I know this is a bit tardy, but I think you will find Danny Akin’s brief summary of the Southern Baptist Convention last month in Orlando to be helpful. BTW – Tardiness you will see is on my account, not his!
You might also enjoy Doug Baker’s editorial highlights in The Baptist Messenger, the state paper for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.
The following is from the report of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force last night to the SBC Executive Committee in Nashville given by chairman Ronnie Floyd. The GCR came to fruition last summer at convention in Louisville and the Task Force was charged with bringing recommendations to the Executive Committee concerning our denominational entities in an effort to “return to the primacy and centrality of the local church in our denomination… In order for this Great Commission Resurgence to occur, each church has to own the responsibility of fulfilling the Great Commission. Each church has to own Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8. Each church has to own the responsibility of reaching their village or community or town or city with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Each church has to own the responsibility of reaching their region, America, and the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Perhaps you are thinking, “Why is this needed? Why do we really need a Great Commission Resurgence?” The answer is simple: The lostness of North America and the entire world is staggering. Do you realize that among the 340 million people living in North America, there are 258,000,000 people estimated to be lost and perishing? Do you realize in the seven states or conventions that cover Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Washington, Oregon, and Canada, there is a population of 92 million plus people with at least 82% of them being lost? Do you realize that we have only 3,983 churches and congregations in this entire region and 2,276 of them are in the state of California? Do you realize that in the nine northeastern states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont, there is a population of 54,924,000 plus people with an estimated percentile of lostness of 83%, and we have only 1,068 churches and congregations to penetrate this lostness?
We need to embrace the reality of lostness, but we must also grasp it in a global context. The United States comprises only 4.5% of the world’s population of 6.8 billion people. Of the world’s population, there are 5,845 people groups who have no access to the gospel of Jesus Christ. From the 6.8 billion people in the world presently, 4 billion of them have little to no access to the gospel and 1.5 billion of these have never even had the possibility of hearing the name of Jesus and the message of the Good News. Missiologists will tell you that 90% of the entire world is lost without Jesus Christ. Every Christ-follower, local church, local association, state convention, and national entity needs to understand the lost condition of the world.
Please understand: To the degree we grasp lostness will be the degree we are willing to do whatever is necessary to penetrate it. If we do not understand lostness intellectually and theologically, we will not change nor will we do what must be done to penetrate it.
You can read the entire report at http://www.pray4gcr.com/downloads/GCRTF_Progress_Report.pdf.
The times are definitely changing in the Southern Baptist Convention. A few months ago I told of the ouster of Geoff Hammond (president of the North American Mission Board) by trustees. Last week, Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board, announced his retirement at the end of July 2010. Today comes the announcement that Morris Chapman will retire as president and chief executive officer of the SBC’s Executive Committee at the end of September 2010 (read about it here). All of this on the heels of the Great Commission Mandate supported by the majority of Southern Baptists present at Convention in June. These events usher in an era unlike any of us, regardless of age or length of time in SBC life, have ever encountered. For what it’s worth, I don’t know how these events might be interrelated, though I will remind you that Chapman was very outspoken, if not overly so, in his opposition to the Great Commission Mandate. He holds the most powerful position in the SBC. He was not elected, but selected and affirmed. The only way he could be removed is by a majority of the Executive Committee. I do believe his retirement is related to what he considers to be a direction the SBC going that he does not agree with. While I am thankful for Chapman’s faithfulness to the SBC and its global causes, I do believe a change was necessary and appreciate his stepping aside, though again, he has not and will not announce that it is due to any disagreement.
That said – the future is unclear. Yes, we needed a bit of a rudder shift in the SBC. But where we go is yet to be determined. It will begin with the selection to replace Chapman, followed by the IMB’s new leader and NAMB’s new president. I don’t think the positions will be filled in that order, but that is the order of importance, though IMB and NAMB are equals. I expect that both NAMB and the IMB will have their men announced before next year’s Convention in Orlando. Chapman’s replacement will take longer – and I expect there to be some political wrangling. Most SBCer’s see the passing of the old guard and acknowledge the need for this shift. However, we need to pray that we go where the Lord has us to go; not the way of opinions, but of principle. Southern Baptists more than ever need to demonstrate that they are able to cooperate – with more than undesignated giving to a program.
