be unstainable.  It is a planning disaster, but money makes the machine run.  

As for the churches, there are well over 300 churches in a city of around 220,000. 57 of them are Southern Baptist. If you drive around the city, it seems that there is a church building on every street corner. Most of the churches are half empty and consist primarily of senior adults. Almost all of the churches are composed of just one race as 11:00 on Sunday morning is still the most segregated hour in our community. Very few churches are involved in their communities in any meaningful way.  Nearly everyone claims to be a Christian here, but according to the most accurate estimates available, only 28% attend church and of those that do, how many are really involved in sacrficing to change their communities for the better?

Still, Montgomery primarily struggles from a lack of imagination brought on by generations of oppression, division, and racism. My family lives in an old neighborhood just a few minutes from downtown. We have a great house in a great neighborhood. Montgomery is a great place to live and raise our children. We are fortunate that our kids go to the public magnet schools and are receiving a great education. We are happy and we have decided that this is where God has placed us and the walls of division that have destroyed the potential of this city, the state Capitol of Alabama, the first capitol of the Confederacy, and the Birthplace of Civil Rights - well, those walls must come down.  It really is what you make of it and it is amazing how much of a better perspective you have on people and events when you see things through the eyes of faith. 

But, not everyone sees things that way. Here are just a few of the many comments from local citizens about Montgomery posted in the comment section of the aforementioned article on our local newspaper's website. Read these comments and tell me how you would be a missionary in a city like this:

MichaelLange wrote:

Montgomery is the most racially divided city I have ever lived in. The school system is 100% segregated with a majority of the white students attending private schools while the public schools are disproportionately black. Sometimes I feel like the problem is already too far gone to be fixed, I honestly hope I'm wrong. But as long as our elected officials live with their head in the sand I guess we will never see real progress and change. It's time to call it what it is and look for real solutions and we can start by electing school board members and other elected officials that want to represent all segments of the population and do what is best for the city and the county.
7/4/2009 6:45:02 AM

 

Proculator wrote:

You wil note that blacks are fleeing Montgomery too. Does anyone think middle class blacks approve of the thugs running the streets as they are more likely to become a victim than a white person. Tallahassee Florida has some of the same problems as Montgomery but there has been no white flight out of the city.
Maybe we should send some of city commissioners and staff and talk with them. Look around Montgomery as some areas in the West, the old Madison Ave sections and south Montgomery have become what whites describe as the Black Plague destroying good mixed neighborhoods street by street house by house. Slumloads are ignored by the city code enforcement because after all "Black folks like to live in the slums." When tourists visit Old Montgomery they have to be let in the main complex by a guard after pushing a button due to the thugs. Welcome to Montgomery folks this is how it is. It's not. There are a lot of mixed neighborhoods that work.

 

williethemole wrote:

I often doubt statistics when Montgomery claims crime rates are down, but even if they are down, they're still incredibly high, much too high for any honest family looking to relocate here.
As for the school system, it's a disaster that will more than likely never improve.As long as students are allowed to disrupt classrooms with little if any retribution, those families, both black and white, that truly want a good education for their kids will look elsewhere.Who can blame them?
Montgomery has many problems to deal with and a large percentage of it's population that seemingly just doesn't care.Our main thoroughfares are often covered with litter, once decent neighborhoods are even worse.The city is ugly and poorly planned for the most part.You can't have a movie theatre, mall or other similar places to visit without our infamous thug element eventually ruining it for everyone else.
I feel for Todd Strange because I truly believe he wants the best for the city..Good Luck mayor.
7/4/2009 6:52:33 AM

 

stay_fokuzed wrote:

Middle-class blacks and whites are fed up with the rampant thugery and racial hating that always seems to raise its ugly head and prevent any natural progression. When city officials make attempts to reduce this rampant thugery it gets labeled as racial profiling. The demise of the Montgomery Mall is a perfect example of this. Making excuses for crimes a person commits just because they are same race as you is another major problem. Step up, be a leader, and instead of focusing on race, focus on right and wrong regardless of race.
7/4/2009 7:18:11 AM

williethemole wrote:

Replying to bitemehindend:

As much as I hate to be a part of trend, as soon as my husband and I can sell our house we are out of Montgomery too. I have lived in montgomery for 37 of my 39 years and it pains me but I just don't want to live in this city anymore.

I have a pending contract on my house now, and hope (fingers AND toes crossed) that the potential buyer closes by the end of the month.No real matter however, since I have a modest place waiting for me 40 miles south of the city and will move anyway regardless.Sadly, I've pretty much had to give the place away for obvious reasons, but there is no price tag on happiness, and I'm absolutely miserable in this town.
I will urge anyone that can afford it to flee this place ASAP. It's only going to get more depressing as the generations that follow yours will be far worse than what's residing here now.
This was a quiet and relatively peaceful town 30 years ago, but those days are gone forever.The "blight" has destroyed Montgomery.

 

Brutal, isn't it? This type of talk is not just on the newspaper's website. I hear it all the time. The statistics are not good and there are definitely real problems. But, many of those problems are enhanced and become unsolvable from the reality that is created by negative perception. I just came from the city's 4th of July Fireworks Show downtown on the Riverfront. There were thousands of people there - white and black alike. Families. Couples. Singles. Kids. Everyone was having a good time and it was very peaceful. Everyone got along. It was really, really nice. I saw no negative incidents and like I said, there were thousands of people there. If you read the newspapers or talked to people, you would expect to be viciously attacked and beaten if you leave the house. Yet, the reality is much different. Montgomery is actually pretty peaceful.  But the fact that thousands of white and black citizens came together tonight and had a wonderful time will do nothing to erase the negative perception that exists in the minds of people when it comes to this city. Montgomery faces a spiritual problem of immense proportions.

 

Are there other problems? Absolutely. Family breakdown has destroyed this community in many ways and it happens in both white and black households.  There are problems in the schools and in our communities. Racial division continues to cause us to distrust one another and assume the worst. But again, I think that all of these problems are spiritual problems at their core. At the same time, there are many good things about Montgomery. It is a very family oriented city.  People are generally decent (despite the utopian fantasies that might exist among those who want to move to another community).  It is not hard to raise a family here. But, how does the city move forward and address it's problems?

 

This is where the Church should come in, I would think. Spiritual problems require spiritual answers. Why can't the Church promote a different future than the past that is tearing us apart? Why can't God do miracles and turn a city around? Why can't He revive His people here? Is He too weak? Does He not hear our prayers? Are we praying? Are we obeying? We are to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." (Matt. 6:9-15). What would it look like if God's will was done in Montgomery? What would it look like if His people began living out His will in this city? If we began praying bold prayers? 

 

Christians need to stop running. I'm talking about both white and black Christians. White Christians are fleeing the city and black Christians continue to just have church inside their walls. White Christians do the same, actually. We need to live out what we believe and stop being so afraid to engage the real problems in the lives of people. We need to reclaim our communities, get involved in the schools, and proclaim and demonstrate the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to call for and demonstrate justice. We need to stop retreating. What are we afraid of? Are we afraid of losing something? If we had laid down our lives like we were supposed to, we wouldn't have anything to lose. So, because we are afraid of losing our lives, we cannot be disciples of Christ and we don't have any power from the Lord (Luke 9:23-26).  We just have our lifestyles and our comfort to protect and maintain.  It is a travesty.

 

We need to pray for and believe God for a different future for this city. We need to have some HOPE in a God who can raise the dead and calls things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17). Where is our faith? Where is our power? 

 

In 20 years, the churches in this city will have dried up. Thousands more people will have moved away. Neighborhoods will have crumbled, housing values will have dropped, retail areas will be abandoned, and schools will be completely broken. Crime will be rampant. You won't be able to raise children here. Racial division will continue and good people of both races will not know what to do. 

 

Or,

 

Churches will explode with spiritual growth. White and black people will come together to worship God and love one another in Christ in the SAME church. People will stay and reclaim their communities. Neighborhoods will flourish as neighbors learn to support one another - white and black together.  Businesses will flock to the city. Schools will improve and there will be safe, healthy environments for children to learn and grow. Crime will be reduced because people will not want to live that way. Families will populate this city. Racial division will melt under the hand of the Lord who makes the two one and destroys the dividing wall of hostility in Himself. 

 

Or, maybe the future will be somewhere in between. What really matters is if we, as the people of God, are faithful to follow Christ, love sacrificially, and to live out a different future based on hope instead of despair. 

 

Which future will we have? I am tired of just giving in. I turn 35 years old this month. How am I going to spend my life? Running? Talking about Jesus but not living like Him? Can a city be changed? Can a city be turned back to God? Can Christians actually act like followers of Jesus?

 

It is now after midnight - July 5. Sunday - The Lord's Day. We just celebrated Independence Day and remembered all those who died to make America free, yet we won't lay down our lives for the Lord to make our cities holy. Things should change and they should change with me. 

 

What about you? Will you stop running away from problems and engage people with acts of sacrificial love?  What would the future look like if we did?   

Phil Busbee, Pastor of First Baptist, San Francisco, Passed Away June 27th

This is very sad news.  Pastor Phil Busbee of First Baptist Church, San Francisco, passed away June 27th. Visitation will be on July 6 and the funeral service will be July 7. All of the funeral arrangements are listed at First Baptist's website.

When I was a seminary student at Golden Gate in the late 90's, Erika and I spent months looking for a church where the Bible was taught and believed and where we could engage in ministry with a loving body of believers. We looked for several months and had trouble finding the place that we felt God wanted us to be. We went to a store front church for a few months led by Andrew Jones (Tall Skinny Kiwi), and ministered to street kids in the Haight-Ashbury on Sunday afternoons. But, that wasn't where we ultimately connected. A friend of mine invited me to First Baptist Church, San Francisco where Jim Higgs was the pastor. Erika and I visited and immediately sensed God's presence and a leading to join with this wonderful church. Two weeks later, Pastor Higgs retired after 17 years or so pastoring the church. We stayed.

