Texas Baptists Committed - A Rancher's Rumblings, January 8, 2008

The caucus and primary season has barely begun, but I notice that the leaders of the early contests appear to be those who have chosen to lay out a vision for people rather than focus on partisanship.

Although I will not endorse any candidate, I definitely endorse unity and cooperation. I have always hated partisan politics. I admire those who put partisanship aside and try to understand and respect the viewpoints of those who disagree with them.

It was not easy for me, personally, to be a leader in the fight against Fundamentalism, because confrontation – taking one side against the other – is not in my nature. However, the Fundamentalists who took control of the SBC would not allow any genuine discussion of differences. Instead, they used any means possible to take control – firing professors, seminary presidents, institutional leaders, and other SBC leaders who refused to support their takeover. They practiced “scorched earth” politics with every action they took.

Recent news makes it clear that there is still little hope of bringing about unity or reform at the SBC level. It has been announced that Al Mohler, president of Southern Seminary, will be nominated for SBC president this summer by Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church, Dallas. I think that the following quote from Baptist Press is very revealing:

”When Southern Seminary seemed to be lost to liberalism and irrelevancy, Dr. Mohler put his life and ministry on the line for the truth of God’s word and the urgency of sharing Christ with a lost world,” Jeffress said.

“Liberalism and irrelevancy”? Fundamentalists continue to employ attack-and-destroy language. So Jeffress claims that Southern Seminary was “lost to liberalism and irrelevancy” before Al Mohler came along. Nothing could be further from the truth!

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Through the years, I have come to know, fairly well, some of the professors that taught at Southern Seminary before Dr. Mohler came to town. Men and women such as Buddy Shurden, Bill Leonard, Molly Marshall, David and Diana Garland, Larry McSwain, Frank Tupper – people of amazing intellect, humility, and love for Christ. To be honest, it breaks my heart to think about what Southern and Southwestern Seminaries are today, compared to what they were only 25 years ago – just heartbreaking.

I hope and pray that we can do better as Texas Baptists. We certainly have some golden opportunities to show the spirit of Christ and to show what the name Baptist really means – if we will only take advantage of those opportunities.

During the next month, you have the opportunity to attend two Baptist meetings that will focus on unity, hope, and change. I urge Texas Baptists to attend these meetings.

The first meeting is the ENGAGE Evangelizing Texas Conference. It will be held next week – January 13-15 – at Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall. It will be followed by regional ENGAGE conferences during the week of February 10-14. The following is a brief description of the conference:

The Evangelism Conference is back! Built on a history that is at the core of every Texas Baptist, this event now known as “Engage” will provide an opportunity for pastors, staff and church members to gather for worship, fellowship, motivation and opportunities for us to recapture our role of leadership and encouragement in the work of evangelism.

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The Engage conference will be held in two parts, Radical Engage and Engage. Beginning on January 13 at 7:00 pm, we will focus on reaching people of the 21st century environment. In the afternoon of January 14, our approach will turn to the more traditional “family reunion” that stands as the hallmark of the great evangelism conferences of the past.

When
January 14-15, 2008

Where
Lake Pointe Church
701 E Interstate 30
Rockwall, TX 75087
469.698.2200

You can find additional information on these conferences by going to www.bgct.org and clicking on “Evangelism.” I plan to attend the meeting on January 14-15, and I hope that many of you will join me there.

The second meeting, of course, is the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, which will be held in Atlanta from January 30 through February 1. This meeting provides you with a historic opportunity to gather with 20,000 of your fellow Baptists. You will hear outstanding speakers and be able to choose from numerous special interest sessions, such as “Breaking Cycles of Poverty,” “Faith and Public Policy,” and “Finding Common Ground with Other Faiths,” to mention only three. Best of all, you will be able to worship and fellowship with fellow Baptists from all across North America . I urge you to make plans to attend, if you haven’t already done so.

I expect both of these meetings to be positive and to focus on unity and hope. I look forward to attending them, and I hope that you will, too. I know you’ll be blessed.