Someone in the SBC has to come along and try to screw things up.
Good grief. When will we learn the lessons of the past? And people are wondering why the younger generation isn’t hanging around anymore.
Well, here is exhibit A for the folly of fundamentalism. Calling out SEBTS? Dr. Bruce Ware? Ed Stetzer? Darrin Patrick? If there is a future for the SBC, it is not with Mr. Moran, I promise you that.
In the meantime, I need to get back to building bridges with Dr. Rainer.
Timmy, I checked out this Moran, and the info I found was certainly not positive. However, in reading his motion, I must echo some of his concerns about the influx of Emergent theology in the SBC. I’m sure my understanding of the alcohol issue would set me in Moran’s sights of suspicion, but apart from the man himself, some sound concerns reamain. While I think his reaction is jerk-knee and grossly oversimplified, I did not understand your reaction or the general reaction over at SBC outpost.
Please help me to understand what was so offensive. BTW, I know that you do not know me, but please believe that my request for dialogue on this issue is genuine.
Klay,
As Joe rightly pointed out, this is guilt-by-association. Secondly, the mess in MO should be handled in MO. There is more here than meets the eye. Thirdly, labeling is a power-play move. If you can define the term and pin the label, you are well on your way to swaying the uniformed audience (this has oft been the case with Calvinism). How many people in the X-Com you think could name the various leaders in the ECM and the books they have written (like Pagitt, Jones, Gibbs, Kimball, Burke, Webber, etc.)? Yet they hear McLaren who is favorable to homosexuals and against substitutionary atonement and Driscoll “the cussing pastor,” CBF and the Emergent Village (neither of which Stetzer or Driscoll belongs). The motion is neither fair nor faithful to the characters under the microscope.
When I first stated blasting the emerging church, I did it because it was the cool thing for a conservative to do. Though I knew very little about the movement, I made the same, oversimplified assertions which were scarecly grounded. I am personally tired of Driscoll being demonized and painted in the worst possible light. Do you think if Acts 29 and Driscoll is so bad that one of our premiere conservative scholars would be speaking at their conference? You think he is that easily duped? Do you think Dockery and those who put together the BID conference were naive or ignorant of Stetzer? Yet there is a group that want Stetzer gone from the SBC, and so long as such rhetoric and lobbing criticisms are permitted to continue without warrant, then we are going to see our Convention continue to spiral out of control. Go to Joe’s post and see the quotes from Stetzer himself.
On the heels of a very promising and optimistic conference, I am saddened and frustrated that the same antics are continuing today, further causing division and preventing cooperation. I don’t know of many pastors or leaders making as much of an impact with the gospel of Jesus Christ than Stetzer and Patrick, but they are being ripped because have a methodology different from preferences strongly held by others.
Finally, I don’t like the fact that after stating my criticism, I have to make my usual disclaimer that I am not a liberal or a moderate or an emegent or a pomo or a alcoholic. I am far from them. The dangers the SBC faces are not only from the liberals in the CBF but from the strict fundamentlalists in the heart of conservative SBC. I hope that neither side wins. I hope that the gospel will define who we are as a Convention, not what we are made out to be by others.
I understand your concerns and am glad to dialogue about the matter. The more I study the ECM, the more I see how dangerous and wrong it is. But there are some folks being called Emergent who don’t fit the bill (such as Driscoll) who are more conservative and Kingdom-centered than many traditional Southern Baptists toting a large-print leather-bound KJV. The same thing happened with the alcohol issue last summer. If you didn’t hold to the preferred position, then you are a liberal. This fallacy of the excluded middle is rampant in the SBC, and it will continue to draw pseudo-demarcation lines so long as we allow them to pin the labels and define the terms.
Klay,
One more thing I would like to mention. In Rainer’s most recent article, he said he wanted to be a bridge builder. To do that he said the following:
Though I am a fallible and sinful person, I will seek God’s power to stay true to the following:
1. I stand firm on the inerrant Word of God. I support without reservation the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.
2. Though I may disagree with some on secondary and tertiary issues, I will not let those points of disagreement tear down bridges of relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ.
3. I will seek to join with those who will work together on the common causes of missions, evangelism and the health of the local church.
4. I will seek God’s will in prayer before I write or speak a word of disagreement against another brother or sister in Christ or even a non-Christian. I will seek to see the plank in my own eye before pointing out the splinter in another person’s eye. I will follow the truths of Matthew 18 when I feel that I need to confront a brother or sister in Christ.
5. I will spend more time rejoicing in the Lord (Philippians 4:4).
6. I will seek God’s power to have a more gentle and Christlike spirit (Philippians 4:5).
7. I will pray that the lost and the unchurched world will know me by my Christlike love.
I think these seven principles are quite helpful. With that said, do you think Mr. Moran faithfully followed #2, 3, and 4?
