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tagged: Alan Cross, diversity, Great Commission Resurgence, Guest Authors, Ministry, multicultural, racial issues, SBC, Southern Baptist, Southern Baptist ConventionSouthern Baptist Myopia Reflected in Our Response to the Great Commission Resurgence?
Posted by Guest Author in Baptist Life
A myopia is a condition of nearsightedness where you can see clearly the things that are right in front of you, but things at a distance are blurry. Southern Baptists struggle with this in regard to our spiritual future and I believe that some of this could be reflected in the response to the new document, the Great Commission Resurgence (GCR).
We tend to look backwards well enough, and we also find ways to look at the present critically, but looking forward seems to be a struggle. While the GCR is good and I signed it as a supporter, it seems that Southern Baptists are failing to address the cultural realities that we find ourselves entering and how those realities are presently affecting us now and in the future.
In 2001, I wrote an extensive training manual for small group leadership for our church. It took about two months to write it and it was really good, or so I thought. It had a lot of helpful information and tips and techniques for leading small groups. I set up a training time and took all of our small group leaders through the material. The response was a collective groan. The leaders were thankful for it, but they were not motivated to engage the material or pass it on to others. My mistake was that I did not develop training to equip our leaders for the church that we needed to become, but rather, I developed training for the church that we already were. Our small group leaders knew that they were supposed to do all of the things that I had elaborated on in the manual. They had already decided if they were going to do these things or not. Nothing that I wrote addressed the issues that they had not already made a decision on and I did not prepare them for the church that we needed to one day become. So, even though it was really good on many levels, the training itself was a failure.
Could that be the future of the GCR? Could the GCR be a good, sound document that is widely agreed upon but ultimately fails in its hoped for goal of reforming the SBC? Is it addressing where Southern Baptists are currently with a nod toward issues that are being bandied about in SBC academia while simultaneously ignoring the implications of the issues that we will be facing in 10 years? Or, even the issues that we are facing now? That could be the case.
One example is on the issue of racial diversity and multicultural ministry. This is a huge issue in SBC life and one that the vast majority of our churches have no clue how to handle. So, we ignore it. The fact that we were a denomination founded in racism and that we have poorly dealt with social, racial, and economic diversity historically, places us in a difficult position to address these issues in the future. What are we doing to learn how to minister in a multicultural context? How are we repositioning our churches to break down barriers of race, ethnicity, and culture in our evangelism, discipleship, and church experience? As America becomes less and less white (we’ll be over 50% minority population by 2040), how are Southern Baptists preparing for this multiethnic future?
Thankfully, the GCR points out this problem in Article III on loving God and people. It says,
Loving God and loving others means our churches must become more diverse. Southern Baptists were born, in part, out of a racist context and for over a century embraced systemic racism. For far too much of our history we failed to love our neighbors as ourselves, and that will forever be to our shame. By God’s grace and the Spirit’s conviction, we publically repented of this in 1995 on our 150th anniversary, but there is still much work to be done. Until our churches better reflect the diversity we look forward to in heaven, we must labor at gospel-centered racial reconciliation.
I agree with this statement 100%. Anyone reading this blog post could easily say, “Alan, what are you talking about? The GCR addressed racial diversity and our racism right there in Article III. How could the GCR reflect spiritual myopia in this area when it clearly addresses it?” Good question. Admittedly, the problem is not with what is said. What is said is good and I sincerely hope that this issue is addressed thoroughly. But, for those paying attention, how much discussion have you heard over this issue? Will this be debated in Louisville at the upcoming convention? How many blog posts are being written asking how to address this? Maybe it is considered a given and everyone agrees. I don’t think so. I think that we have come to the point where we say these things because we have to and we know that they are true, but we have compartmentalized them in our minds and actions so that we never really do anything about them. Even though the statement has been made and it is accurate, is there a seriousness on the part of the SBC to address this issue? Or, is it just a statement? I’ve seen plenty of handwringing asking for specifics as to how we plan to carry out denominational restructuring in Article IX, but zero comment on how to carry out the racial healing implied in Article III. Could it be that we care more about the denominational machinery than we do about holistically living out and proclaiming the true gospel? Should I even ask such a question?
