Initial Response to SATF Report for the SBC

Yesterday, the report from Guidepost Solutions was released. This was a report that was called for by the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention in June 2021 (of whom I was one). This report was intended to look into how allegations of sexual abuse within local churches were handled when reported to the Executive Committee of the SBC from January 2000 to June 2021.

I knew that this report would be a tough one to read. With our sinful natures, you are going to find “skeletons” in the closet when you go looking. As I’ve been reading through this report, I am heartbroken over what I have read thus far (the report is close to 300 pages). The way in which survivors of abuse have been treated by some in the SBC is sickening. From what I gather from the report, the main reason for not dealing with these things in a more head-on manner was the fear of lawsuits. The fear of a lawsuit??? Are you kidding me??? Some leaders in the SBC that I had looked up to have conducted themselves in anything but a Christ-honoring manner.

The thing that keeps turning my stomach is that as messengers were told that creating and maintaining a database of offenders to warn churches about was difficult to do and possibly a liability, this very database was being kept behind closed doors. Sickening.

I am still working through this report so that I can make an informed decision as to what I, my family, and the church that I lead are to do. I will be in Anaheim, CA this coming June as a part of the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. With all of the items that were on the agenda to deal with, how the SBC moves forward concerning this report and its recommendations sets at the top of the priority list. Certain leaders of the SBC dropped the ball big time, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot do what is right now. I truly believe that the next steps taken will determine the effectiveness and lifespan of the SBC.

I would encourage all SBC churches to send messengers to the annual meeting. I know that it is not cheap to make this trip and time is precious, but some of the changes that need to happen come from those messengers who show up to the annual meeting and vote – this is how this report got done last year. I would encourage all members of SBC churches to take the time to read through this report from Guidepost Solutions. See the reality of what has been and the urgency of what needs to change. I would also encourage everyone to pray for three specific things:

• the survivors of abuse who have had to fight a needless battle
• those who have been involved in abusing or covering up – that they would confess and repent
• the current leadership of the SBC – that they would have the courage to do what is right

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Some Thoughts on SBC 2021

As the Southern Baptist Convention of 2021 has finished up, I thought that I would share a few thoughts that I had from the week. I wasn’t sure as to what all was going to go down in Nashville. Social media would have one believing that this was going to be the inspiration for the old R.E.M. song, “It’s the end of the world as we know it.”

Every year around the time for the annual convention, a “storm” seems to pop up and try to get everyone on edge. With the cancellation of last year’s meeting, there was plenty of time for things to swirl. Granted, there were a couple of things that needed to be addressed and dealt with, but for the most part, the fuss was just usual people doing their thing.

Below are some things that stood out to me from this year’s SBC…

The Numbers

This was by far the largest attended SBC that I’ve ever been to. I know that I haven’t been to many SBC meetings (I believe that this was my fifth one to attend), but I heard many commenting on how this most that they had seen in attendance in a LONG time.

The official count for SBC 2021 was 15,726 messengers, 3,856 guests, and 1,892 exhibitors. If my calculator is working correctly that is 21,474 total attendees. That’s a lot of people to get into one space. There were over 9,000 that were there on Sunday and Monday for the SEND Conference that took place.

The large number of people at this year’s meeting was so encouraging. I heard different thoughts as to why so many showed up to this year’s meeting (COVID cancelling last year, elections, location, etc). Whatever the cause, it was good to see more people taking part. I was moved to challenge more people from the church that I pastor to come to future meetings. This Convention needs more participation from the members for it to be all that it can or should be.

SEND Conference Instead of Pastors Conference

Due to some issues last year, it was decided to have the IMB and NAMB host a SEND Conference instead of the traditional Pastors Conference. I love some good singing and preaching, but I think that this was a good break from the norm. Sunday night featured worship led by Michael W. Smith with a special appearance by CeCe Winans, a timely message by Tony Evans, and Crowder to cap the night off.

Monday was filled with breakout sessions for children, youth, women, and pastors. I liked this a lot because it seemed to have something for everyone that was there. It wasn’t just catered to one area (preaching to pastors), but each group was being poured in to on each level. If we would like to see more groups involved in the annual convention, it might be good to think about having something for those who are not pastors but would be coming along with them.

