April 25, 2024
DULUTH, Ga. – The Southern Baptist Convention isn’t as fractured as talking heads on social media might make it appear but, instead, is a family of churches strongly bound together by biblical truth.
That’s the combined opinion of the three announced candidates for the SBC presidency.
“So much of our divisiveness stems from lack of trust and honest communication,” said Tom Ascol, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Fla., and president of Founders Ministries. “I would encourage all of our entity leaders to treat the churches of the SBC, and especially the messengers that they send to the annual meeting, with utmost respect. We need to have honest, forthright conversations about the things that matter most to us. I believe that in doing so we will discover that at many points we may not be as divided as it appears.”
Robin Hadaway, a former pastor and International Mission Board missionary to Africa and South America who went on to serve as a professor and administrator at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, pointed out that the SBC is as large as some countries, with nearly 14 million people who share much in common.
“I do not see most Southern Baptists at odds with one another,” Hadaway said. “Of course, if you go on Twitter and other social media, or attend an SBC annual meeting you may see some conflict and disunity.”
“Bound by the parameters of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000,” he said, “Southern Baptists enjoy fellowship and cooperate to promote Convention causes. As we rally around the Baptist banner, our tent of fellowship cannot be too large, or it will collapse. But it cannot be so narrow that only you and I can get in it.”
Bart Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, Texas, described the SBC as “a family of churches.”
“I want to work as a peacemaker, bringing together people of goodwill who are influential within these families of churches and strengthening the bonds that hold us together,” Barber said. “If there are those opposed to unity on the basis of our confession of faith and our cooperative work, they’ll be threatened by this, but I believe that every quarter of our convention contains people of good will who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, can help to bring together the preponderance of our people and can strengthen our work.”
The Christian Index did an email Q&A with the candidates on a variety of topics for a series of stories being published this week. What follows is the question about divisiveness within the SBC and the candidates’ unedited responses in their entirety.
Index: So much is being said and written these days about divisiveness within the SBC. We’re sure you have ideas that you think will work to help the SBC deal with these divisions, to bring the SBC back together. What would you do as president to help heal some of the rifts that we’ve seen widening in recent years?
Ascol: I will encourage my fellow pastors to lead our churches to call for greater accountability and transparency at every level of our convention. So much of our divisiveness stems from lack of trust and honest communication. I would encourage all of our entity leaders to treat the churches of the SBC, and especially the messengers that they send to the annual meeting, with utmost respect.
We need to have honest, forthright conversations about the things that matter most to us. I believe that in doing so we will discover that at many points we may not be as divided as it appears. Where we do discover disagreements, we must work to disagree as brothers and sisters of our Lord, showing honor and respect to each other out of devotion to Christ.
The SBC has boundaries. We have declared our doctrinal boundaries to be the BFM2000. If a church is unwilling to live within those boundaries then they will not be happy to live together in friendly cooperation with other churches who are content to live with those boundaries. We need to be willing to acknowledge this and have open, honest dialogue about it, recognizing that the kingdom of our Lord Jesus is much bigger than the SBC. While we gladly call brothers and sisters all who love the Lord Jesus in sincerity we must also recognize that fellowship in the association of churches known as the SBC requires a commitment to live within the borders of our common commitments as Baptists.
Hadaway: The SBC is quite large. The SBC is the size of Uruguay, Paraguay and Panama – almost 14 million people – put together. I do not see most Southern Baptists at odds with one another. Of course, if you go on Twitter and other social media, or attend an SBC annual meeting you may see some conflict and disunity. Of course, as I said, it is not the same sort of conflict that we experienced during the Conservative Resurgence. Instead of issues regarding theological orthodoxy it is more about ministerial orthopraxy. Some of the controversies have to do with contextualizing ministry for the 21st century. In the 1960’s some associations disfellowshiped churches over practicing the Charismatic gifts. I do not see that happening these days. In days gone by, Southern Baptists opposed mixed bathing and dancing. Again, these do not seem to be big issues today. Southern Baptists have always united around missions, evangelism and church planting. Bound by the parameters of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, Southern Baptists enjoy fellowship and cooperate to promote Convention causes. As we rally around the Baptist banner, our tent of fellowship cannot be too large, or it will collapse. But it cannot be so narrow that only you and I can get in it – and I’m not sure about you. I would use my broad experience and wisdom to help Southern Baptists see that their differences are less than what holds us together – cooperative missions, evangelism & church planting – “Remember the Mission.”
Barber: The SBC is a family of families of churches. I want to work as a peacemaker, bringing together people of good will who are influential within these families of churches and strengthening the bonds that hold us together. If there are those opposed to unity on the basis of our confession of faith and our cooperative work, they’ll be threatened by this, but I believe that every quarter of our convention contains people of good will who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, can help to bring together the preponderance of our people and can strengthen our work.