Eighteen months later after a long search, FBCSF hired Phil Busbee to be the pastor. He was from Southern California and had served under Thom Wolf at The Church on Brady (now Mosaic). Pastor Phil had a great heart, a focus on Jesus Christ, a love for the city and the nations, a love for people, and rock solid Biblical convictions. He took stands against homosexuality in San Francisco, yet he loved gay people sacrificially. He was a man after God's own heart. He was also an extremely generous and compassionate man. Our daughter, Ashtyn, was dedicated to the Lord by his prayers when she was just a few months old. He blessed us as we left San Francisco and moved to Alabama to minister. I returned to San Francisco on mission trips for during two summers (2000 & 2001) after moving to my current church and he let us stay in the church basement and use the church as a home base. When we visited, he invited me to pray during a service, which was a surprise to me. I was also fortunate to visit with him at a conference that he was speaking at in Seattle in 2005 and we had rich fellowship together. 

This past March, I took Ashtyn back to San Francisco on a Daddy-Daughter trip, my first return to San Francisco in 8 years. Of course, we visited First Baptist for their Sunday worship service and I was fortunate to see him one last time.  He preached from a stool that he was rolled up to in a wheel chair. Because of diabetes and other health issues, Pastor Phil was very sick and frail at this point. Yet, he spoke of God's love and care for him, even though he did not understand the reasons for everything that was happening to Him. He trusted God and he was passionate for Christ, even as he faced his own decay. I sensed God's presence in that church and during the worship I was greatly moved. Pastor Phil was a leader, a pastor, and a prophet to so many people. Hundreds of seminary students came through First Baptist during the 10 years he pastored there and I know that they are better for it. 

When he first came to FBCSF, Pastor Phil preached a series on worship. I'll never forget that. He started his ministry there by teaching us about passionate worship of Christ. He ended his ministry there worshiping Christ and I praise God that that is what he is doing now with the Lord. I can still see him sitting in that wheel chair in March, with his hands lifted praising His King. He will be greatly missed and even though I only sat under his ministry for about a year, I was greatly impacted by his heart for God, his passion for prayer and worship, his missional lifestyle, and his deep love for people. 

I am praying for his family and for First Baptist Church, San Francisco. 

~ Alan Cross, Golden Gate Alum and member of First Baptist Church, San Francisco 1997-1999.

I also found this video of Pastor Phil teaching last year at a minister's meeting about bringing transformation to San Francisco through prayer and marketplace ministry.

The Secret to Getting Along in the SBC: Morris Chapman, Calvinists, and the GCR

Disclaimer:  SBC RELATED POST.  It seems that I am going to be writing about SBC Issues more, at least in the near future. After not writing about the SBC hardly at all over the past year or two on this blog, I have found myself really interested in what is going on in America's largest Protestant denomination when it comes to the promotion and adoption of what is called the Great Commission Resurgence. I wrote about it last week during the convention and will continue to do so until I get bored with it or no one is reading anymore.

Dr. Morris Chapman created a firestorm last week when he addressed Calvinism in his Executive Committee report at the Southern Baptist Annual Meeting. I wrote about it HERE.  Calvinists were upset that he seemed to call them out in ways that they felt were inaccurate. Baptist Identity folks have been making their claim for control of the SBC for a few years now. Before that, it was Conservatives. Before that, moderates. Now, we have the Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) and its band of Calvinists/Non-Calvinists/Missional types and those focused primarily on missions and fulfilling the Great Commission. Still, it would be unfair to say that Traditionalists and Baptist Identity adherents don't care about the Great Commission. But, we are all wrestling with each other again and what had been happening primarily on the blogs has now broken out into the SBC at large. The next year is going to be very interesting.

Baptists are good at fighting. We are known for it actually. In thinking back on the Convention last week, I ended up giving some extra thought to the address that Dr. Chapman gave. It was easily dismissed as being out of touch and divisive because of a few statements about Calvinism.  But, what if we have missed the larger point of what he was saying?  He has been a respected leader in the SBC for at least 30 years now. Did he all of a sudden lose his mind? Does he have a history of saying things that are ignorant? I might not agree with all that he said (and I don't), but I am wondering if we dismissed his words too quickly because they didn't fit with what we all wanted to hear.

As I went back and read over his address, I found myself agreeing with almost all of it. Even his controversial statements on Calvinism are more understandable if you hear them in context of the rest of his address. He wonders why we cannot allow for a proper tension between Divine Sovereignty and the human response of faith, instead of putting all of the focus on God's work and none on man's response. Now, I might not agree that Calvinists put it quite like that, but I don't think that his words warranted Dr. Akin calling his address "shameful" and Dr. Mohler tweeting that he wanted to start a support group for those who had to sit through it. Read the rest of his address. He repeatedly says that our focus should be on Jesus Christ and His mission to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.  He repeatedly calls us to refocus on our primary task, which is to focus on Jesus and the work that He has given us to do. Save the unfortunate comments on Calvinism, it was an excellent address. Even those comments on Calvinism (if seen in their proper context and considering that they are coming from a non-Calvinist who has concerns about the growing influence of Calvinism in the SBC) are not that big of a deal - save the fact that he didn't accurately represent what Calvinists believe about man's response of faith. But, then again, how many times have I heard Calvinists call anyone who doesn't adhere to all 5 points of TULIP a Pelagian, gospel-denying, man-centered, humanist?  Quite a few.

Here is the deal: We all need to tone down the rhetoric and respect one another. Dr. Chapman has, on many occasions, stated his belief that Calvinists have every right to exist and operate within the SBC. But, do Calvinists want to just co-exist, or do they see their position as being the position that is the most Biblical and the true Southern Baptist position?  Consider Tom Ascol, the director of the Founder's Movement, when asked about this:

The resurgence of Calvinism in the SBC is a type of theological homecoming. It is beyond dispute that the theological consensus of the SBC our our founding in 1845 was Calvinistic. As Timothy George has noted, every one of the 293 delegates who attended the constitutional meeting in Augusta, Georgia in 1845 came from churches or associations that held to the Second London Confession of Faith (in some cases in its Charleston or Philadelphia expressions). In the early decades of the 20th century that consensus broke down and soon was overtaken by strong emphasis on pragmatism, perhaps most notably demonstrated in the "Million more in '54" campaign. The shift of theological commitments from the center of our identity to the periphery resulted in denominational amnesia. We simply forget who we were.

The conservative resurgence was the first stage in our denomination's doctrinal recovery. With the reestablishment of a clear confession of Scripture's full authority as the Word of God written, it is inevitable that there should follow a recovery of the message of Scripture as historically understood by those who founded the Southern Baptist Convention. That is what is happening. We are witnessing a return to the faith of our fathers.

Now, I like Dr. Ascol a lot. I like the Founder's Movement, even though I am not a Calvinist. I think that they are good for the SBC. But, Dr. Ascol presents a view of Calvinism that states that if we return to the Bible and it's authority, then we will all become Calvinists. I disagree as does Dr. Chapman. It was unfortunate that in Dr. Chapman's disagreement, he stated that Calvinists belittle man's faith response, which they do not, but still, is it also accurate to state that a commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture will necessarily lead one to become a Calvinist? I don't think so.

                                         

On both sides of this debate, things are said that are unfortunate. We should disagree boldly if we disagree on issues. But, as Dr. Chapman said in the rest of his address, our focus and commitment should be on the gospel of Jesus Christ and on taking it to the ends of the earth.  The "Secret to Getting Along in the SBC" is to love one another sacrificially and to allow people to differ on issues that are not core issues while we partner together around Jesus Christ and His Good News. We have stated that whether you are a Calvinist or not, you are welcome in the SBC. At the same time, the rhetoric from both sides needs to die down. Non-Calvinists need to stop saying that Calvinists don't evangelize. Calvinists need to stop saying that Non-Calvinists deny the gospel. Both statements are untrue (neither Drs. Chapman nor Ascol have said this, as far as I know, but others have).

                                                             

Here is my main concern:  We need to be careful that we do not enter a time where questions about the GCR or theological differences are dismissed or different positions are not allowed to be presented on the areas where we differ for fear that someone will lose their job or they will be shouted down. If Dr. Chapman was wrong about Calvinism, then someone needs to say so, but we don't need seminary presidents publicly saying that it was shameful and making fun of him. Not helpful. Is this what opponents of the GCR can expect over the next year?  I will defend the right of Calvinists to be in the SBC, even though they think that their view is the only correct view. Actually, I respect that. Why would you hold to a view that you don't think is correct? At the same time, I will defend Dr. Chapman's right to question that view or to question the GCR, even if he is shown to be mistaken about part of it or is responding to a caricature. That is where dialogue comes in and without dialogue, we have no hope for cooperation. There should be enough room for different voices in the SBC and we should be able to disagree on these issues and still work together.

                                                    

So, going back and reading Dr. Chapman's address, I can say that I disagree with him on his perspective on Calvinism (not that the correct view is a divine tension but that Calvinists diminish faith), but I do not disagree with his main point that we should keep Christ and His gospel central to all that we do and that we should cooperate together to take His gospel to the ends of the earth. Let's not lose the main point because we disagree with the direction the person is coming from. If we do that, then all dialogue will break down and we will never be able to work with those who differ from us in certain areas.

                                                     

Keep Christ central. Love one another. Agree on the main things. Partner for missions.

                                                     

Isn't this what we should be about?  If we have any hope for a GCR, we have to begin to get this right.

Sunday Worship: Busyness as Spiritual Idolatry

"How are you doing?"

"Good. Busy, but good . . . Actually, I am soooo busy."

"I know. Me too. I'm really busy."