The Elections

Every two years, there are elections that are held for the offices of the SBC. There is President, Vice President, 2nd Vice President, Recording Secretary, and Registration Secretary. The newly elected officers for these offices are:

• President – Ed Litton (Pastor at Redemption Church in Saraland, Alabama)
• Vice President – Lee Brand (Vice President and Dean at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary)
• 2nd Vice President – Ramon Medina (Lead Pastor of Spanish Ministry at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, Texas)
• Recording Secretary – John Yates (Executive Director of Missouri Baptist Convention)
• Registration Secretary – Don Currence (Administrative Pastor at First Baptist Church in Ozark, Missouri)

I think that the slate of newly-elected officers is a good one. I was proud to see Ed Litton becoming the next President of the SBC because I have known and watched Litton closely since 2006 when I had the privilege of serving close to Mobile, Alabama myself. I have seen firsthand what kind of man that he is and the leadership that he can bring to the SBC.

The slate of officers seemed to be a good diverse group. There are representatives from many of the groups that can be found in the SBC (CBN and not). I was glad to see different ethnicities making up the leaders of the SBC once again. This is needed if we truly want to be a multi-ethnic “denomination”.

Tension Points

Anyone who knew half of anything going into this year’s annual meeting knew that there were going to be some tense points. I felt three main points of tension going into this past week.

CRT

The whole deal with Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality has blown up within the SBC ever since the annual meeting in Birmingham, Alabama in 2019 when a resolution was passed concerning CRT. These theories have caused great division and turmoil within the SBC ever since the 2019 annual meeting.

I think that things were laid out pretty clearly at this year’s annual meeting that the SBC does not hold to CRT or Intersectionality, nor should it. While these “theories” may point to some issues that are in our society, they are rooted in teachings that are drastically opposed to the Bible’s teachings.

There are still some serious racial issues in our land and sadly even in the SBC. We claim to be “people of the Book”, but there are some areas in which we have ignored “the Book” (the Bible) when it comes to racial matters. I believe that the SBC is heading in the right direction considering it all, but we have not arrived.

Sexual Abuse Coverups

When the Houston Chronicle released their article revealing about coverups that have taken place within churches across the SBC, it was bad. I was sickened to my stomach over the fact that these heinous events had taken place among churches associated within the SBC. Then, things arose about issues with some of the SBC entities and coverups possibly happening there. Where there is smoke, there is usually fire.

I know that there has been a lot of tension within the SBC since the Houston Chronicle article went public concerning the matters that it uncovered. I know that there were many who were looking to this year’s annual meeting as the final straw. If something was not seriously done to make sure that this junk doesn’t happen and justice is sought after, then they were done.

The biggest thing dealing with this issue was when the messengers of the SBC moved the oversight of an investigation over the Executive Committee (EC) to an independent third-party. The investigation was to be done by Guidepost Solutions and overseen by the EC themselves. I still do not know how the EC could think that they could oversee the investigation that is being done on them. I was glad to see that this motion passed… not so that the EC is shamed, but if there is coverup going on, then it needs to be brought into the light and dealt with.

Favorite Parts

I had a couple of favorites from this year’s SBC. The highlight of every SBC annual meeting is the commissioning service of new IMB missionaries. This year, we saw 64 missionaries sent out into the world to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations. This is truly what the SBC should be about – cooperating together to make more opportunities for more people to go with the gospel to the nations. I am moved deeply each time I see this.

Another favorite moment of this year’s SBC annual meeting was the “Point of Order” presented by David Bumgardner. This was the comic relief that we needed in the room at that moment. If you have not seen this, I would encourage you to watch this clip by clicking here. Just for the record, I was definitely one with my ballot waving in the air… it was HOT with 15,000+ people in the same room.

The last “favorite” that I will mention is one of the things that I love about it each year: running into old friends. This year was pretty special as I ran into a few former students from the old student ministry days. It was so good to see them and hear about all that God is doing in and through them. I was almost brought to tears each time just seeing that the seed that I sowed so many years ago had truly found some good soil.

Conclusion

SBC 2021 was a pretty good one. I was glad that I had my entire family with me to be part of this event. There were some ups and downs… good times and frustrating times… when the dust settled, I believe that we came to a point that we can go forward as “Great Commission Baptists”. We have been invited by God to be part of His plan of redemption by taking the gospel to a lost and dying world. I look forward to what He will do within and through the SBC.

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2016 SBC Pastor's Conference Day 2

Today was the last part of the SBC’s Pastor Conference. It was a day that was filled with leaders sharing words of encouragement and wisdom with those in attendance. I thought that I’d share a few of the things that stood out to me.

