ell, the SBC 2008 is history. In reading around I found a couple of eye-witness reports that I found interesting. My major interest was in the fact that two men with similar theological vantage points gave conflicting reports. Or did they?
I have been reading Dr. Nathan Finn for a good while. He is a young, thoughtful, reformed-leaning professor of church history at SEBTS who expresses himself very well. I believe he has a firm grip on the current state of affairs in the SBC. His convention wrap up was an over-all positive report. His main emphasis was upon the passage of the Resolution on Regenerate Church Membership, and the election of Johnny Hunt. The main thrust of his assessment was that everybody played well together, which in and of itself is a good thing.
Ben Wright is a young, reformed-leaning blogger of whom I have not read much, but what I have read seems sound and to the point. His initial report was not at all positive, but he began, not with the convention, but with the pre-convention pastors conference, which began that Sunday evening. His emphasis was on the anemic and non-exegetical nature of the messages delivered therein.
So why the difference? Is one view right and one wrong? I don’t think so. I believe what is going on here is that these two men are reporting from two different categories, one organizational, and the other theological. Dr. Finn is reporting as a part of the institutional framework of the SBC while Brother Wright is not. I would be remiss not to state that Dr. Finn expressed reservations in his (and previous) posts, and Ben Wright made positive points in a subsequent post.
I guess what makes these two perspectives interesting is that they compliment at one level, and contradict at another. The reason this is so is because of the Gospel. We certainly need cooperation as an organization to get the job done. That seems to have come together this year, at least to the casual observer at a distance. But do we all understand what the job description is that needs to be done? I’m not saying that Dr. Finn doesn’t know what the Gospel is. I’m sure he does. I’m thinking maybe he’s saying to himself “Baby steps, baby steps,” while Brother Wright is saying “Run, baby run!”
I’m reminded of the sermon by the late E.V. Hill titled something like “What Do You Get When You Got Jesus?”, only I’m thinking “What Do You Get When You Ain’t Got Jesus?” The answer is “Absolutely Nothing!” It doesn’t matter how organized you are. Organized pragmatism is still pragmatism.
Let’s all pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will continue to be made much of in the witness, preaching and teaching of God’s people, and that more Southern Baptist preachers will find 1 Corinthians 2:2 and take it to heart.
heard a request for prayer at church yesterday that says it all concerning this weeks annual Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis: “Pray they don’t do something stupid.” Now, what on earth might this year’s messengers do that could be considered stupid? Oh! What couldn’t they do? Can you say “Disney?”