I don’t, and that’s why we are burning bridges rather than building them. Mr. Moran’s article is quite contrary to what I long to see in the SBC, namely a renewed commitment and unwavering conviction on the essential truths of the Christian faith and the gospel of Jesus Christ such that the SBC will continue to be the greatest mission-focused ship in the seas. I don’t want to see it suffer shipwreck because of stuff like this. We have encountered tumultuous waters, and we need men who will carefully navigate through the storm with a reliable map for Baptist cooperation and unity. If I had a map, I would mark this as an iceberg.
Timmy, a friend that I trust has advised me that there is much more beneath the surface of what has been said, and that I would be wise to simply observe.
I will gladly accept this encouragement. I think this does, however, show some disconnect in the discussions of our day and confusion of “camps”, “streams” or whatever.
BTW, I posted the above before ‘refreshing’ my browser and seeing your posts. Perhaps I could not perceive just how dubious the guilt-by-association was since I am pretty unfamiliar with most of the associations made. Remember, the blogosphere is all cutting-edge and not all of us live there. Like inside jokes, much is lost to the uninitiated.
My own entrance began when our church got DSL and I began preparing for the long trek to Greensboro. Before that time, I had never even heard the term “missional”! I quickly emailed Tom Ascol, Scott Lamb, and others to find out what in the world was going on. Five years away from SBTS and the landscape was radically changed!
I’m young (32) and a leader (pastor for 10 years), but since moving out of the “Bible belt” to South Florida, I simply never bumped into these discussions and probably would not have except for the internet. My involvement has increased exponentially as Rob Bell & his Nooma videos have made inroads into the lives of some of our new adult converts. I made my original post, because many of us are still wading through the waters on these issues.
Klay,
I would like to further hash out the fallacy of the excluded middle. Let me explain:
A = “the orthodox position” assumed by Mr. Moran
B = Brian McLaren, pro-homosexual, anti-substitutionary atonement, religious rituals in eastern mysticism, etc.
This is the picture Moran presents. Then he lumps Driscoll, Acts 29, Stetzer, and Patrick into the “B” category which is patently false and very misleading. He excludes any other position between A and B. What he does is paints the worst possible picture and inserts these guys into it.
If scare tactics and semantic games like this are played, there will be no hope for dialogue or consensus on first-level issues. I don’t know what Moran is trying to accomplish here, but if indeed it is to get rid of many young Southern Baptist church planters and missionaries, he is well on his way to accomplishing his goal. I believe my friend Steve McCoy will be sharing a letter or two from those exiting the SBC in the near future. See his recent post here:
http://www.stevekmccoy.com/reformissionary/2007/02/notes_on_a_busy.html
Anyway, there is so much more that could be said, and I think others are saying it. The good things is that we live in a day where the voices of regular SBC folk like you and me can be heard outside of X-Com, offering a necessary rebuttal to what is taking place.
Timmy,
I, too, am aware of much of the things happening and what has happened over the past three or so years being a friend to Dave and Suzie Clippard [They were on my staff for five years in Ft. Worth] and having walked with them through much difficulty. I have given solicited advice and even differing opinion on some things but can assure you there is NOT a character flaw to be found in Dave. There is good reason for the large support for him statewide among pastors and leaders.
I would suggest the young pastor, Klay, is correct in suggesting that all is not known. But even he might be surprised at what reality is, as we all usually are. I appreciate his mind and spirit relfected in his comments and your blog that allows us all a place to experience some give and take. Thanks.
Paul,
Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate the personal word of testimony about the sad yet ongoing reality for many in MO.
Over the past 24-48 hours, I have talked to (either via email or phone) several folks about this situation. It appears that the motion made by Moran is NOT the position held by X-Com, LifeWay, or President Page. Hopefully, this sad saga will find its resting place in the minutes of their business meeting and never in the plans of Southern Baptists. If anything comes of this, maybe future attempts analogous to Mr. Moran’s would be reconsidered and discouraged from manifesting in SBC life. Such actions are an obstruction to the goal of Baptist unity and gospel proclamation. I am encouraged to find that the peers of Moran saw it for what it was.
I have reason to believe that there is great promise for NAMB, Stetzer, Pattrick, and a better relationship with Acts 29 within SBC life. One can only hope that our leaders would listen to those who find greater partnership and networking in other organizations outside the SBC in order to engage this younger generation once again and bring them back to a renewed commitment to Southern Baptist life and mission. In addition to this, we continue to need to develop an environment where healthy discussion and debate can take place in a spirit of mutual respect and love for one another. In the end, I pray that our only agenda is that our conversation and way of live would be worthy of the gospel to which we have been called (Phil. 1:27).
Even so, Lord, bring our hearts together for yours and your kingdom’s sake.