• Evangelism is focus.  The theme of this year’s Pastor’s Conference was centered around evangelism. All of the speakers shared from Ephesians 4. I thought that having many speak along the same lines and pretty much in succession through the text was really good. Sometimes those who are asked to speak/preach come and bring what’s big on their plate right now. This new format was nice and refreshing.
• The age demographic is on the downward slope.  This is only the second SBC that I have had the opportunity to attend. One key thing stood out though: there are a LOT more young adults/families here this year. I’m not sure what the reason for that is (I’ve heard different ideas), but I’m thrilled to see it. As a younger adult myself (37 years old), it has been so encouraging to see other folks in the same boat as our family.
• Passion Group was awesome at leading worship. I have to say that I’m a little partial to Kristian Stanfill and the gang. Ever since I used him for a DNow weekend  a few years back, I knew God would use this young man in great ways to lead people to the throne of grace. They did an amazing job today.

All in all, I would say that this has been a pretty good Pastor’s Conference for the SBC.

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2016 SBC Pastor's Conference Day 1

Today, our family of five packed our things up in the minivan and headed to St. Louis for the Southern Baptist Convention. This is the second convention that I have attended as a Pastor (the first was in New Orleans in 2012). This would be the first year that the whole family attended. We’ll see how that goes. 

As we were making the 6-hour drive from our house to St. Louis, we decided to make a slight detour. The route that we were taking would go right by the area that has the church where I was ordained to the ministry – Bett Baptist Church. I had not been back to this church since I left in 2002, but I had heard thatGod was moving there. I don’t think that I could’ve imagined what I encountered. It was amazing to see all the people present in this rural church. I pray that the Lord continues to use the people there and do mighty things. 

As we finally got to St Louis and checked in, we were running late and missed the first speaker of the Pastor’s Conference. We did make it in time to see the second – James Macdonald. It was encouraging to hear him share about enduring in ministry. 


Check out the Pastor’s Conference where you can watch a live stream.

Finally, I wanted to thank Ethan Nanney for stepping in for me today at Bethany Baptist Church. I heard that things went really good there. I knew they would. Ethan and his family are doing a great job at Dorroh Lake Camp. 

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SBC Pastors Conference

The Southern Baptist Convention will kick off tomorrow. Before the Convention begins, there is the Pastors Conference. This is a time of preaching and more to encourage pastors, their wives, and other staff members.

I am a little bummed that I was not able to go to Houston for the Pastors Conference and the Convention, but getting settled into our new place of service is a little more important. I am so grateful that Southern Baptists are not afraid of using the available tools to make the Word available. They have made the Pastors Conference available to view via the Internet. You can view the Pastors Conference for free by clicking here.

Tune in beginning at 9am to hear from people like: Ed Stetzer, Ronnie Floyd, Mark Dever, Tony Merida, Dr. Rodney Woo, Matt Carter, Greg Laurie, Gov. Mike Huckabee, and more!

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A Tragic Truth

Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord!" will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, "Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?" Then I will announce to them, "I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!
~ Jesus from Matthew 7:21-23 HCSB

This has to be one of the saddest passages of Scripture ever penned. For many to think that they had been following Jesus because they had been doing all these mighty works in His name, but only to find out that they had missed the one essential thing: a relationship with God though faith in Christ.

This past week, I attended the Southern Baptist Convention in New Orleans. Prior to the actual convention was the Pastors Conference. There were many great preachers who delivered some great messages. One of those preachers was David Platt, lead pastor of The Church at Brook Hills. He brought up the point that we need to examine what we are calling people to when we share the Gospel with them.

The points that Platt pointed out were:

• Spiritual Deception. Platt shared that we have to be thorough in explaining the Gospel to people. Too many times people have been called to "easy believism" saying that as long as they say a prayer then everything's okay between them and God. The Gospel calls each person who receives it to fully die to self and demonstrate their faith by repenting of sin. While praying is good, it must be backed up by the life that we live.


• Biblical Conversion. Platt was quick to share that there is a mystery to a person's conversion (John 3:5-8). What we need is not superficial works; we need supernatural regeneration.


• Global Mission. Platt shared that when we share the Gospel with people it should lead to a global mission - taken the Gospel to all people around the world. Many times, we want to sit around and debate how the Gospel is shared. We don't need to debate the Gospel; we need to be sharing it! Romans 10:13-15 tells us that people will not respond to the Gospel if they have not heard it. We (Christians) have this Gospel and the responsibility to share it.

