The Times, They Are A Changin'

My friend who I've never met in person but have admired for years, Marty Duren, has written what for him is a very rare post about something in the inner workings of the Southern Baptist Convention. He does a great job with it, and you should read his thoughts on the "Great Commission Resurgence" document. I've also been meaning to write something about where we at New Hope find ourselves, so this is that rare day when both Marty and I write about the SBC. I expect Halley's comet's return before it happens again.

Having successfully avoided every state and national convention for the 36 years I have been a Baptist, you could say that I'm not really interested in what happens in the SBC. You'd be wrong. I care a great deal about what the SBC does where the rubber meets the road. That would be the local church, BTW. People seem to forget that the convention exists to serve the churches instead of the other way around, and that the various entities that make up the SBC exist for the same reason. Absent that need, they should not exist.

Our church is a contributing member of the local group of Baptist churches, the Florida Baptist Convention, and the Southern Baptist Convention. We give money. We pray for our leaders, and those who serve our Lord as missionaries. As far as I know, that's about all they want from us.

That's just not enough.

We have flung the door open for a delivery of new wine skins and aren't looking back. Our people are being encouraged to sponsor children through Compassion, World Vision, or other Christian efforts. (We'll soon hit a dozen kids!) They are engaged in helping across the world with other groups who are making a difference. For example the younger girls have in successive months made crafts that were sold to fund stainless steel food bowls for kids in Haiti, formula for an orphanage in Guatemala, and VBS materials for kids in the Ukraine. We've given the shoes off our feet (and out of our closets) to Soles4Souls.org and left worship barefoot. We're about to embark on the most radical thing I've ever been a part of - a challenge to eat as the orphans do for 5 days, and give the money difference between that and what we normally eat - to the orphans at Amazima Ministries in Uganda.

Oh and lest you think we've forgotten the Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria part of the Great Commission - we have 17 folks away on mission to Appalachian KY right now, have done more local benevolence work this year than ever in our history, and are about to start our summer movie outreaches.

And exactly what has the SBC have to do with any of that?

Nothing.

That's not intended to be a swipe at the SBC, just a fact. Times are changing. Churches are looking for ways to DO SOMETHING, not outsource it to "professional missionaries." There are many outlets for that desire that lie outside the SBC and are easy to find. Why is that? And why are the leaders of the SBC fixated on a document like the "Great Commission Resurgence" (which in classic SBC fashion will be submitted to a committee at the convention to be studied for a year) instead of asking the local church what we need?

We're going to continue to look for the most effective way our local church can change the world for God's glory. If that's through the SBC, great. But I doubt it. I also expect that we will find a better way to ensure that the monies we contribute to God's work through the SBC don't get frittered away at the state level or absorbed into the "machine" and get to the missionaries on the field. The times, they are a changin' - and I'm thrilled about how much more impact we are having for the Kingdom of God - and can't wait to see what's ahead.