This week, the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention will convene (June 23-24, in Louisville, KY – click HERE for live streaming of the sessions). During this meeting, the normal will be obvious (and I suppose necessary). Messengers will vote for officers, affirm a budget, hear reports from agencies, debate various motions and resolutions, hear a few sermons, and listen to a few mega church choirs sing. LifeWay will have a bookstore almost as large as the convention itself, and I will probably buy very little from it (I don’t have enough money for their prices or desire much of what they offer – perhaps this year I will be surprised). Southern Seminary will be celebrating its 150th anniversary, which should be fun to be a part of. A host of breakfast, lunch and dinner meetings will be held where fruitful conversation over denominational and theological life will be had.
However, there is one issue that is beginning to dominate the landscape of this year’s convention. Over the past few years, a group of denominational leaders have been trying to refocus the convention on what they call The Great Commission Resurgence. Many of them make up the first generation of leaders beyond the generation of leaders that fought for and won the Conservative Resurgence, beginning in 1979. With theological liberalism behind the Convention’s institutions, cooperation among Conservatives is now the debate. We will always have such discussions and debates. New (recognizing there is really nothing new) ministry forms and strategies will always create new discussion and debate. The Emergent church, the “missional” mindset, a renewed commitment to social justice, and a renewed conviction for biblical doctrine and spiritual depth are currently pushing a stereotypically outdated Southern Baptist Convention of churches to refocus their renewed conservative energies.
To prepare myself, and to bring you in on the issues at hand at this year’s convention, I want to link to some key places on the web that would helpfully inform you:
The Great Commission Resurgence website. Here you will find the document that is driving the discussion. On this site you can watch and listen Dr. Daniel Akin, President of Southeastern Seminary, deliver a message on these axioms (click on the “media” link).
The Backstory to the Great Commission Resurgence. This blog article by Timmy Brister, discusses not only the background to the resurgence, but also the current debate among conservative-minded men regarding the Resurgence. There are two competing voices here. Be sure to read the comments to get a real feel for this debate.
Morris Chapman and the Great Commission Resurgence – by Tom Ascol
IMB cuts and the GCR call – by Tom Ascol
Perhaps there are more resources (I know there are), but these are a good place to begin, and Brister’s blog gives many links to many other resources.
Wednesday evening (January 24), at 6:30 p.m. (Pacific time) I and a few pastors plan to hold a review of the Convention’s activities that will be broadcast live to my Baptist History & Theology class in San Jacinto, CA. If we can get the details worked out, perhaps we will post the video on the blog here. Perhaps we will be able to engage in a discussion on some of these issues, what we saw transpire and why we should remain involved.
You can also watch my Twitter account for updates and pictures through the meeting (You can follow me on Facebook also, since Twitter is tied to it, though I don’t check my Facebook page very often). I will try and provide a few blog snapshots of the convention as well.
Tomorrow – a little bit about my take on what is currently going on in the Convention.