To view a copy of the manuscript of this sermon, click here.

This message spoke to my heart as a Christian and pastor greatly. What are we teaching and sharing as the Gospel in our churches and in our evangelism? Are we calling people to pray a prayer like some magical incantation or are we sharing the whole Gospel that comes with a lifetime of discipleship? I pray that we might be more concerned with making disciples and not converts. After all, that is what we (all Christians) were commissioned with, right?

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Southern Baptist Convention Day 3: A Historic Day

Tuesday began the actual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in New Orleans. This is where all of the entities of the SBC give a report of what has happened the previous year and also give a glimpse of where they see things going the next year. Depending on how you look at it, this meeting can be boring as you hear all the figures or exciting as you see the direction the ministries of the SBC are going.

The exciting part of the day came with the election of the new President of the SBC. This year there was only one candidate on the ballot: Fred Luter, Jr. Luter is the pastor at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, LA. He had previously served as the 1st Vice President of the SBC. From all these details, one would have a hard time realizing what all the hype is about.

The key element is that Fred Luter, Jr is now the first African American President of the SBC.

In our day where racial lines are guarded greatly, this election is a move by the SBC to show that we have come a long way from where we were. One of the biggest black eyes of the SBC was that a main issue at its beginning was that the SBC was in favor of slavery. In 1995, the SBC took a step in the right direction with a resolution that was passed at the annual meeting declaring the wrongs of the SBC in the past concerning racism and seeking forgiveness.

Today's unanimous vote for Fred Luter, Jr was another step in showing that the SBC has its focus in the right direction. Jesus died for the world - that is all races. One thing I would like to point out though is that I firmly believe that this was NOT a political vote. Luter is one of the finest preachers I have had the opportunity to hear. He has had the leadership skills to take a dying church in one of the toughest areas of the country and make it a mega-church before and after Hurricane Katrina. There's no doubt that God has His hand on Fred Luter and has equipped him for this position as the President of the SBC.

My prayers and support go to my brother. I look forward to serving with him at the helm of our denomination.

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Southern Baptist Convention Day 2

Monday was the final day of the SBC's Pastors Conference. I came down to NOLA knowing that this (the Pastors Conference) would probably be my favorite part of the whole meeting time. How many times does one get to hear preaching from some of God's most gifted servants at one place?

I love conferences like this. There is just so much. It is true that many times you feel that you are trying to drink from a fire hydrant, but it is still good. There are all the booths in the exhibition hall where you have people trying to show you what they have to offer. The best part about these is that most of these booths have freebies.

You also have those people that you run into and haven't seen in forever. I believe that I ran into half of my graduating class from college today. It was good catching up with some. I had the privilege of talking with a seminary professor from NOBTS and letting him know that the prayers we prayed together about God opening a place for me to serve as pastor were answered. He returned that favor by introducing me to a couple of pastors who have been at it for a while. These great guys gave me some "words of advice" and prayed for me,

And what would the Pastors Conference be without the preaching? Today there were sermons from people like Johnny Hunt, David Jeremiah, Dennis Swanberg, David Platt, Jack Graham, James Macdonald, and Fred Luter, Jr. To say that my cup is overflowing is an understatement. It will take some time to go through what each of these men shared from the Word and let it get in deep to my heart. I will wait for future posts to flesh my thoughts on some of these messages out more.

One thing that I was grateful for was the way that some of the issues that may have divided some were handled by this conference. Yes, I am talking about the Calvinism debate that seemed to pop up right before the Convention in SBC circles. I believe that men on both sides of the aisle proved that we can be on either side and still be about taking the Gospel to the nations.

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Southern Baptist Convention Day 1

Yesterday started the Southern Baptist Convention's Pastors Conference. This is a two-day event that happens before the convention itself. Naomi and I packed up the car after our worship services at New Life Fellowship and headed for NOLA. I had no idea what to expect because this was my first SBC. I will say that it has been really good.

The pastors conference is really what I was looking forward to. This is one of those great times for those who preach. The conference is filled with preaching from some of today's best preachers. Last night, I had the opportunity to hear one of my favorite all-time preachers: Dr. Tony Evans. God used him in a mighty way and gave him a clear word to share with us. If you have the opportunity to hear that message, please do so.

You can watch the preaching from the conference by clicking here and clicking on the link at the very top of the page.

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