I am not trying to be cynical or distrusting. I believe that intentions are good. I just don’t know if we are serious about addressing this issue. Perhaps that is the whole point of the GCR and a lack of focus in addressing these issues is why we are in the mess that we are in. I hope that every point will have an action plan to carry it out and we will not just focus on restructuring the denomination and funneling more money to the denominational structure so that the SBC can survive.
Here is an alarming reality:
In 1971, there were 1,434,892 children ages 6 to 11 in Southern Baptist Sunday schools. By 2007, the last year for which statistics are available, that number had dropped by about 455,000 to 979,429. At the same time, the U.S. population grew by 46 percent (Bob Smietana • THE TENNESSEAN • January 19, 2009).
In other words, the number of Southern Baptist children in Sunday School aged 6 to 11 declined by 32% while the U.S. population grew by 46%. How much of that growth was in an ethnic group other than Caucasian, which makes up the vast majority of Southern Baptist churches? How do our churches desegregate when we don’t even know how to talk about the issues that keep us segregated?
Maybe the problem is not with the GCR but the general lack of real discussion and will to address the divisions in our hearts. The GCR points out our lack of diversity as an issue, but if we do not develop real solutions and engage in real repentance (which means real change), then it will just be words on a page that will be harder and harder to see as time goes by, thus resulting in spiritual myopia.
This is a reprint of an article by Alan Cross, pastor of Gateway Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Alan’s voice has been heard throughout the Baptist blogosphere for the past several years, both through his blog, “DownshoreDrift” and the former group blog, SBC Outpost.
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Hey Allan,
On the other hand, has any other denomination done more than the SBC in reaching out to different people groups…non white, English speaking people? I mean, there have been much money and time and effort in SB’s starting Korean Churches, Black Churches, Chinese Churches, Latino Churches, etc. in the states. And, has anyone done more than SB’s in reaching out to different races all over the world? I mean, how much money and time and effort has been put into reaching the people groups of Africa by SB’s? Countless, right? And, to the Latino’s of S. America? To the Asians in the Far East? and so forth…
It’s always good to keep things in the proper perspective.
David
David,
So, we’re good, right? Because we have started ethnic congregations, we don’t have a continuing race or culture problem in our churches? David, I am not trying to put anyone down or make people feel bad. I have better things to do that are far more constructive. It is obvious to everyone who notices that the vast majority of Southern Baptist churches in the South remain almost completely white in their ethnic makeup. In a rapidly changing America, we are showing through our deeds that we are a white, Southern, denomination.
How many African-American leaders do we have in the SBC? Hispanic? What will be the percentage of white people at the Convention in Louisville? Of the speakers on the platform? I am not saying that we are racists, per se. Only God knows the heart. But, we are failing miserably at broadening our reach into other ethnic groups and in seeing our churches become multicultural expressions of God’s Kingdom in our multicultural communities.
As long as we keep saying white church, black church, Hispanic church, etc., unless we are talking about language barriers, we still have a problem.
Alan,
I agree that we ought to have more Asians and Blacks and Latinos in leadership positions in the SBC. I agree that we ought to have more of the same speaking at the Pastor’s conference and the SBC. I agree that most Churches in the SBC need to do more to reach different races. But, we have come a long way, baby, in the South. Right now, take my Church for instance, we have children that are half white and half black who attend our Church. We also have a black teen who comes on a regular basis. They are all made very welcome in our Church. 25 years ago, that would not have been the case. Also, it was the same way in the Church I pastored in MS. We had some mixed children and teens who came to our Church, and who joined our Church. They were made to feel welcome. That would certainly have not been the case 25 yrs ago.
So, while I do agree with you that more could/should be done to reach the different races and ethnic groups; we should also remember that SB’s have done as much, or more, than any other denomination that I know.
David
Good question
We have gone around the world but when the world comes to our colleges and universities, how well do we reach out to invite the world’s people to our churches?
I am in an International church in Sofia, Bulgaria. Our Offertory prayer each week is in a heart language and it might be Welsh, Russian, French, Farsi, or even English. How about having International churches in the States with many different tribes and nations under one roof?
