{"id":1709,"date":"2011-03-24T05:00:26","date_gmt":"2011-03-24T11:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/?p=1709"},"modified":"2011-03-24T05:00:26","modified_gmt":"2011-03-24T11:00:26","slug":"limiting-your-audience-sbc-pastors-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/?p=1709","title":{"rendered":"Limiting Your Audience: SBC Pastor’s Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

You would think that leaders of the\u00a0first GCR Era\u00a0Southern Baptist Convention Pastor’s Conference<\/a> — scheduled to debut in Phoenix this June — would desire to have the biggest possible audience for this annual event.\u00a0 Knowing that the southwestern location would itself limit the number of pastors who could attend,\u00a0one might assume that the Aspire <\/em>2011 SBCPC would focus on the content and casting (i.e., speakers) to leverage turnout.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Apart from last year’s two-day long commercial for the GCR, I have enjoyed the Pastor’s Conferences that I have attended in the past.\u00a0 As a life-long Southern Baptist, I am predisposed to like this time of worship prior to the SBC’s annual meeting.\u00a0 What’s not to like — great preaching and singing and\u00a0an opportunity for many pastors like me — who are in the pulpit most Sundays —\u00a0to get\u00a0our spiritual batteries recharged.<\/p>\n

I cannot speak for anyone else, but from the moment I first read about the content and casting for Aspire<\/em>\u00a0on SBCVoices<\/a>, I have been hesitant to commit the extra time it will take to attend.\u00a0 Even though Phoenix is a relatively close drive from where I live in New Mexico,\u00a0I\u00a0am finding it\u00a0hard to get enthused about this year’s\u00a0conference.\u00a0 Is it worth leaving after I preach on Sunday to drive all afternoon to arrive in time for the first session that evening?\u00a0 As of now, I\u00a0am still undecided.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Could I be persuaded to attend Aspire<\/em>?\u00a0 Of course, although just to ask that question should raise other questions.\u00a0 Why shouldn’t SBC pastors, who otherwise intend to be in Phoenix for the SBC — want to automatically participate in this year’s Pastor’s Conference?\u00a0 Put another way, what would cause pastors to\u00a0decide to save extra\u00a0time and money (hotels, car rentals, food, etc.) by skipping this year’s event?\u00a0<\/p>\n

To answer these questions, it would be helpful to know\u00a0the content\u00a0of the\u00a0conference as well as the all-star preaching\/singing cast that has been assembled.\u00a0 First, the content.\u00a0\u00a0The SBCPC website gives us a sneak peek of what pastors and other attendees can expect to receive from Aspire<\/em>:<\/p>\n

The primary elements that are going to be discussed at the conference are church planting and God\u2019s activity among the nations. In light of that, the theme, speakers, videos, goals and offering are all going to be centered around planting churches and engaging the nations with the gospel. (Conference Goals, Aspire 2011 SBC Pastor’s Conference<\/a>)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

No one would argue that the content of the Aspire<\/em> Pastor’s Conference is anything but Biblical.\u00a0 Obviously, “church planting and God’s activity among the nations” <\/em>are topics that would provide a wealth of encouragement to pastors.\u00a0 The central theme of the conference, which dovetails nicely with the content, is likewise solid in its Biblical foundation.\u00a0 No one that I know would dispute that church planting — at home and abroad — is not a vital need.\u00a0 We may disagree as to the scope, particularly with the new NAMB, but there are certainly insights to be gained from such a theme.<\/p>\n

However, the content and theme — primarily centered on church planting —\u00a0is narrow in its scope.\u00a0 So narrow, that many pastors, this one included, may choose to forgo\u00a0this year’s conference.\u00a0 I do not know if the church planting theme was chosen because of the emphasis it has been given by the new NAMB\u00a0or because of other considerations.\u00a0 Perhaps the leaders of this year’s SBCPC\u00a0wanted to tie into the massive church planting movement that the new NAMB is spearheading.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As one who has strong reservations about the GCR\u00a0and the\u00a0radical\u00a0re-invention of NAMB<\/a>, the church planting emphasis does not provide the strongest appeal\u00a0for me to attend the Pastor’s Conference.\u00a0 With that being said, as long as I was reasonably certain that\u00a0the Pastor’s Conference would not morph into some cheer-leading session exalting planting new churches as the “best way” to reach North America and the world (over against established churches), then I would see no reason not to turn up and tune in at Phoenix.<\/p>\n

But, here’s the rub.\u00a0 Even if the content and theme of this year’s\u00a0SBCPC\u00a0are Biblically grounded (which I believe they are), that does not mean that the cast chosen to showcase the content and theme will attract as wide and diverse an audience as the event’s planners might have hoped.\u00a0 In fact, some of the pre-event publicity surrounding some of the cast may cause some pastors to choose to miss this year’s Pastor’s Conference altogether.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, wrong casting choices\u00a0for even supporting cast members can cause loyal viewers to switch channels or to never watch a spin-off of an otherwise liked show.\u00a0\u00a0My wife and I find ourselves\u00a0in that very predicament\u00a0because of the\u00a0ill-fated casting of Janeane Garofalo in Criminal Minds:\u00a0 Suspect Behavior<\/em>.\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0For some, her addition to this\u00a0Criminal Minds spin-off\u00a0is not reason enough avoid the\u00a0new show.\u00a0 For us, it’s a deal breaker.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Much has already been written — both pro (here<\/a>, here<\/a>)\u00a0and con (here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>) —\u00a0about one of the original supporting cast members, Jamar Jones (who has since withdrawn from the event), and the propriety of inviting him to participate in a Southern Baptist Pastor’s Conference.\u00a0 From my perspective, I think that the\u00a0Jones’ invitation to participate in the\u00a0First GCR Era Pastors’ Conference<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>is merely a symptom of a much deeper problem within the Convention.<\/p>\n

