From Law to Grace » Entries tagged with "Bryant Wright"
SBC, GCB & the De Facto Name Change Charade
As Yogi Berra would say, “This is like deja vu all over again.” Or, as Ronald Reagan quipped to the second-worst President of the modern-era, Jimmy Carter, “There you go again.” At least that’s what came to mind as I began reading the 2012 Pre-Convention Special Issue of SBC Life that I received in the mail on Tuesday of this week. Published by the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, this “communication piece” is distributed five times a year “to pastors, ministers of education, ministers of music, full-time denominational workers, chaplains, missionaries, and vocational evangelists of the Southern Baptist Convention.” This slick publication usually has several articles that I find particularly beneficial. I would say that it is a good use of Cooperative Program funds to publish this magazine, but … Read entire article »
Filed under: Christianity, Great Commission Resurgence, Religion, SBC Name Change, Southern Baptist Convention
SBC Name Changes, Dixie & Family Pride
Since SBC President Bryant Wright’s September 19 announcement to the Executive Committee that he had unilaterally appointed an “unofficial” task force to study changing the name of the Southern Baptist Convention, there have been many new names that have been suggested. Some of the names I have seen bandied about at SBC Voices are: Evangelical Baptist Convention, Assembly of Evangelical Baptists, and the Great Commission Baptist Network. Dr. Steve Lemke, at SBC Today, although not endorsing a name change, has nevertheless proposed Fellowship of Baptist Christians (FBC) as a potential new name. On Wednesday over at SBC Voices, in a comment on my OP, “SBC Name Change: Silence of Elder Statesmen Deafening,” a new name was thrown into the ring: Dixie Baptist Convention. I don’t know what to say. It’s hard enough having an entire region of the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Family, Religion, Southern Baptist Convention
SBC Name Change: Elites Cannot Control Debate
Mohler acknowledged that the idea of changing the convention name is a highly charged issue that has the potential to create division (emphasis added) if not handled responsibly. (full article here) The Monday evening announcement led some Executive Committee members to express concern over the possibility of a name change and of the task force being asked to serve without convention approval. Some also said the issue could be divisive. (emphasis added) Wright responded by saying any proposed name change must be approved by messengers. (full article here) A unilaterally appointed Name Change Study Task Force created without apparent Constitutional authority. Who would have thunk that such an unprecedented action would have had the potential to create division within the Convention? If the way in which this Task Force came into being is not the height of irresponsibility, then I would … Read entire article »
Filed under: Civility, Religion, Southern Baptist Convention
In the SBC, Silence is No Longer an Option!
If implemented, Wright’s vision of “a radical change in priorities” — which also is the vision of many fellow megachurch pastors — will not only effect changes in leadership and strategy throughout the SBC, but will radically redefine what it means to be a “Cooperating” Southern Baptist church. Instead of the bottom-up, grass-roots convention that we have been, we will become (if we’re not already there) a top-down, corporate denomination that tells suggests how autonomous state conventions and local churches should act. That’s not the kind of hope and change that this Southern Baptist pastor wants to embrace! (Radically Reprioritizing and Redefining the SBC) When I wrote those words on July 15, 2010 — on what would have been my dad’s 75th birthday – I did not realize just how quickly and thoroughly that … Read entire article »
Filed under: Religion, Southern Baptist Convention