Charles
Every week in my Sunday School class of about 15 people, I look at people who came from Canada, U.S., Ethiopia, Romania, Nigeria, and Korea. It makes for a stimulating time of Bible study. When we get to our worship service we add Bangladesh, India, China, South Africa, and several other countries (that I can’t remember off the top of my head) — all in a congregation of around 130 people — all worshiping together in one accord. I see it as “a foretaste of glory divine.”
Alan, I, too, am burdened at how passionate we may be about reaching peope around the world, as long as that passion doesn’t affect our way of life (and worship) too much. The Holy Spirit in the book of Acts deliberately smashed down barriers of race and culture that segmented the greater Christian community. The onus was far more upon the traditionalists to change their ways and thinking to include the outsiders than for the outsiders to become a part of the traditional culture. These issues must forever be in our forefront (see how much they were in Acts) in order to address them, because change won’t just happen naturally.
Yes, we have come a long way, but a big reason for that is because we have had a long way to go. I have a 3 year old that we are potty training. Whenever he uses the potty instead of his diaper, we cheer and celebrate. If we were doing that when he were 25 years old, we would know that he had real problems. That is kind of what it is like in the SBC when it comes to this issue. Has there been progress? Yes. But the fact that we celebrate very small advances when the problem is still huge shows where we really are on this. I am not trying to be condemning, but rather, I am trying to say that it is devastating our witness.
I think that comparing ourselves to others is a mistake. Do we allow for this in other areas? “Sure, there is liberalism in the SBC and in our seminaries, but we’re nothing like the Methodists or Episcopalians. We had a lot to be proud of!” Anyone who said that was shown the door. Why do we point to some progress and then compare ourselves to others when it comes to race and ethnic and social diversity when we don’t do that on other issues? I can’t judge people’s hearts, but it looks like it is because we really don’t take it seriously.
Kevin said it well: It is incumbant upon the dominant culture in our churches to adapt, submit, love, and include those who are different from them culturally or racially. Our failure to do this is why we have not reached our cities. Now, the suburbs are becoming more and more diverse and we are struggling to reach them as well. Megachurches are growing through consolidating smaller churches, not through real conversion growth, and where that IS happening, it is usually not in a cross-cultural form. For all of the churches that ARE having success in this area, Praise God! But, there is no conversation going on about this convention-wide and the vast majority of churches are clueless as to how to really address the problem.
It is a gospel issue ultimately, not a social issue. We have a lot of work to do here and I hope that the GCR takes this issue seriously.
BTW, there is another post up on Between the Times about Article IX of the GCR. It seems that restructuring has captured our imagination yet again and I would say that that is NOT the main issue.
Alan,
Beyond the blatant racism of our past, which, thankfully, I believe, we have come a long way in overcoming, I wonder if a big part of the blame for the continued segregation of our churches and institutions has to do with a tacit acceptance of McGavran’s Homogeneous Unit Principle (HUP). This also, I believe, influences a lot of our philosophy and strategy as SB’s on the international mission field.
In missiological circles, the HUP has been debated and commented on ad infinitum for a number of years now. On a purely human, sociological level, there is much about the HUP that is hard to refute. Yet, I think that, as SB’s, we still need to dig deep into our infallible, inerrant Bibles, and come to some agreement on what we believe God has to say about it.
David,
I have done a lot of study on the HUP over the years and I think that it initially made sense in the caste culture of India where it was developed, but I don’t think that the application is universal. When it hit the United States in the form of the Church Growth Movement, it only exacerbated the problem of racism and consumer based preference when it comes to carrying out the commands of Scripture. We were not a completely pagan society entrenched in Hinduism. Rather, we were a culture that had been affected by Biblical truth since its inception. We needed a prophetic word on this issue that would have brought us to fidelity to Scripture, not pandering to our consumer based comforts and conveniences. Sociologically speaking, it is hard to refute that people prefer to gather together with people just like themselves. But, taking that on as a method of church growth created churches that were full of people who were the same, which is not what you see in the New Testament. The Gospel is supposed to break down those barriers, not keep them up.