This is a normal exchange between two Americans in 2009. Whether they are in high school, college, single and working, newly married, have children, or are retired, the constant refrain from most people is . . .

I'm busy.

I said it myself in a tweet earlier today without even thinking about it. It just rolls off the tongue (or the fingers on the keyboard) so easily. I'm busy. It is the explanation for everything. Saying that today reminded me that that is not how I want to see life.  When I say, "I'm busy," I'm saying that I'm doing stuff that I don't want to be doing and I'm running around like crazy trying to get stuff done because I have to. I am describing a state of physical, emotional, and spiritual unrest that leaves me worn out and depleted.  It is not healthy and it is usually unnecessary, for the most part.  So, I'm speaking to myself here.

Some people really are busy and legitimately so. I talked with a friend of mine the other day that is in the military. He's in a really stressful job and works 15 hours a day. He doesn't have a choice. Some days, I don't have a choice either because there are things I can't control. But, most of us have choices most of the time. We make choices about our lives and our lifestyles. The fact that those choices require constant busyness and motion might say something about the possible emptiness of our spiritual lives.

Tom Sine in The New Conspirators: Creating the Future One Mustard Seed at a Time says,

An Obstacles to Growth Survey studied 20,000 Christians in 139 countries over 5 years to discover how busy they are. They discovered that the levels of busyness were extremely high in the lives of Christians, particularly in countries like the United States and Britain, and particularly for pastors. Dr. Michael Zigarelli, at Charleston University School of Business, described the problem as "a 'vicious cycle' prompted by cultural conformity." He added that this extremely high level of busyness results in God being marginalized in our lives and "Christians becoming even more vulnerable to adopting secular assumptions about how to live, which leads to more conformity to a culture of busyness, hurry and overload. And then the cycle begins over again."

Our culture tells us what is important and it tells us what its expectations are. We have to keep up with everyone else, right? So, we go, go, go, trying to do more and constantly comparing ourselves to others. We do the same thing with our kids and have 4 year olds playing baseball multiple times a week. For what? Where is God in all this activity? How much of it really matters?

God addresses all of this and gives us a solution: the Sabbath - a day of rest to be spent in God's presence with God's people, being renewed and refocused on who God is and who He has called us to be.  We are to work 6 days and then take a Sabbath on the 7th. Christians moved the Sabbath to the first day of the week in honor of the Resurrection of our Lord. In declaring our freedom from legalism, we have thrown off all restraint and forgotten about the purpose in what God initiated for our own good. We often take our time of rest and turn it into extreme recreation (which isn't bad in and of itself, but does not replace a God ordained Sabbath).  What about a day of rest in the Lord's presence reflecting on the week that was and the week to come? What about stopping all of the motion and taking time to reflect on God, what He says is important, and the lives that we are living? God set it up so that we would take time to spend with Him and to rest. Few people find this to be practical, it seems.  It gets in the way of all that they want to do. Perhaps the source of much of our burnout, however, is the lack of spiritual rest that we get and the constant motion that we engage in. Maybe one reason that God seems so distant from us is because we do not stop our activity long enough to spend time with Him.

And, pastors are not immune to this. Just about every pastor that I know says that they are sooooo busy. Why is this? Eugene Peterson in The Contemplative Pastor has some very important things to say about this:

The one piece of mail certain to go unread into my wastebasket is the letter addressed to the "busy pastor." Not that the phrase doesn't describe me at times, but I refuse to give my attention to someone who encourages what is worst in me.

I'm not arguing the accuracy of the adjective; I am, though, contesting the way it's used to flatter and express sympathy.

"The poor man," we say. "He's so devoted to his flock; the work is endless, and he sacrifices himself to unstintingly." But, the word busy is the symptom not of commitment but of betrayal. It is not devotion but defection. The adjective busy set as a modifier to pastor should sound to our ears like adulterous to characterize a wife or embezzling to describe a banker. It is an outrageous scandal, a blasphemous affront.

Peterson goes on to say that a busy pastor is a hurried pastor, always rushing around doing one thing or another with little time for God or people. He is busy because he tries to impress people with his importance regarding all that he has to do and he is also busy because he is lazy. He lets others dictate to him what is important and he does not take the time to set his own schedule with what is really important. He says that what is important is prayer, being drenched in Scripture so that you are able to preach anointed messages to the people God has put in your care, and taking the time to really listen to others. These things are the building blocks of pastoral ministry and everything else must come later.

But, what about those in other vocations who have demanding bosses, deadlines, crying children, soccer practice, housework, projects, and an unending demand from relationships with others? And, what about our own desires that often drive us to do more, be more, and become more? Peterson, in his book, Where Your Treasure Is, points to prayer as being essential:

The only way to escape from self-annihilating and society-destroying egotism and into self-enhancing community is through prayer. Only in prayer can we escape the distortions and constrictions of the self and enter the truth and expansiveness of God. We find there, to our surprise, both self and society whole and blessed. It is the old business of losing your life to save it; and the life that is saved is not only your own, but everyone else's as well.

He is talking about prayer as both a private act as well as a communal act that brings us closer to God as well as into deeper relationship with one another. This is what God had in mind when He gave us the Sabbath and it is what happens when we take the time to pray together.  When we pray, we focus on God and allow His character and priorites to order our lives. Yes, there are many things that we have to do and life is filled with activity. But, when we look to God in prayer, we will live our lives in His power and we will do the things that He leads us to do. God has good works prepared in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10), but we are not to do them with a hurried, stressed, and distracted spirit, alienated from Him and the people that He has placed in our lives.

It is late on Saturday night. Tomorrow is Sunday. All over America, people will gather for worship. They will drive to a building, sing some songs, hear a message, and leave to go to lunch. They will spend the rest of the day catching up on things and doing what they want. But, will they meet with God? Will they slow down and lay their lives at His feet?  We are so busy doing so much stuff that we rarely take the time to reflect on who God is and what He has for us. We run off after a million things thinking that we can help God along with His work, all the while our souls are depleted. I am not talking about inactivity here. Rather, I am talking about living life centered in God's will, walking in His Spirit, allowing Him to direct us, and not allowing ourselves to be frustrated by the whims of a culture drunk on its own distractions. 

There is a reason that the fourth commandment, Keep the Sabbath holy, is right up there with the commandments telling us to stay away from idolatry and from taking the Lord's name in vain. Properly keeping the Sabbath (and also mini-Sabbaths throughout the week) keeps us aware of creeping idolatry and brings us back to God. So, let us experience what God has for us in the Sabbath. Let's stop, pray, meditate on God, contemplate His goodness, marvel at His mysteries, soak in His presence. Let us lay down our burdens and take on the mind of Christ. Let us reconnect with family and friends and enjoy the abundance of beauty in relationships with others. Let us feast on the grace of God. Let us make every effort to enter God's rest and cease striving. As we do these things, let's ask God to direct our steps and to order our lives according to His will.

Let us live by the Spirit.  

Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and the Fleeting Nature of Life

Two major icons from the 1970's and 80's have died today, according to internet reports. Michael Jackson has died according to TMZ.com (via Drudge Report). Apparently, he had a cardiac arrest. He was 50 years old. Farrah Fawcett also succumbed to cancer today. She was 62.

Was Michael Jackson a Christian? Was Farrah Fawcett a Christian? What happened to them when they died?  I am not aware of any confession of faith in Christ or attempt to follow Jesus by either of them (UPDATE: apparently, Farrah Fawcett was a Catholic - I still don't know what Jackson believed). The Bible says that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Him (John 14:6). The only way to Father God and to receive His love and forgivness for our sins is through faith in Jesus Christ. Apart from faith in Christ, we will all perish in our sins, separated from God.  Hollywood and the media will tell us that the good life can be found when we are famous, popular, wealthy, and beautiful. Image is everything, they say. We believe it and we fawn over celebrities and movie stars and live our lives through them. But, Jesus says that that is not where real life is found. Real life, abundant life, eternal life, is only found in a relationship with Him. I pray that all those who hear about the death of these two celebrities today will think about the shortness of life and think about if they have been reconciled to God themselves through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

An Open Letter to GCR Task Force Members #sbc2009

Disclaimer: I do not pretend that members of the GCR Task Force are reading my blog, but if I were able to sit down with them and mention a few things to them as they get started this year, the following comments are where I would start. Add to it in the comment section if you desire.

Dear GCR Task Force Members,

I praise God for an amazing week at the SBC Annual Meeting. So much of what was talked about, preached, and ultimately affirmed were things that have been on my heart for several years now. The SBC seems to be heading in a positive direction in the sense that we are beginning to realize the struggles that we are facing. That is a big step. I am praying for you as you begin this very important task and you should know that there are many people who have been talking and praying about these issues for some time now.  In reflecting on the events of the past week and thinking about the year ahead and the future of the SBC, I wanted to offer a few thoughts for you to consider:

