"Aping" the SBC and the Central Problem of Our Convention

This will probably be my last post on the SBC and the current issues related to its presidency. I had not intended to write all this, but as recent days unfolded, I felt that it was important to chime in. There have been some who have been reading blogs and have come to the conclusion that those being critical are somehow “anti-Floyd” or attacking him. This is simply not the case. Sure, there are some real, legitimate reasons why one should be concerned about some of the things Dr. Floyd has said and done, but there is no reason to think that he would be a fine president. But as I have stated earlier, the SBC needs exemplary leadership—and that not only from the president, but also from all of its denominational heads.

Two quotes have been ringing in my ears over the past couple of days. One is from Francis Schaeffer as quoted by Nancy Pearcey in her book Total Truth, and the other is from Morris Chapman from his blogpost “Diminishing Returns?” I want to share them with you and add a little commentary as I believe the content of the comments are timely and true today. First, let’s hear from Francis Schaeffer:

“The central problem of our age is not liberalism or modernism,” Schaeffer writes—or even hot-button social issues like evolution, abortion, radical feminism, or homosexual rights. The primary threat to the church is the “tendency to do the Lord’s work in the power of the flesh rather than the Spirit.” Many church leaders crave a “big name,” he continues: They “stand on the backs of others” in order to achieve power, influence, and reputation—instead of exhibiting the humility of the Master who washed His disciples’ feet. They “ape the world” in its publicity and marketing techniques, manipulating people’s emotions to induce them to give more money. No wonder outsiders see little in the church that cannot be explained by ordinary sociological forces and principles of business management. And no wonder they find our message unconvincing.

As Pearcey continued in her observations of such who “ape the world,” she asked the question, “Where is the authenticity in all this?” and later repeated by asking, “Where is our passion for truth and authenticity?” These are good questions for the SBC. Where is the passion for authenticity? Where is the transparency in all of this?

Now to Morris Chapman who recently wrote this article as news that SBC leaders came out to endorse a presidential nominee. Just in the last week, Drs. Patterson, Akin, and Mohler have expressed their public support for Dr. Floyd which is proof that what Chapman has said is true. This is not good news for the SBC. As the good ole’ boys prop up their candidate with their powerful punditry, SBCers are becoming more skeptical and less trusting in the process and politicking that is so prevalent in the SBC. Here is what Dr. Chapman had to say:

Today political strategies, agendas, and power politics threaten to distract us from empowered possibilities of a people who rely solely upon God's guidance. We are drawn to do things as the world does them. To lose power from above all too often drives us to generate artificial power of our own making. We can intellectualize the Word of God 'til the cows come home and Christ reigns supreme upon the earth, but the more we attempt to do in our own power, the less we shall know the power of God. Our strength pales in comparison to the Christ who arose from the grave and ascended to the right hand of the Father.

When a president of an entity publicly endorses a potential nominee or nominates a candidate for elected office, he potentially alienates some who otherwise hold him in high esteem because they differ with the person he has embraced publicly for an elected office. Consequently, the entity head endangers his potential to provide effective counsel and spiritual leadership to the larger body of Southern Baptists although their beliefs may coincide with the entity head on most other issues.

I agree, as Dr. Chapman has said, that there is a “diminishing admiration” of such leaders in the SBC along with an eroding trust in the system with they seem to manipulate. In the end, they may wind up getting everyone’s vote, but the question remains whether or not they really have our trust and respect. I have personally talked to close friends who have worked under such heads who have told me, “If you knew what really went on in the political end of the SBC, you will wish you weren’t a Southern Baptist.” To some degree, I am glad that I do not know; but then again, why should I be glad? Why should there be matters that I wish I did not know? Is it because there are those who like to “ape the SBC,” who are doing this work in the power of the flesh and not of the Spirit? “According to the artificial power of our own making?” Who are “standing on the backs of others” rather than serving from the bottom up as the “slave of all?”

We are now 27 years past the beginning of the conservative resurgence. The threat of liberalism or modernism is hardly an issue. The real threat to the SBC comes within the SBC itself. If we believe that Christ is the Lord of the Church and of the Christian, then why can’t we agree that He is also Lord of the Convention? If we believe He is, then I pray that the process of nominating and voting on presidents and other elected officers will reflect this reality. Truly, the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord, and so are the hearts of all us. So let us pray to Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will that we may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. For the sake of Jesus and our brethren in the SBC, may God be pleased to bring reform from top to bottom in our beloved convention. I am hopeful and will be praying about these matters, and if you are a SBCer, I encourage you to do the same.