My point is that in an emerging multicultural society like America, for the church, and especially Southern Baptists, to lag behind in this area will be a great detriment to our ability to gain a hearing and minister in the future. While we do lots of great mission work, disaster relief, and church planting among ethnic groups, we cannot escape the reality that when you walk into a typical Southern Baptist church on Sunday, you primarily see one culture represented. This has hurt us in the past and it is only going to keep hurting us.
Plus, it is isn’t Biblical. Our churches should reflect our communities, not our personal preferences.
Alan,
I agree totally with what you say here.
I am mainly wondering if one of the best ways to tackle our current problems is to engage them from a biblical perspective at their philosophical roots (i.e. HUP).
Maybe Lifeway needs to sponsor some study materials on racism, cultural division in our churches, and a biblical response to ideas associated with the HUP, etc., and we need to promote these materials in our churches. Just a starting place. But maybe that is something practical that could be done.
BTW, how is your book going? It is going to address these issues, isn’t it?
BIFF, alas volfan007, please do a little research before making you usual comments on these blogs.
Biff (baptist identity fundamentalist forever)
http://volfansnemesis.blogspot.com/
fastest-growing denominations
fastest growing religion
fastest growing church
wally
Brother Alan,
“Our churches should reflect our communities, not our personal preferences.” Well said,… good post as well.
Churches that cooperate in the SBC have a lot to be thankful for in that cooperative spirit (although many choose not to). But we must remain vigilant with how cooperative monies are used in and through those that cooperate. The key is to keep it simple and meaningful at the local level.
I’m not sure Lifeway can help too much with another survey…. Most pastors and Christ followers are already aware of the issues. Leaders will need to take Christ’s work seriously and disciple the stubborn and ignorant. Christ’s Word applied by the Holy Spirit brings understanding,…so it is a pretty simple equation that actually changes the racist to a loving brother or sister. The SBC has not overcome racism by simply giving lip service to the obvious problem..nor will it all be stamped out anyway. It takes the Spirit to change the heart of stone and the local churches to edify the hearts.
Thanks again for the post,
Blessings,
Chris
Yes it is and I am still working on it. I have gotten into a variety of issues as I keep looking for the foundation of where all of this came from and how it still affects us today. It is really huge. It has been really fascinating and very helpful to me in my ministry, especially in a city like Montgomery, AL.
I think that your idea for study materials would be a good one, but often, we just deal with race and people don’t think they have a problem. The bigger issue is selfishness, preference, and consumerism. Most people are racists in the classic sense, but they don’t want to be inconvenienced with people different from them and they really don’t want to have to change what they are doing to reach others. Church is their refuge. The same thing that keeps us from reaching lost white people also keeps us separated racially and ethnically. It requires sacrifice on our part and we aren’t much into that. If it doesn’t make us feel good, we don’t want to do it. But, following Jesus requires that we love sacrificially. If we are loving others sacrificially (which means laying down our own desires, even our own life), then we are not following Jesus, because that is what He was all about. We have a form of religion but we don’t have any power. Race and cultural divisions is just one way that this plays out. It also plays out in church politics, marriages, and a variety of ways. Really, I am talking about sin here, but you have to be more specific. I am finding that there is a whole realm of disabling sin that has been allowed to exist in our churches under the guise of “personal preference” and it is destroying our families and our churches. I could go on, but I’ll stop.
Until we begin to see that dealing with this is necessary if we are to follow Jesus, then we are just spinning our wheels with documents and strategies.
BIFF, alas volfan007, please do a little research before making you usual comments on these blogs.
Biff (baptist identity fundamentalist forever)
fastest-growing denominations
fastest growing religion
fastest growing church
wally
Wally,
I didn’t see where volfan007 said anything about:
fastest-growing denominations
fastest growing religion
fastest growing church
Anyone who has followed SB blogs for the last couple of years knows that I don’t always agree with David Worley about everything. But, he is my brother in Christ. I don’t see why we need to denigrate someone else, or impugn their motives, in order to make a point.
David,
I’ve come to expect this from a certain crowd. It doesnt even bother me anymore when they say it. My motto is “Have a tough hyde and soft heart.”