1. I would humbly suggest that your focus be Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.  We need a compelling vision to rally behind and around. Jesus, the Man, the Message, and Mission is the only one that we ultimately care about and the only vision that will move us forward. We will not rally around saving SBC institutions and entities. We will no longer rally around the Cooperative Program for the sake of the Cooperative Program. We will not fight to save our state conventions, associations, seminaries, or missions agencies. We won't be motivated to save dying churches just because of a building and a history. We won't even be motivated to rise up to give money to send missionaries to the field if we feel that those missionaries are representing a bureaucracy that is out of touch with the local church and is top heavy with inefficiency and overhead. No, the only thing that will arouse this generation and cause us to work together is the very One that thrills our souls: Jesus Christ and His Gospel.  Focus on building and sustaining a gospel movement that involves and celebrates the participation of all of us and we will be excited about that and join together. The organization should exist to facilitate the movement, not the other way around. People are pretty sensitive to this type of thing and will bail if you don't keep the main thing the main thing.
2. Listen to diverse voices within the SBC.  This is not meant as a criticism because I don't think that it was intentional, but it is hard not to notice that the task force is not very diverse ethnically, geographically, or gender-wise. Only two ethnic minorities are represented from what I can tell(Johnny Hunt and Simon Tsoi) and only one lady is on the team. It has already been pointed out by others that only one team member is from outside of the Southeast. Most team members are either from megachurches or denominational entities. I know that you are shooting for some generational diversity, but it seems that your group could become pretty insular and could prepare us for the Convention that we already are in the present instead of prepare us for the future in a rapdidly changing world. Where are African American leaders like Fred Luter?  Where are small church representatives like Les Puryear? People from different ethnicities and parts of the country provide a different perspective that could be helpful, especially when we are trying to break free from our regional heritage.  If these people are not going to be on the task force, I would recommend that you sit down with them and hear their heart and find creative ways to give them a voice in the process. Todd Littleton has some great thoughts along these lines. 
3. Denominational Restructuring:   Article IX seems to have captured the attention of the Executive Committee, the State Convention leadership, and those involved with SBC entities. Be bold in this, but not self-serving. Start with the local church and really take a look at what will assist the local church in carrying out its mission. We say that the SBC exists to serve the local church, but it often seems like it is the other way around. There are many ideas that have been tossed around on the blogs about this since 2005.  The greatest need, in my opinion, in the SBC structure, whether we are talking about the local association, the state conventions, or national entities, is for real partnership, fellowship, and networking to occur amongst local churches to carry out the mission. What kind of theological education could be provided by networked local churches as the seminaries assist? What kind of global mission work could be done by networks of local churches with assistance from the IMB? Is there a real need for local churches, local associations, and state conventions to all be doing the same thing, just on different scales? What if state conventions really facilitated working partnerships with pioneer areas out West by helping connect local churches with church planters and emerging ministries in places like San Francisco?  There are many good ideas that are in place and have already been adopted, but they are underutilized or poorly applied. If we turned the convention structure upside down and allowed it to be led by the grassroots initiators while the organization served the movement, how much more could happen?  David Phillips has some interesting thoughts in this regard.
4. Love God, Love People:  While the Great Commission is important, it is hollow without a commitment to the Great Commandment that leads us to sacrificially love God and one another. This was talked about repeatedly at the Annual Meeting and there was a consistent call for repentance in this area. Keep focusing on this. If our hearts are not revived toward Christ and if we do not learn to truly love one another, despite some of our differences, then very little lasting fruit will be produced. You will face a lot of challenges over the next year. You will be opposed and attacked. People will fight tooth and nail to protect their turf and their levels of influence. But, calling for us to love God and to love one another with our whole lives, treating people with respect and dignity, and encouraging us build one another up will be things that bring us together and keep us focused on the mission that God has for us.  If we run over people to accomplish the "mission" then we have already lost the mission. The end does not justify the means in God's Kingdom. God is the end and the means. Please keep that in mind as you deal with those who oppose you. At the same time, I will pray that you have the courage and wisdom to confront those who have been acting as roadblocks to real Gospel advance in the SBC, whoever they might be.

I praise God for you and the work that you are about to engage in. These are just suggestions and are offered humbly, recognizing that I am just a local church pastor and observer of what is happening. The SBC is very diverse and our challenges are great. We face an uncertain future. But, God is working and His ways are higher than our ways. He has wisdom for us both individually and collectively.  He is working around the world and, because He loves us, He invites us to join Him. But, He doesn't need us. We need Him.

I am praying for you.

Grace and Peace,

Alan Cross

#sbc2009: GCR Task Force, Resolutions, Obama, Mark Driscoll, & the Turning of the SBC

I am kind of in shock regarding what I am seeing at the SBC (in a good way). It is clear that there is new leadership emerging within the SBC. A friend of mine emailed me last night asking me if he thought that these new leaders would end up in the same situation that our previous leadership found themselves in: mired in bureaucracy and instituational survival. I told him that it was possible because institutions have a way of taking over movements and good leadership. But, then I said that all that most younger leaders and pastors wanted was a denomination that stood behind them as they initiated the work that God had placed on their heart and facilitated gospel movement and partnership, not control. We would also be really happy if the SBC was not an embarrassment to us. O.S. Hawkins, the president of Guidestone financial, in his report, said that the GCR would unleash the churches of the SBC to engage the mission of God personally. Amen. That is what we are hoping for.

Johnny Hunt appointed the GCR Task Force that will meet over the next year to explore how the SBC can better carry out the Great Commission. The 18 members are (including Johnny Hunt): Ronnie Floyd (chairperson), Jim Richards, Frank Page, David Dockery, Simon Tsoi, Donna Gaines, Al Gilbert, J.D. Greear, Tom Biles, Danny Akin, R. Albert Mohler Jr., John Drummond, Harry Lewis, Mike Orr, Roger Spradlin, Bob White, Ken Whitten, and Ted Traylor. This looks like a good team. I am happy to see Ronnie Floyd have a significant role. He is a good man and I know that when he did not win the presidency in 2006, it was a blow. It is troubling that only one woman is on the team. She will be pretty lonely, I would think. I don't think I'd be very comfortable serving on a team if I were the only man, but the SBC has often struggled to find a way for women to serve. Still, I would have had more than one woman on the team. Donna Gaines is the wife of Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist in Memphis, Adrian Rogers' old church. 

One thought on this:  While this team is full of wise statesmen that will be listened to, I hope that they bring in the thoughts of more people outside of the establishment and more younger leaders. I could give them a list of people that have great ideas that they should at least talk with as could many others who have been paying attention over the past few years. I will be interested to see what they come up with.

SBC Resolutions: I praise God that the resolutions were not a complete embarrassment.

There was one that promoted adoption that was really wonderful. It expressd God's concern for the 150 million orphans in the world and called us to do something about it.

Another resolution affirmed President Obama for his family and his accomplishments in becoming the first African American president. It then made critical statements over his positions on several areas. We must affirm what is good and speak against what is not. We should do this for both Democrats and Republicans. If Southern Baptists do this, we can regain our integrity in the public sphere.

There was also a resolution on sexuality that spoke against homosexuality and its protection in the public phere. I am coming to the point where I think that the public acceptance of homosexuality is inevitable. We are going to have to figure out how to keep standing against this practice while also engaging a culture that accepts it. We haven't figured this out yet.

Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle and the leader of Acts29 remains the topic of conversation at the SBC, at least informally. He was NOT boycotted and his books were NOT banned yesterday. Motions were brought up to that point, but they were not passed.  Our church is about to partner on some level with Acts29 (in a sense) through the Journey Church in St. Louis in India. This is the future of engaging in the missionary task in the SBC. I am glad that we decided to not address Mark Driscoll because he talks about things in the pulpit that we might disagree with. He isn't even Southern Baptist and the annual meeting has no business dealing with things like this.  But, I think that the future of the SBC will look more like Mark Driscoll than not, at least in his missional engagement if not in his more controversial attributes.

Turning of the SBC:  As I said last night, the SBC is turning. The torch has been passed to a younger generation of leadership. We are headed to more grassroots involvement and decentralization (I hope). Many are still understandably skeptical, but I refuse to live my life in a constant state of cynicism and criticism. I am going to go out on a limb here, have some faith, and believe that God is working to raise up something beautiful in the SBC among all those who will choose to obey and cooperate with the Holy Spirit.  Many churches are going to die in the next 10 years, but many more will live and thrive. I believe that there are good days ahead for the SBC IF we return the mission to the local church and IF the local church engages with the mission that God gave her and IF the SBC really exists to assist the local church in carrying out her mission. Basically, if we would stop fighting, repent of our sins, unite around the gospel and the person of Jesus Christ, partner together in MANY different ways and networks to advance the gospel locally and globally, and be the people that God has called us to be, then there are many bright days ahead and God will do amazing things. He already is through the church I'm a part of and through many other churches I know. That can spread because God's Spirit knows no boundaries. We just need to cooperate with Him.

Let's cooperate with the Spirit of God.

The Day that Everything in the SBC Changed? #sbc2009

Yes, I've blogged and tweeted a lot about this today. I've done other things, but I committed a good portion of my day to this because I believe that this story is important to tell and in many ways, it will affect the future ministry of many of our churches. I believe that God is answering prayers and as I keep thinking about what might be taking place, I am getting excited. For all of my cynicism and frustration with the SBC, something significant has happened. The conversation in the SBC has changed. Earlier in the day, I said that there were 3 camps in the SBC: The Baptist Identity camp led by Paige Patterson and SWBTS, the Institutional Traditionalists led by Morris Chapman and the leadership of the state conventions, and the Great Commission Resurgence group led by Drs. Akin, Rainer, Mohler, Stetzer, and Hunt.

The future belongs to the Great Commission Resurgence group. That is obvious at this point. With this dramatic sea change in the SBC from 2006 till now, we now are talking about different things. The days of the culture war are over. The days of denial over our current situation are over. Michael Spencer (iMonk) waxes hopeful:

The younger leaders of the SBC are taking on power in a denomination that has been, for the most part, attempting to lock the doors and hope they would go away. Well, they didn’t. They came to the convention and voted in a mechanism to take an urgent look at what we are doing for the one thing that holds us together: a commitment to carry out the Great Commission. What you saw today was a serious changing of the power grid in the SBC. The vast numbers of obedient old-guard messengers are never again going to show up and make the SBC into a wholly owned subsidiary of the culture war or the Jerry Vines version of the SBC. This is now a denomination that has given itself clear and simple instructions: Get to the task of world missions, not the task of building a denominational culture.

