Baptist ID: Dr. Gregory Thornbury on “The ‘Angry Young Men’ of the SBC”

Dr. Gregory Thornbury is founding Dean of the School of Christian Studies at Union University. He earned a Ph.D. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Thornbury is also Senior Fellow at Kairos Journal.

>>The provenance of the phrase ‘Angry Young Men’ <<

*Speculations

* Not on enough committees?
* Rising Tide of Gnosticism?
* Angry Young Men?
* The Bloggers?

Coming Up with a Biblical Definition of Anger

Two Questions:

Is it right to come up with a definite article (“the”) before “bloggers?” No. It is a misnomer.
Are these guys really angry?

Anger is a powerful emotion in both God and human beings.
Proverbs 6 (There are six things the Lord hates, yea seven an abomination . . .”)

Righteous Anger (Neh. 5:6; Mk. 3:5)
Unprofitable Anger (Ps. 37:8; James 1:19-20)

It almost in every case, the anger on the blogs came from the comments and not the posts themselves. Here are some examples . . .

“Having you ever done anything except kill churches?”

“You guys are mules – you make much noise, but you cannot reproduce.”

“I pray that God will have mercy on your souls in the end when we stand before him and he says–Why have you led so many astray?”

“I so hate that you call yourself a Baptist (expletive) . . .”

(and others)

Should we dismiss these blogs because of these comments? I think not.

Frustration vs. Anger

Frustration at:

>> The lack of respect for men in positions of leadership and authority in agencies and institutions (Traditionalists)
>> The demise of revivalism, and the rise of Calvinism (Revivalists)
>> Misrepresentations of Calvinism as being anti-evangelistic (Calvinists)
>> Assumption that postmodern = relativism (Missional/Emergent)
>> Narrowness and cliquish agendas (Protest)

The feeling is, “I don’t belong in the SBC.” They feel that they are misunderstood and misrepresented, attacked and alone.

A Different Description

>> Malaise and disillusionment toward denominational life in general (excited about local church and ministry but disconnected with SBC on a denominational level)
>> “What is a Baptist?” institutionally and theologically? Lack of clear answers spawn new networks
>> Interest in other sources of encouragement for local ministry
>> Mood: “This is not what I signed up for.”

Expired (out): Baptist programs
Tired (going out): Baptist battles
Wired (new and in): Baptist basics

Baptist Basics

>> Regenerate Church Membership
>> Rediscovery of Holiness and Ancient Forms of Discipleship

“This is the first generation that does not long for the return of Jesus.” (Tim Keller)

“Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” is something that we should take seriously. We get the other aspects of the Great Commission right, but we are missing it here.

>> Awe and Wonder of the Bible
>> The Prophetic Voice of the Church (Ezekiel 22:30)

The Church should be the moral conscience of the culture which it serves. (Examples: William Carey and William Wilberforce)

“Every culture has a question that only the Gospel can answer. Listen for the question.” (Hal Poe)

The Grand Ennui (and other loose ends)

We are still drawn to controversy. We’ve become addicted to it. This state of affairs is not a feature of young Baptist and seminarians. This is indicative of all age groups. Let us check out hearts and spirits. Let us repent of our secret sins and seek solitude and silence, not controversy. Let’s pray for discernment and wisdom and seek to distinguish between primary and secondary matters.

** Andrew Fuller on Primary and Secondary Matters **

Our Lord did not censure the Pharisees for attending to lesser matters of the law, but for attending to them ‘to the neglect of the greater’ . . .”

(Andrew Fuller, Complete Works, vol. 3, 795-96)