August 2024 news-letter article

Hello again brethren,

I write this, a month late, to inform you about the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention.  Perhaps you saw some headlines in secular press relaying what took place during the Convention.  Just assume they were over-blown and written in a way to stir up controversy.  I’ll address the two top attention-getters as I go, but let me first tell you a bit about what the S.B.C. is, and isn’t.

First, as I always remind us, we are an independent/autonomous church.  We answer to no higher organizational body; we strive to be as faithful to God’s Word as we can be, and He alone has the authority to tell our church what to do, or not do.  We choose to affiliate with the Triad Church Network (formerly called the Pilot Mountain Baptist Association), the Baptist State Convention, and the Southern Baptist Convention, among other networks of churches.  It is perfectly within our right to disaffiliate from any or all of the above.  It is also within our right, as partnering churches, to help these organizations articulate where the boundary lines belong, defining what the organization is and believes.  As we discussed back in the winter, walking through the Baptist Faith & Message document on Wednesday evenings, there are areas of doctrine where the historic Baptist tradition is fairly narrow (I used the term “distinctives”) and others where we have a rather broad orthodox theological conviction (for example: salvation – many churches are more “reformed” than ours, many others are more “Arminian”).  There is a great diversity of opinion within our conventions on the doctrines of the end times; not only do different churches teach different things, many people within the same church have different interpretations of biblical passages.  Most theological scholars agree that end times doctrines are “third tier” issues.  With respect to these boundary lines, I often use the term “tent stakes” to refer to where we place these.  Pastor Jim and I both believe that if we are to err [as organizations] we should err on the side of having a “big tent” to accommodate churches of different convictions on all “tier three” issues, and even some “tier two” issues.  However, we both believe that if a church is straying from biblical fidelity, the associations of churches have a right, and even an obligation, to correct the unfaithfulness.  We should lovingly and humbly confront the teaching, ask the church to clarify doctrine, and only after a church remains obstinate, the churches collectively can decide together that the church in question is no longer within “our tent”, praying that God would bless its ministry efforts as it goes its own way.  In 2023, several churches (13 I think off the top of my head) were deemed to be “not in friendly cooperation” with the S.B.C.

In 2024, we voted by super-majority to view the First Baptist Church of Alexandria, Virginia as “not in friendly cooperation”.  I have a fourth-hand connection to the pastor of that church (which I’ll explain later), but not only do they have divergent views upon the biblical office of pastor/elder/overseer, they have been actively teaching and advocating for highly-questionable views of human sexuality and gender identity.  Join me in praying that this church will return its attention to teaching God’s Word faithfully, and that God will bless that church in its ministry efforts going forward.

Second, and speaking of divergent views upon the biblical office of pastor/elder/overseer, most on-lookers probably agree that the biggest head-line going into the Convention meeting was a vote upon a proposed amendment to the by-laws.  After much reading and prayer, Pastor Jim and I voted against the proposal.  There were several reasons for our decisions, probably the most influential was that the wording of the proposal was subject to interpretation, and could have been used to unfairly target whole groups of churches, questioning the “friendliness” of their cooperation.  The second most important decision of the Convention was the election of our officers, specifically our President.  I am happy to report to you that North Carolina’s own Clint Pressley was elected from a third ballot.  This did not get much attention from out-siders in the press, but Pastor Jim was impressed at my prophetic abilities throughout the Convention!

Third, I shall address the other attention-getting issue in the secular press.  Many ignorant head-lines read that the Southern Baptist Convention is against in-vitro fertilization (“IVF”).  Some individuals may be, and some churches (I don’t know of any) may preach against it.  To be clear, the churches, the collective organization, nor individuals within the Convention are against IVF.  We did pass a resolution (not overwhelmingly) that affirmed the dignity and value of human life in any form, including embryos, including those in-vitro (in glass) or frozen.  That resolution affirmed the beauty of medical treatments that have allowed infertile, or even previously-deemed sterile, couples to conceive and bear children.  It also cautioned wise Christians to carefully consider medical and scientific procedures that are morally questionable.  I am not a huge fan of resolutions in general, and I especially dislike when they are used to be divisive, but this one is carefully worded, and I commend for you to read it carefully before having really strong opinions about it.  It is also worth mentioning that resolutions are not binding in any way, and have a minimal substantive value within our Convention.

Fourth, after we finish our mid-week Bible Study series in the book of Leviticus, we will take at least two Wednesday evenings to discuss the Southern Baptist Convention.  One will be a report from me (and I fully intend to fill you in on SOME of the fun Pastor Jim and I had along the way); the second will be an opportunity for questions and answers.  A possible third Wednesday may evolve into a discussion of how (or if) these questions apply within our church family.

Fifth, and finally, I want to high-light a few things that got no press attention what so ever.  Despite the best efforts of secular pundits, and a few extreme (generally right-wing) “grenade throwers” (my term to Pastor Jim) within “the tent”, there was a great lack of discord and argument.  The Convention meeting had a great spirit of unity and kinship.  It was so much like a family reunion, the love and communal mission we share seemed to bond everyone together.  Our stellar President, Dr. Bart Barber, influenced this tone through his leadership.  His graciousness, poise, integrity, and humility have in my mind set the new standard for what the President ought to be and do.  I was amazed at the people I saw hugging and shaking hands that frequently get into online debates and quarrels.  If you are wondering: “why does this matter?”  This unity of commitment to God’s Word and the Great Commission was manifest most clearly by the sending of missionaries.  The International Mission Board and the North American Mission Board (respectively, the beneficiaries of our Lottie Moon Offering and Annie Armstrong Offering dollars) commissioned men, [even more] women, and couples out to the field.  Many of these had to stand behind a screen such that we could only see their silhouettes as they introduced themselves and requested prayer.  Several more had to have someone else read their paragraph because they can’t afford to have an audio recording of their voices.  This is for security reasons, because they are being commissioned to nations and lands where it is illegal to evangelize because it’s illegal for citizens to become Christians.  These precious saints of God are going to the ends of the earth where “Jesus” has never been heard.  They are fully funded, thoroughly vetted, and highly trained by the world’s best seminaries.  It would take nearly our church’s whole budget to send one couple to a far corner of the globe in this way, but collectively, we (a Convention of churches) can pool our resources and accomplish so much more together.  If there is a single reason why we should be part of the Southern Baptist Convention, this is it.  I am thankful that churches, many of which are significantly smaller than ours, can band together and accomplish this kind of profound missions effort.  The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  It is a great encouragement that we have like-minded brothers and sisters in other rows of the mission field all plowing in the same direction we are; to God be the glory!

praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice!
--A.J.