I remember going to the Baptist Identity conference at Union University in Tennessee in 2007. I left demoralized because it seemed like a huge victory if anyone would even admit that we were struggling. After the convention in San Antonio in 2007, I pretty much decided that the establishment was so entrenched that they did not want change - they would rather die than change. But, God's Spirit has moved and something has broken loose.  The old conversations pre-2006 don't matter anymore. The landscape has changed. Spencer goes on to say,

Changes in the SBC will happen quickly. Seminary education is changing before our eyes. Finances are going to change. Cooperative models are going to change. Relationships with the local and state conventions will change. A lot of people are going to find that the old rallying cries- be they rhetorical, cultural or denominational- are not going to get the same response. The younger generation SIMPLY ISN’T GOING TO BUY THE OLD SBC MYTHOLOGY. The sooner leaders come to grips with that, the better things will be. It is ridiculous to lecture the audience about Calvinism or throw fits about teetotalism or books in the bookstore. The number of people who care, who are being told by ANY pastor or leader they respect that these things matter, is small and growing smaller.

Maybe we won't be talking about Mark Driscoll, alcohol, Ed Stetzer (in a negative way), and the culture wars as much in the future. Maybe we won't be bringing up silly resolutions and wasting time on what does not really matter. Maybe we will talk about what is important.

After today we will be talking about different things in the SBC, most notably the gospel and our daily devotion to Christ instead of denominational structures. I hope I'm right. It depends on a lot of things happening. As I said earlier, the way forward is fraught with danger, but there is at least a way forward and someone is pointing the way. It's time to get up and start walking. As the day has gone on, I have become more hopeful that even though nothing tangible has changed on the one hand, on the other, everything has potentially changed. I hope I'm right.

GCR Task Force Motion Passes: What's Next? sbc2009#

Well, the Great Commission Resurgence motion passed overwhelmingly just moments ago. The document put forward by Dr. Danny Akin, Johnny Hunt, Dr. Thom Rainer, Dr. Al Mohler, Ed Stetzer, Tom Ascol, Timmy Brister, Nathan Finn, Alvin Reid, and others is now in play in the SBC. That is a good thing, in my opinion, but nothing will happen for another year on this that will affect anything. The motion was to create a task force that will study the GCR and make recommendations to be adopted or rejected next year at the convention in Orlando. This is how Southern Baptists do things.  Of course, the task force has already been selected and I am sure that they will begin work very soon.

What does this mean? It means that Southern Baptists have taken a very positive step to restore the primacy of the gospel to our Convention, our churches, and our conversations. Based on the words of Dr. Hunt and others, there exists a great desire to refocus the Convention on the person and work of Jesus Christ. If they follow what they have said over the past two days, they will be standing on solid ground.

The Challenges:  While I affirm the GCR and will be supportive of it, I believe that a grassroots approach would have been better than to take this to the Convention right away. Of course, you could say that what has happened the past 3 years was the grassroots support building and the GCR was the capstone that has taken the calls for reform mainstream. I like to see it that way. The problem will come in when you try and engage the thousands of churches that have not been engaged up until now in these discussions. They will see it as another top-down, acronymn laden approach to get the SBC moving again. I am afraid that the inertia that will become apparent when you try and move the vast middle of the SBC from the top-down will overwhelm the best efforts of the architects of the GCR. I would have taken this message to the people for a longer period of time, but Johnny Hunt only had two years as president of the SBC, so he had to act now. Who knows who will be elected in Orlando?

The Temptations: The temptation for those now in control of the GCR will be to try and centralize the SBC even more. If the SBC is to survive and thrive in the 21st century, it must become flatter and more decentralized.  As my friend Caleb Crider said today, you cannot farm out the Great Commission to professionals. It belongs to the local church. If the recommendations are that more and more money goes to the national entities where fewer people control it as they see fit, then I think that giving will drop even further and churches will feel even further removed from the mission. Plus, put more money in the hands of fewer people and inevitably, you will see more waste and corruption.

The Potential For Success:  The window of error here is small, but if the emerging SBC leadership will see this as an opportunity to really call us to refocus on Jesus, repent of our sins, live by the Spirit, and lay down our lives and engage the lost, then good things can happen. They need to keep Jesus the center of all of this at all times. The Gospel needs to be the banner that they wave. They need to appeal to the latent love for Christ, His Word, and the gospel and missions that exists within the heart of every member of the SBC. They would do wise to focus on that as much as possible and not give in to a temptation to spend all their time in restructuring debates. If they are even 1 degree off, it will show in Orlando and people will see it as more of the same.

The Future: The case has been made that the SBC is in decline. The silly motions were rejected. Christ is front and center, at least in our words if not in our hearts. Now, we need to move forward looking only to the Lord. I pray that God moves through this in a powerful way.

When I went to Greensboro in 2006, I would not have imagined that such a thing could happen. Three years later, we find ourselves in interesting times. What does it mean? God knows and we will find out if we follow Him.

Why Did Morris Chapman Directly Take on Calvinism in the SBC? #sbc2009

Here is the transcript of Dr. Chapman's address this morning representing the Executive Committee of the SBC.

Dr. Akin from Southeastern said that it was "shameful." Dr. Mohler from Southern said that he wanted to start a recovery group for those who had to sit through it. Strong words from his fellow entity heads. Here is an excerpt:

The Southern Baptist Convention is experiencing a resurgence in the belief that divine sovereignty alone is at work in salvation without a faith response on the part of man.   

Some are given to explain away the “whosoever will” of John 3:16.  How can a Christian come to such a place when Ephesians says, “For by grace are you saved through faith” (Eph. 2:8)?  I do not rise to become argumentative, or to change minds already convinced of one perspective or the other.  But I do rise to state the obvious.  Man is often tempted to design a theological theory in light of a biblical antinomy in order to clarify what God is trying to say.

Man’s system will be inferior to God’s system now and forever. Why is it so difficult to accept from God what we cannot fully explain? After all, He didn’t begin to tell us everything He knows, but what we need to know to be redeemed and live righteously.  The belief that sovereignty alone is at work in salvation is not what has emboldened our witness and elevated our concern for evangelism and missions through the ages.  This is not the doctrine that Southern Baptists have embraced in their desire to reach the world for Christ. 

If there is any doctrine of grace that drives men to argue and debate more than it drives them to pursue lost souls and persuade ALL MEN to be reconciled to God – then it is no doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I am no Calvinist, but I am not hostile to Calvnists either. Some of the greatest theological influences in my life are Calvinists and I appreciate them greatly. But, I am very aware that Calvinists are in the SBC and that they are good for the SBC. We need to be able to work together - both Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike.  Following Jesus is more important than pushing people away because of minor (and yes, they are minor) theological disagreements.

Here is the issue:  If you are more passionate about arguing your view of God's sovereignty and the Doctrines of Grace than you are about Jesus Christ, then we have a problem. If you are more passionate about your view of faith and man's responsibility than you are about Jesus Christ, then we have a problem. A passion for Christ will draw these two camps together and we will learn to co-exist and co-labor for the sake of the gospel. There is room for both views in a convention of churches that exalts Christ above all things and that is fueled by the power of the gospel as we live abandoned lives for God. THAT is the issue.

We have to learn to get along and stop reacting against one another and start supporting one another in the work that we are doing for the Lord.

So, why Dr. Chapman? Why do this here and now?  I am wondering if he was trying to illustrate that many of the proponents of the GCR are Calvinists and he was trying to show that Calvinists are not really Great Commission people so a GCR supported by Calvinists was an oxymoron. I know that Dr. Chapman disagrees with the GCR on the basis of Article IX which calls for a reorganization of the SBC, but could he have brought up the Calvinism issue to try and create a wedge in people's minds before the vote tonight?

I don't know. But, the GCR seems to be a steamroller that is taking over the Convention. That will be a good thing if it increases our love for Christ and causes us to spend ourselves on behalf of the lost and dying of the world.  GCR debate starts in 45 minutes. It should be interesting.

#sbc2009 SBC motions and Danny Akin, Mark Driscoll, Ed Stetzer, and Book Banning Dominate the Afternoon at the 2009 SBC Annual Meeting

In the afternoon motions at the SBC, someone made a motion that Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA - that his books be banned from Lifeway stores.

(Update as of 9:15 CST, June 23, 2009 - Thankfully, the more outlandish of the following motions did not make it out of committee.  All of the "charges" so to speak against Mark Driscoll, the controversial pastor from Seattle who is gaining influence through his popular Acts29 church planting network, were dropped and the motions against him were denied. He was not banned, per se, but there were motions brought up that would have banned his books from Lifeway, the Southern Baptist bookstore, if they had been accepted. I am thankful.  We should focus on more important things.)

• Someone else made a motion that Ed Stetzer of Lifeway Research and Alvin Reid and Danny Akin be investigated because of their relationship with Driscoll and the issue of alcohol.  Huh?

• Another motion concerns the fact that Pepsi is advertising for Gay and Lesbian issues and the motion desires to keep them neutral in the culture war - if not, they want to boycott Pepsi.

• Another motion was made to remove books by T.D. Jakes, John Hagee, Catholics, and The Shack from Lifeway.

• Yet another motion was made to adopt the American Christian flag to unite us together as believers and a bunch of other stuff in the longest sentence ever uttered - sorry, I couldn't follow. Wow.

• A lady stated that if anyone drinks alcohol or uses an inappropriate word, they cannot be involved with SBC entities.

• Another motion asked for a clarification by the SBC on a distinction between the use of the alcohol, which is a matter of individual conscience and the practice of getting drunk, which is clearly a sin. The man wanted the SBC to try and settle this issue biblically.

• Another motion on the KJV of the Bible.

• Another motion asking that the SBC refrain from the use of secular music in their promotional materials.

• A motion that I had no idea what was being said.

• A motion that the U.S. government adhere to biblical counsel and support Israel so we can avoid God's wrath and gain His blessing.

