State of the SBC

by   T. C. Pinckney                                                                                                                                  Vol. XXI, No. 6, June/July 2008

Right after the June SBC convention is a good time to take stock of where we in the Southern Baptist Convention stand. Officers have been elected, entity reports and plans discussed, and statistics reported. So let’s take a look at where we are.

The Conservative Resurgence is completed. There was not one liberal motion offered in Indianapolis. Now, this does not mean we will never need to deal with liberal drift again or that every one of our churches is 100% biblical. Man’s pride and fallen heart are always susceptible to relying on self rather than God’s holy Word. Nevertheless, this most recent battle is over. Now what?

The good news is that both the International Missions Board and the North American Missions Board are moving ahead with strong leadership, effective programs, and positive results. NAMB unveiled an ambitious National Evangelism Initiative – named God's Plan for Sharing (GPS) – with the goal of having "every believer sharing" the Gospel and "every person hearing" by 2020. A television, radio and print media campaign will accompany the initiative and, NAMB officials say, it can be contextualized for both urban and rural settings. It is being launched in four languages: English, Spanish, Korean and Chinese.

International Mission Board President Jerry Rankin used part of his report to reflect on the rapid growth of the Gospel in the decade following the IMB's "New Directions" campaign. Launched in 1997, New Directions was a paradigm shift that reorganized the board's structure and strategy in order to intensify its focus on the world's unreached people groups. Working closely with national partners, Rankin said those missionaries have seen baptisms double from 308,000 in 1997 to more than 609,900 in 2007. Numbers of new church starts also jumped dramatically, from 3,352 in 1997 to more than 25,000 last year. But much more needs to be done, Rankin said, if the world's lost are to be reached. For example, Dickie Nelson, regional leader for IMB work in South America, told messengers that more than half of South America's 700-plus people groups still have little or no Christian witness.

Our seminaries report that for the 2006-7 academic year there were 16,672 students enrolled (full time and part time).

With the waning of the resurgence struggle, the meeting had a much more relaxed, congenial atmosphere reflected in having six nominations for president. The fact that we no longer have to focus on that one critical issue, allows us to turn to other important challenges. Consequently, we have at least begun to recognize and take initial, tentative steps to address matters such as:

■         Declining baptisms: In 1999-2000 the SBC reported 41,588 churches and 414,637 baptisms. But in 2006-07 44,696 churches and only 345,941 baptisms, a decline of 16.6%. Something is seriously lacking! We are not reaching out and witnessing as Jesus commanded.

■         Unregenerate church membership: Whereas churches report total membership of over 16 million, they also report only about 6 million attend church. Many church rolls are never cleansed of those who have dropped out or moved away. We should not lie to ourselves or others but face the truth. And no church should enroll a new member until assured he is truly saved. Too often joining a church is like joining a social club. In fact, many clubs have stricter entry rules than our churches.

■         Failure to witness: In 1999-00 it took 39 Southern Baptists to win one person to Christ. In 2006-7 it took 47. Why aren’t we witnessing? I believe it is the next item.

■         Fear: Our post-modern culture stresses never offending anyone and that one person’s beliefs are just as valid as anyone else’s. Clearly many Southern Baptists are allowing that lie to destroy their witness. We need to ask ourselves, whom do we emulate, Oprah Winfrey or Jesus Christ?

■         Our children: Few Southern Baptists understand the intentionally anti-Christian and anti-educational purposes of government schools, and the great majority of Baptist parents prefer more things, more money, more free time over commitment to the Christian and academic nurturing of their children. In the long run this may prove to be our most serious failure.

■         Size over substance: Pastors and laymen alike often regard attendance and offering numbers as proof of God’s blessing when actually they may represent only compromise to the culture. There is nothing wrong with large numbers per se, but we need to be very careful to judge them biblically. Do they result from feel good fun or from Holy ghost conviction?

So there you have it. But remember, the preceding is just my opinion. I make no claim of inerrancy for myself, only for the Bible. If you have other concerns or comments, let me know. My contact information is on p. 2 of every Banner.