In finally responding to the critics of Aspire<\/em>, Vance Pitman, President of this year’s SBC Pastor’s Conference,\u00a0appeared to offer no concessions to those who originally raised concerns about Jones and other member\u00a0of the cast of Aspire<\/em>.\u00a0 In fact, like most producers of hit television shows\u00a0who\u00a0engender opposition\u00a0because of their own\u00a0unwise casting choices, Pitman seems intent on blaming everyone else for the kerfuffle, even Lifeway:<\/p>\n

People Pitman trusts tell him \u201cJakes is not a modalist.\u201d Besides, Pitman said, his books are for sale in SBC bookstores. \u201cHow ridiculous is it that we can sell his books but his music guy can\u2019t play piano at our meeting?\u201d he asked. (full article here<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That’s not the standard we will now use to determine if someone should be invited to speak at the SBC’s Pastor’s Conference, is it?\u00a0 I’m pretty sure Lifeway sells 90 Minutes in Heaven <\/em>by Don Piper, but I would much rather hear from John than Don.\u00a0 As for the “ridiculousness” of it all, perhaps Pitman needs to expand his group of trusted advisers.\u00a0 Surely there is someone within SBC circles that could have told Pastor Pitman that\u00a0giving a part in Aspire — a Southern Baptist Pastor’s Conference — <\/em>to\u00a0anyone\u00a0associated with T.D. Jakes’ church would have not been the wisest choice.<\/p>\n

But, Vance Pitman and the leadership of this year’s conference have their own vision of what they want Aspire <\/em>to be.\u00a0 The vision is big, to be sure.\u00a0 So big, apparently, that the critics just don’t seem to understand what this year’s Pastor’s Conference is all about, whether it’s the minor casting of Jones playing the piano or Darrin Patrick of The Journey\/Acts 29 fame preaching.<\/p>\n

Isn’t that always the case though\u00a0— if you don’t understand the show, it’s entirely the fault of the audience.\u00a0 The producers, directors, writers, and cast never shoulder any responsibility\u00a0for\u00a0the\u00a0resulting mess.\u00a0\u00a0That seems to be the argument Pitman is making:<\/p>\n

The president of the 2011 Southern Baptist Pastors\u2019 Conference defended a program he\u2019s put together for June 12-13 in Phoenix, Ariz., saying critics who find it outside the convention\u2019s mainstream hold too narrow a worldview.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Kingdom of God is bigger than Southern Baptists,\u201d said Vance Pitman, 2011 Pastors\u2019 Conference president<\/a> and pastor of Hope Baptist Church in Las Vegas, a church plant in partnership with First Baptist Church, Woodstock, Ga., and the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe main intent of our conference is to communicate the big picture of the Kingdom of God,\u201d Pitman said in a telephone interview March 18. \u201cGod is alive and at work all over the world. We as the Southern Baptist Convention are one very small part of that.\u201d (full article here<\/a>)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While this makes for a nice diversion and strawman argument, no one is arguing that the\u00a0Kingdom of God is not\u00a0bigger than the SBC.\u00a0 Is the Southern Baptist Convention a\u00a0“very small part”\u00a0<\/em>of God’s activity in the world?\u00a0 We might quibble on the smallness or largeness thereof, but God is at work all over the world, even outside of the SBC.<\/p>\n

As to Pitman’s charge that\u00a0“critics who find it outside the convention\u2019s mainstream hold too narrow a worldview<\/em>,” he may\u00a0be right.\u00a0 But, then again, he may be wrong.\u00a0 If one can have\u00a0too narrow a worldview,\u00a0can one have too broad a worldview?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0problem with Aspire 2011:\u00a0 The Southern Baptist Pastor’s Conference\u00a0<\/em>might not be about the kind of narrowness that Pastor Pitman is thinking about.\u00a0 It just might turn out that the producers of Aspire<\/em>\u00a0have so broadened their vision that they have narrowed their potential audience — not that there’s anything wrong with that.\u00a0 Will I be in the audience in Phoenix?\u00a0 As long as Janeane Garofalo isn’t on the program,\u00a0somehow I think I will make it after all.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You would think that leaders of the\u00a0first GCR Era\u00a0Southern Baptist Convention Pastor’s Conference — scheduled to debut in Phoenix this June — would desire to have the biggest possible audience for this annual event.\u00a0 Knowing that the southwestern location would itself limit the number of pastors who could attend,\u00a0one might assume that the Aspire 2011…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[35,37],"tags":[49,60,104,231,284,320,540,566,608,782,874,974,1025],"class_list":["post-1709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-religion","category-southern-baptist-convention","tag-90-minutes-in-heaven","tag-acts-29","tag-aspire-sbc-pastors-conference","tag-church-planting","tag-darrin-patrick","tag-don-piper","tag-janeane-garofalo","tag-john-piper","tag-lifeway","tag-phoenix-sbc-pastors-conference","tag-sbc-pastors-conference","tag-the-journey","tag-vance-pitman"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LP7G-rz","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1709\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}