• A motion that we use American made curriculum and not that Chinese curriculum in our Lifeway Sunday School material.

• A motion to ask Mark Driscoll to come and address his accusations from the SBC in the light of Matthew 18 - finally, something Biblical!

• A motion to partner with other likeminded believers in whatever way possible for God's glory.

• A motion to issue a strong denunciation to our president, Barack Hussein Obama over his declaration that June is Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender month and that we remind him that he is acting against God's will.

 I didn't get them all, but you get the idea.

Timmy Brister said that these motions are evidence that Southern Baptists have lost the gospel.  There are always really silly motions that emerge at the SBC as anyone who can walk to a microphone is capable of presenting a motion. It really is a shame. Hopefully, these motions will be rejected.  

Danny Akin of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary is speaking saying that the GCR would be a return to Jesus movement. His prayer is that we become Jesus intoxicated people.  He is asking God that He would extinguish sinful self interest in our lives that keeps us from what really matters. God does not need Southern Baptists, but we desperately need Him. We must be a Christ-centered people.

#sbc2009: Johnny Hunt & The GCR, Morris Chapman, and Competing Camps in the SBC

The Great Commission Resurgence is on full display today at the SBC Annual Meeting. Dr. Al Mohler of Southern Seminary made the motion to call for a study committee to assess the GCR and to bring the GCR out at 1:50pm ET (12:50 CST) and debated at 7:30pm ET, 6:30pm CST.  Dr. Morris Chapman, president of the Executive Committee, in his report, spoke against the GCR in so many words. He also asked 5 questions about the Great Commission Resurgence. According to Baptist Press, these were the questions:

1. "Is the Great Commission Resurgence more about the Great Commission than about the Southern Baptist Convention?

2. "Like the Conservative Resurgence, does the Great Commission Resurgence offer a clear objective and transparent process for achieving that objective?

3. "Does the Great Commission Resurgence seek to bring together all Southern Baptists at the national, state and associational level, or does it unnecessarily alienate certain demographics?

4. "Does the Great Commission Resurgence declaration honor the long-established trustee governance of our entities, wherein the trustees are elected by the SBC from among pastors and laymen throughout the convention?

5. "Does the Great Commission Resurgence seek personal transformation of our hearts or institutional transformation of our structure?"

Dr. Chapman also made statements against Calvinism saying that we must beware those who focus on God's sovereignty and deny man's responsibility, or something along those lines. A firestorm erupted on Twitter over the comment and Dr. Mohler even made a disparaging remark about it, saying that he was "founding a new recovery group for all those who experienced whatever that was. Speechless."  Wow. That is strong.  I get a sinking feeling that the principles in the Great Commission Commission (the 12 entity heads of the SBC) are locked in a death-grip battle over who is going to lead us into the future. 

HERE IS WHAT I SEE HAPPENING:

There are now 3 camps in the SBC leadership fighting over the future vision:

1. GCR camp composed of both Calvinists and non-Calvinists who want to cooperate on the basis of and for the sake of the gospel and see Southern Baptists become more effective in ministry through whatever means necessary. Dr. Danny Akin of SEBTS, Johnny Hunt, SBC President, and Dr. Thom Rainer of Lifeway lead this camp, with Dr. Al Mohler of Southern Seminary falling in with them.
2. Baptist Identity camp composed of those who see renewal coming from a return to traditional Baptist distinctives and theology and a narrowing of the parameters of cooperation to those who fit within their understanding of what a Baptist is historically. Dr. Paige Patterson of SWBTS leads this camp.
3. Institutional Traditionalists: This is the group that I believe Dr. Chapman represents. It is primarily non-Calvinists who are basically satisfied with the status quo in Convention structure and believes that we need to try harder at what we have been doing. Not ideologically motivated like the BI group, but rather, motivated to keep the institutional nature of the SBC working as it has through the CP, state conventions, etc.

Where does that leave us?  Unless God brings people together, we are left in a battle over the future and the soul of the SBC. Let's see how Dr. Johnny Hunt addresses our situation:

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SBC president, Johnny Hunt, is speaking and giving his address. Here is a summary of his words: God is speaking to us through the events of the day to get our attention to get us to turn to Him. Our affluence and prosperity has caused us to become gluttonous and focused on our possessions.  We need Jesus. We need to humble ourselves. It is a scary thing to be opposed by God because of our pride. The church has become like those in Laodicea, becoming lukewarm. We are comfortable and complacent, apathetic and indifferent. We do not realize our need for Jesus. We have lost the fire in our soul and we no longer shed tears.  We need more emulation of the Word of God to match proclamation by those who preach. Like Laodicea, we have become self-sufficient, self-confident, and self-occupied.

One of the greatest things to fear is our perception of what strong is. We think that we are strong because of our wealth, our size, and our prominence. But, is that what God considers strong? No. He wants us to humble ourselves. We must repent and be refined by the fire. Persecution is coming to refine us.

Is there a vision problem in the SBC? The Church at Laodicea in Revelation missed Jesus because they thought that they were rich and in need of nothing. They did not have proper perception of their wretchedness. There is no revival without prayer. Are we praying? Do we sense a need for God? What are our motives? Prayer causes us to check our motives and we need to do this consistently. He is speaking about his dependence on God when he first started his ministry and is asking if we still have that dependence on God. NOTHING will happen if we are not dependent on the Spirit of God to move. We have become professionals and we no longer need God for all that we do. We are to seek the person of Jesus instead of His provisions.  

We need to turn from our wicked ways. We need to turn from our own ways. We should want Jesus and His way.  We should want to see a passion for the Great Commission rise among us. According to Lifeway Resources, we are in a decline that if we go the same rate we are going now, we will be at 7 million people instead of 16 million by 2050. We are aging. We need to join with our brothers of ethnicity in advancing the gospel through our churches. This must begin in the pulpits of the 43,000 churches. People are not looking for a program to follow, they are looking for a vision to embrace. It starts in our churches and goes all the way through our convention.  It is not about structure or bypassing the trustees. He believes in what we are doing through cooperative missions, but it needs to rise up from the local church.  It all starts with us.

We should be talking about giving more money because we are talking about the lostness of the world, not the payrolls of people. We have to proclaim a vision. We do not have a money problem - we have a vision problem. 

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Me:  Hunt did a great job, in my opinion. He articulated well the heart behind the GCR and why we need it. This whole convention is calling the SBC to repentance over the hardness of our hearts, our pride, and our self-sufficiency and lack of need for God. 

Of course, if any of this leads to more decentralization, it will fail like everything else has. Dr. Hunt spoke to the need for individual people and churches to be awakened and live for God. He is right. That is all that will save us - we need Jesus, not more bureaucracy or centralization so that fewer people hold more power. The local church must step up and come alive. Will a GCR study committee or denominational restructuring cause that to happen? No. But, it is not a bad conversation to have and maybe we will begin to carry it out on a grassroots level.

From what I can tell, the fireworks really start tonight at 6:30pm CST. Tune in at sbcannualmeeting.net to watch it.  I was a part of one of these debates in San Antonio over the Garner Motion and I can tell you that it gets pretty fast and furious. Different camps are stacking microphones and nothing happens by accident. I'll be watching and reporting and will give you some background information on what is actually taking place. 

#sbc2009: David Platt and the Truth That Must Be Told in the SBC

Do we want to die in our religion or die in our devotion?

We have prioritized our needs and our comfort and our convention over the needs of the world around us. We need to repent.

All that we need to reach the world is the Bible and the Spirit of God.

These statements, or something like them, were spoken by David Platt, pastor of Church of Brook Hills (Birmingham, AL) at the SBC Pastor's Conference on Monday night. I didn't get a chance to listen to his message, but from perusing the Twittersphere afterwards, his words made quite an impact. Several people said that they were deeply affected by the Spirit of God while David spoke. Praise God! I've heard of David Platt for a few years now and hear that he is doing great things at his church in Birmingham. From the gist of what I have read about his message, I would have loved it. I can't wait to hear it.

It seems that God is speaking to people in the SBC about the state of our heart, our ties to the world and the world's ways, our selfishness, our consumerism, our pride, and our self-sufficiency. It is time for repentance and a return to allegiance to Jesus Christ alone. All of the other things that we are worried about must bow before devotion to Christ.

Putting aside our idols of success, numbers, wealth, consumerism, power, politics, and our own personal goodness and what we think we can bring before God, we must humble ourselves before God and look to Him alone. We need a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit to blow through our lives, our families, our churches, and our communities. We need God to move.  For too long, we have hid behind our big churches with great programs for all ages and our "stuff" has masked the fact that God's Spirit has not been working in our lives the way that He wants to. Even though, as Baptists, we have been a religious people, we have not been a repentant people, and we have done what we could do in our own strength instead of what God could do if we were to really lay everything down and cry out to Him.

We need people who will pray until God moves - until He pours out His Spirit on us and awakens us. We need to lay down every dependence except Him. What if this happened in our churches, our state conventions, our national agencies? What would happen if Southern Baptists all over America began to repent and cry out to God; and then began to live like Jesus and carry out God's will?  This nation would be changed in a matter of months - I really do believe that. The reason that I am a Southern Baptist is because messages like David Platt's can be preached and people say, "Amen," and "God, have mercy on me," instead of saying that he is ignorant or unsophisticated. That at least gives us a chance for repentance, reorientation, and renewal to take place. There is a God in Heaven and He hears the prayers of men. It is time that we started crying out to Him and realigning our lives to the person and work of Jesus Christ.

It seems that this message is getting out at the SBC Annual Meeting through people like David Platt. Praise God for that!  More, Lord.

#SBC2009 Pastor's Conference 2009 - Monday

Been pretty busy today doing other things, but I have followed some of the Pastor's Conference through various media.  Ed Stetzer said that we will not change until the pain of staying the same becomes too great. The theme of the pastor's conference seems to be focused on reviving the SBC because of our declining membership, declining baptisms, and declining giving. Basically, everyone now understands that we are a Convention in decline.