Besides, Jesus said to expect treatment of this sort as you live for the Lord and preach and teach the truth.
Thanks for stepping in though. I do appreciate your kindness.
David
Chris,
I agree completely. I am not advocating a survey by Lifeway. I think that David R. was talking about some Lifeway studies to be used in our local churches that could be helpful.
My main point in writing this was not to say that we have not come a long way. I do appreciate David Worley for bringing up that point. But, half way on a journey does not bring us home. It is still just half way. Yes, God has to melt our hearts and turn them in love to others. I just see a lot of talk about a lot of things, like CP allocations, alcohol consumption, restructuring the denomination, etc., and I think that these heart issues are where the real advancement will be made. The Integrity in Church Membership resolution last year was a good start, but it took several years to even get that passed and I don’t know what the result has been.
I am glad to see this addressed in the GCR and my hope is that it will not just be words on a page but that something will come of it as we seek to carry it out on a personal and local level. If there are going to be Convention wide intiatives in these areas, I also hope that that area receives the attention that it needs because it does affect us more than we recognize.
Brother Alan,
No doubt we “will” get the surveys. And David,…I wasn’t taking a swat at you either my friend, because I believe it is good to take the pulse of those in the convention from time to time.
But know doubt,the best indicators of change will be seen through soft hearts locally with sister churches just down the block. I like your call to a cautious claim of something that has yet to occur or is simply eye candy once a year.
Blessings,
Chris
Chris,
I didn’t sense any “swats” coming from your way towards mine. So, no problem there.
And Alan is correct in that I was not proposing a survey, but rather some studies (e.g. Bible studies) on these issues, as a curriculum offering for our churches.
I agree that just giving lip-service to the issue or occasional “eye candy” is not going to do the job. But, my thought (which just occurred to me in the context of this discussion) is that maybe intentionally bringing these issues before the “folks in the pews” in order to mull on, in the context of what the Bible has to say about them, might be a helpful step to get some folks who haven’t yet given much thought to these issues to begin to think about them more seriously and biblically. Our actions are generally reflections of how we think. And how we think is largely a reflection of what we have been led to believe, according to the input we have received.
David,
Good points…
-Chris
I think that Dr. Peacock may be on to something when he speaks of a multi-ethnic church being a “foretaste of glory divine”. It seems to me that some very special things are happening in North America that appear to be quite uniquely originating with God. The church that I pastor has seen an amazing influx of diversity over the past eight years. We have Australian, South African, British, Korean, Vietnamese, Polynesian, Japanese, Hispanic, Romanian, and perhaps a few more that I can’t think of at the moment.
This was an insightful discussion. Wish I’d been around my computer today to participate. But good stuff.
I am not a fan of the HUP. I think Jesus came to break down ethnic and sociological walls, not sanctify them.
I just hope we do not approach the desegregation issue in the church the way the United States did. It should not be a designed process that we try to put together to accomplish this. Even the promotion of this creates hypocrisy when people are not moved by the Spirit. Yes, we do need to be aware of this and know that the true church will be totally desegregated. Jesus said that He would build His church. Maybe if we turn inward and recognize that the church needs to be washed by the Word it may be ready for the future in a more natural way by the leading of the Spirit. In God’s kingdom there are no ethnic groups and those who are the true believers only see the heart of another who is just like them.
You know, I was thinking about this last night and I thought about what Bill Hybels and the Willow Creek Association has been doing the last few years through their Leadership Summitt. I went to one last year and it was obvious that they are placing a major emphasis on justice issues, multicultural ministry, and ministry to the poor. They realized a few years ago that their seeker sensitive model based on the HUP had created churches full of white, middle-class people that were primarily concerned about their own lives. They realized that this was not God’s will, so they went about trying to systematically present a different message. 5 or 6 years into this, along with Rick Warren’s change in focus, all of evangelicalism is seeing the result.
Why couldn’t Southern Baptists do a similar thing with a similar effect? There are 20,000 WCA churches from all different denominations that are being affected by this.
[...] post is a follow-up to Alan Cross’s interesting and insightful post of Tuesday in which he challenged us to take seriously Article III of the Great Commission Resurgence [...]