Alvin Reid just said that we focus more on maintaining our institutions than advancing the movement of the gospel and young leaders have picked up on that and they refuse to support it. We emphasize self-preservation over gospel proclamation, he said. Really, we as Southern Baptists just reflect the selfishness and consumer mindset of the larger culture. We are starting to get all of this, it seems, but I doubt that we are even beginning to understand how painful it will be to address these problems and repent.

Reid said that our focus used to be on baptisms, buildings, and budgets, but now, it is budgets, buildings, and bodies. If our Cooperative Program giving had declined as much as our baptisms have in the past 15 years, he said that we would have shut everything down. He really called the SBC out for being content to have money but not caring as much about souls and living for Christ and proclaiming the gospel. He is so right.

Grief seems to be setting in.

Southern Baptists are used to being the biggest, richest, and most powerful denomination of churches in America - the biggest, richest, most powerful nation in the world. The things that we used to know and trust in are rapidly fading away and the world around us is rapidly changing. What we are to do about that seems to be the theme of the pastor's conference. 

We are three years removed from the convention in Greensboro (2006) where these things first began to be talked about. Back then, we had Bobby Welch's bus ride across America to stump for 1 million baptisms and an emphasis on CP giving. There was an attempted move by the Executive Committee to encourage all churches to give 10% to the cooperative program and Wade Burleson was the IMB trustee who was in trouble for speaking out against the IMB policies on tongues and baptism. Bloggers (of which I was one) arose and began pointing out major issues that the leadership seemed to want to ignore. Then, in a shocking vote, Dr. Frank Page was elected president of the SBC on the first ballot, primarily because of his church's support of the Cooperative Program.

Now, three years later, we have the Great Commission Resurgence, which is dominating the Convention and is an attempt by leadership to address the reality of decline that no one can deny. Ed Stetzer said that decline is not a matter of debate, it is a matter of math. He is right. But, what do we do about it? Should numerical and financial decline be what arouses us to action? Since Southern Baptists have generally fallen into the modern fallacy of measuring everything and declaring success or failure on the basis of numerical evidence, then it makes sense that decline is agonized over when it shows up statistically. But, it has been clear for many years that the primary thrust of our churches and congregants has not been fidelity to Christ or love for Him and one another, but rather, a support of self-preservation and self-fulfillment. That is what should cause us the greatest concern and alarm bells should have gone off years before. In some quarters they did, but only now that the numbers are reflecting the spiritual reality that exists do we get the attention to decline that we are now having.

It will be interesting to see what happens, and I am glad for the coming decline in triumphalism. But, we will not change until our hearts change, and that only happens when repentance occurs and we return to our first love, Jesus Christ, in heart and deed, as well as with our words.

There are many, many, many Southern Baptists who are in love with Jesus and serve Him faithfully and passionately. But, convention-wide, we continue to have major problems and that has now become obvious - just listen to the preaching at the Pastor's Conference. What was once whispered in the hallways is now being shouted from the rooftops.

The SBC is in decline. We are all agreed now (Baptist Press notwithstanding). What will we do about it?

SBC Pastor's Conference - Sunday Night

Enjoyed Father's Day today. Good service and great lunch with my family. No airports, no driving, no hotels.  Watching the pastor's conference from my home for a few minutes before I go play basketball tonight.  Just sayin'.  You can listen HERE.

Per David Phillips, Ed Littleton, president of the Pastor's Conference said that we need to fall in love with the Great Commission. David said that he disagreed: We need to fall in love with Jesus and we will fulfill the Great Commission.  David has it right. As good as the Great Commission is, it is only our witness to who Jesus is. We must know Him. The problem is that we don't know Jesus the way that we should.

I missed hearing it, but based on comments, J.D. Greear from North Carolina preached a good message on the battle between religion and a relationship with Jesus. Supposedly it was really good. I'm glad. I've met J.D. and I like him a lot. He is a really good guy and he is doing a good job with his church. These pastor's conferences are interesting, though, because there are often messages that are really good, but we come back to the same things year after year. My hope is that people listen this time.

Mac Brunson from FBC Jacksonville is preaching right now. He said that the reason that we are struggling evangelistically is because people don't like us and they don't like what they see.  If they like what they see, they will listen to what we say.  His larger point is that we should not repay evil for evil and should not treat people poorly who treat us poorly. On the larger point, I agree. But, with his prior statement, I would disagree. The reason that we are struggling evangelistically is because we are not in love with Jesus. We are to be witnesses of what we have seen and experienced in Christ. We are to experience Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Many will persecute us and reject us, according to Scripture, but God will speak through us to call people to Himself through the power of the gospel. I understand that he is saying that we need to have a good witness for people to listen and I agree with that, but I think that he is missing the point if our focus is on people liking us. We need to live for and love Christ.  He would probably agree with what I am saying and likely intended that - I am just pretty sensitive to what our focus needs to be when it comes to evangelism.

Maybe I am parsing his words too closely, but I think that the distinction is important.

Live Blogging the SBC Annual Meeting '09

The Southern Baptist Convention's Annual Meeting starts on Tuesday with the business sessions, but really, it starts tomorrow with the Pastor's Conference. I won't be going. I went in 2006 and 2007 and skipped last year, but I watched most of it online at sbcannualmeeting.net.  I plan to do the same this week. Honestly, except for spending a bunch of money and hanging out with some good friends, the actual meeting part was the same watching it online as it was being there. I don't know why they don't develop some kind of way for people to participate via text voting or online voting for the elections and business stuff. But, that is another post for another day.  So, you can follow me here, on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/alcross) or on Twitter (look to the right sidebar).

The big issue this week will be President Johnny Hunt's and Dr. Danny Akin's Great Commision Resurgence.  This is a good document full of good ideas, but I don't know if it will change things. The SBC is in decline and a lot of what is dying just has to die. There is a lot that is living and going strong in the SBC, though, and we would do well to start celebrating that and forget about our diminishing numbers. I just think that there is a great deal that is fading away and there is nothing that can be done about it. We will see, however. I hope that the plans for the GCR work and that the SBC is able to turn around. Of course, I have been writing about the troubles that ail the SBC since the early in 2006 so none of what is happening (reduced membership, baptisms, cooperative program giving, etc.) is much of a surprise. I imagine that there will be a lot said about this. I plan to write about it here.

There are other things that are supposedly going to happen during the resolution phase. I hear that another attempt will be made to encourage Southern Baptists to pull their kids out of public school. That will make national news and will be a major embarrassment in my opinion, if it happens. The SBC has no business making resolutions about whether or not individuals send their kids to public school. It is not understood by the secular media that covers the event and it makes us look like idiots. Taking your kids out of public school can be a great thing and there are many wonderful options like homeschooling and good private schools. I support all of these options. But, sending your kids to public school is not a sin and unless we want to make it one, we will do well to find other avenues besides the Annual Meeting to broadcast this message.  Not all public schools are horrible. I mean, it took us three years to pass a resolution on regenerate church membership. Please don't tell me that we are going to tell Southern Baptists to take their kids out of public school. 

The secular media crawls all over these events looking for a story that will make headlines the next morning. At the convention in San Antonio in 2007, I was interviewed by a Texas paper and was interviewed by another paper in Greensboro in 2006. If you are standing around and not doing much, a reporter will grab you and ask for your opinion on things. So, this will be a national story and I still know a lot of the people involved, so I guess I'll write about it and give you my thoughts.

Check back this week.  It should be interesting. And, the best thing is, I don't have to leave home!  

Consumer Christianity and Its Discontents

Over the past year or so, I have become convinced that the greatest enemy to the Christian faith and biblical Christianity in the West, and especially America, is the philosophy of consumerism, which basically states that personal happiness can be attained through the acquisition of goods, experiences, or a particular lifestyle.  Bombarded by goods, services, brands, commercials, and incessant advertising, we believe ignorance like "you are what you wear," "clothes make the man," that there is a "right" side of the tracks, and that our identity can be purchased by acquiring items of status based on a particular brand name or celebrity endorsement. This philosophy has crept into every area of life as we have succumbed to the idea of commodification of relationships and even religious experiences in that we use people and even God to satisfy our personal desires. When we no longer find immediate gratification, we move on to something else that promises to satisfy. Everything in our life (even God) becomes a means to an end of our own personal pursuit of happiness and self-fulfillment). Of course, these views have always been present in the human condition (i.e., selfishness and sin), but only recently have we built an entire economy and way of life on the proliferation of consumption. Only recently have Evangelical churches grown based on the whims of the consumer class and their preference and choice for religious goods and services that meet their "felt needs."

My friend, David Phillips, writes an outstanding essay on this issue called Reframing Success: The Jesus Way or the Consuming Way?  If we do not understand how the Jesus Way is in complete opposition to the Consuming Way, or the spirit of our age, then true spiritual formation into the image of Christ is impossible. Discipleship in the 21st century almost wholly consists of learning to discern between the way of Christ and the way of our larger culture which is based and grounded on a worldview that is almost totally opposed to Christ when it comes to an individuals personal choices about life and where happiness comes from. David says, regarding the effect of consumerism on the Church: 

What does this consumerism do to the church in America? Large churches are growing, medium-size churches are declining, and smaller churches are struggling. The larger a church grows, the smaller the kingdom grows, because in America, those larger churches are pulling from the smaller churches who cannot offer the same goods and services as the larger churches. The religious consumer, wanting the needs of their family met heads off to the big church where they are busy with activity and have entertainment for all ages. The smaller church suffers, to the point of having to shut down because it cannot sustain itself.

The churches who are surviving are trying to put together the right programs and activities that will attract those religious consumers. They are spending time, money and other resources on buildings and productions so that people will enjoy (or be entertained) by the show that is put on in the church.

But is this real success? The Jesus goal cannot be achieved unless the Jesus way is followed. The end does not justify the means. God’s goal is that we become like Him, conformed to His image and the image of His Son Jesus. The goal is not heaven, the goal is Cruciformity, or conformity to the Cross of Jesus. It happens through Faith, which for Paul was a “total response to obedience to the gospel (Rom 1:5;16:26). It is also…a death experience in which one enters into the experience of Jesus’ crucifixion.” The Jesus Way is a process where God seeks to re-shape and re-form that person into his or her original identity, and to re-fill that person with His original purpose of relationship with God. In embracing the gospel of Christ, a person embarks on a journey out of brokenness and into wholeness that will only be complete as God works to restore all of creation. The Jesus Way does not have as its goal the creation of people looking to have their own needs met. Why then perpetuate the climate of the consumer church in an attempt to see people conformed into the image of God?

Success then is not following the consuming way, but the Jesus way. Maybe our measure of success should be an expression of people being conformed to the image of Christ, obeying the Gospel, and living the crucified life that is an expression of Faith.

A major conversation is beginning about the effects of consumerism on our faith and it is about 50 years too late, in my opinion. But, we were so "consumed" with success and numbers that we failed to see that we have been buying into a system that actually makes discipleship harder. Yes, Jesus meets our deepest needs, but He redefines what those needs are. He tells us that if we want to follow Him, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross. It is ironic that in America, the richest nation on earth, we have the prosperity gospel (which has infiltrated every denomination in one way or another) because we feel like we do not have enough.

Several excellent resources that address this topic are:

The Divine Commodity by Skye Jethani. I have been reading this book over the past couple of weeks (it was my beach reading) and it is probably the best book on any subject that I have read in the past couple of years.  He uses the art of Van Gogh as a metaphor for what consumerism has done to our culture and the church. A review is forthcoming.

 

 

Consuming Jesus: Beyond Race and Class Divisions in a Consumer Church by Paul Louis Metzger.  Metzger makes the case that racialization is embedded into the church through the vehicle of consumerism, choice, and personal preference. He picks up on the groundbreaking work of Emerson and Smith as they detail how racial, class, and consumer preferences are hardwired into the foundation of modern evangelicalism.

 

                                    

The Big Sort: How the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart by Bill Bishop.  Because of unparalled prosperity and emerging diversity in America, we are using our freedom of choice and economic means to cluster together with people who share our lifestyles, values, and concerns. Bishop argues that this is actually not good for America because when people gather based on homogenous views, they become more extreme in their perspective and more alienated against others. Though a secular book, there is an entire chapter on the contemporary evangelical church and the Homogenous Unit Principle.

                                        

ReJesus: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church by Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost. Okay, this book rates up there with Jethani's. I read it last fall and it was amazing. Hirsch and Frost make the argument that the evangelical church has lost its way because it has failed to follow after Jesus. It contrasts Jesus with the prevailing culture and shows how we have compromised our vision for what the Christian life should be with a culture that seeks to satisfy itself.

 

                                               

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Like I said earlier, I fully believe that those serious about following Jesus in our current world have to begin to use discernment in these areas.  Pastors who want to lead their churches biblically have to become astute at helping their members work through the implications of living in a consumeristic, materialistic world. Emerson says that the religion that most of us have bought into can be defined as "theraputic, moralistic, deism."  If so, then how does that affect the way that we engage in life and ministry? 

I am actually very encouraged, however. Even though there is a lot of talk about what is wrong with us, an understanding of the problem is a first step to overcoming it. I don't know that we have always seen what has derailed us and how joined with the larger culture we really are. We have to understand that methods to proclaiming the gospel and living the Christian life are not neutral. The method becomes the message. Living missionaly in a post-Christian world requires that we understand that world and that we become aware how we are to put it aside. If we love the world the we cannot love God.  More and more people are getting this and I believe that God's Spirit is moving to draw us to Himself. That can only be a good thing.

It is time that we follow Jesus and lay all of this other stuff down. But, that will cost us something - everything, really. Are we willing to pay the price? 

Gateway's 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament Is a Huge Success!

About 9 months ago, we had a big breakthrough in our church when we began to reach teenagers in our community for the first time.  Our youth group went on a mission trip to Houston and came back wanting to reach out to their neighbors. We started a Kid's Club on Sunday afternoons thinking that we would begin to minister to little kids, but instead, teenagers showed up. Hordes of teenage boys. They wanted to hang out and they wanted to play basketball. Previously, we had put up a couple of basketball goals in our church parking lot. The interesting thing is, in the whole eastern half of Montgomery, there are no public courts to play basketball. So, kids started showing up from all over the city. They started coming every day. On an average night, we'd have 40-50 guys hanging out and playing basketball. We had guys coming to church and several got saved. Their lives began to turn around as they encountered the love of Christ and a body of believers who loved them and accepted them. It has been amazing to watch.

A few weeks ago, a LIFE Group in our church had the idea of scheduling a 3-on-3 basketball tournament to give the guys something to do and to develop a platform to minister to them. It was a huge success. We had around 40 people participate and several responded positively to the gospel being presented. A bunch of people from the church volunteered to put the event together and we plan to do it again in the future. Actually, we are starting a summer basketball league on Monday nights in the church parking lot from all of this. The cool thing is that we are building relationships with these guys and they are becoming our family. God is working. (pic taken by my friend, Chris McCorkle)

Our local newspaper, the Montgomery Advertiser wrote an article about the event that appeared in the paper today.   A short video is included. It was very positive and really showed the heart of our church in reaching out to our community. Something amazing is happening at our church where we are reaching a tipping point. No longer are we trying to cast a vision for reaching out and loving others outside of our church family. It is just happening. God is moving in our hearts and it leading us to open our arms to all that we come in contact with. This basketball tournament was a great example of how a simple thing like a few basketball goals can change a church and a neighborhood.

We finished up the tournament today.  I am really excited about what God is doing and can't wait to see what He has in store for us for the future!

Ponderings From an Active Mind at Rest

I am on vacation this week and I am glad. I went out on the beach this morning and listened to the wind and waves, the sea gulls, and the voice of God. Psalm 23 comes to mind where it says "He restores my soul." The ocean does something for me that no other place does. As Norman Maclean so famously wrote, "I am haunted by waters." I think that it is because I was surrounded by water as a little boy in New Orleans and can still smell the salt air in my memory; or maybe it is because of some reason less romantic. Still, this is where I regain my step and where thoughts come together to form questions and ideas that eventually lead to life-change.

So, here are some initial questions that I am pondering this week:

What does it mean to be Christ-centered and Gospel-centered in life and ministry? I see those terms bandied about often and I use them myself. I am not ignorant regarding definitions, but I wonder if I live that way? What would our lives and churches really look like if this were the case?



If we understand that we are all sinners and that we all sin, and we understand that Jesus fully paid for our sins, and we believe that grace is true, then why are we often so hard on ourselves and others? I am not advocating lawlessness. We should grow in Christlikeness. But, I am wondering why a knowledge of our actual situation and the true gospel does not produce more love, graciousness, and compassion towards ourselves and others.



What does it mean to believe that the Gospel is "Good News"? Do we live that, proclaim that, or even believe it? I think that we understand that it is good news that we go to heaven instead of hell and that our sins are forgiven if we believe in Christ, but what about the Gospel being "Good News" for all of life?

What does a Christ-formed, Gospel-centered family look like? A church? What does it mean to understand these things in the midst of community and live them out together, loving one another as Christ loved us?



As I relax, swim, hang out with my family, read, and pray this week, these things are rolling around in my mind. I am really trying to refresh and re-ground myself in the implications of the Gospel, because it is easy to get lost in the details of daily life.

Thoughts to help me out?


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Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Is Anyone Else Becoming Wary of What the GCR Is Becoming?

It seems that the GCR is primarily becoming a conversation about the amount of money that goes to the state conventions versus the national entities of the SBC. If so, that is a major mistake.

I have written about the proposed Southern Baptist Great Commission Resurgence a few times here and with the upcoming convention in Louisville, it seems appropriate to address some issues that I see arising.  Almost all of the talk that I am hearing about the GCR in pre-convention chatter has to do with restructuring the SBC entities, downsizing state conventions, and getting more money to the national SBC bureaucracy for "missions."  All of this has to do with Article IX of the GCR which calls for an analysis of our denominational structures and their effectiveness in mission. Let me be clear that I have been a big proponent of thrift and effectiveness when it comes to our missions dollars and I think that there is a great deal of waste, both on state and national levels. But, the fact that a discussion about money, power, and denominational structures is what has begun to dominate talk about the GCR in the days leading up to a supposed vote on the document at the convention has caused me to wonder if there is not more going on here than meets the eye.

I trust that Dr. Danny Akin (president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and architect of the GCR) and Dr. Johnny Hunt, president of the SBC, both have great intentions in his advocacy of the meaning of this document. I think that their hearts are good. But, it seems that this is becoming about money and power and not about a spiritual renewal in the SBC. If that is the case, then we will continue along the same trajectory of decline, having tried one more bailout measure that has failed. Maybe the opponents of the GCR are pointing out this one issue to derail the whole thing and the proponents of the measure are responding to them, thus causing all the attention on this one issue.  If so, I think that the proponents of the GCR are making a tactical error.  They need to stay on message and stop responding to the Article IX talk lest we forget that our main problem is primarily a problem with our hearts.

I signed the GCR and I think that it is a good document. It captures a great deal of what I have advocated in the SBC the past 3 years. But, focusing on our denominational structure before we see a heart change is a dead end street in the SBC. It is why we are in decline. I sincerely hope that this becomes more than that and that is does not end up like every other good initiative that has arisen over the past several years.