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The Gospel Coalition

Attending the Southern Baptist Convention 2012

Trevin Wax

Trevin Wax Blog | June 18, 2012

This week, I will be in New Orleans for the Southern Baptist Convention. Though many of you who read my blog regularly are not Southern Baptist, I hope that you will be in prayer for our Convention. The SBC makes an impact in the wider world of evangelicalism and will continue to do so in the future. Our denomination is seeking to proclaim the gospel in a world that is quickly diversifying and fragmenting. My prayer is that we will be faithful to the Lord, obedient to the Scriptures, and united in Great Commission focus.

Below, I have linked to some personal reflections on the SBC that I have posted here in the past, and which will give you an idea of the current situation of the Convention.

(By the way, I'm joining other LifeWay authors for a book signing today from 2:00-3:00 p.m. at the LifeWay store at the Convention Center. If you are a blog reader, or you've picked up a copy of Holy Subversion or Counterfeit Gospels, I hope you will stop by. The LifeWay presentation will be held around 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning in the main hall.)

Some SBC Articles

Southern Baptists, I Have a Feeling We're Not in Zion Anymore:
Let's not shrink back from the future that awaits us. We may be given the honor of suffering for the Name. So let's willingly put ourselves at odds with the culture, expect the social ostracism we can see on the horizon, and stand joyfully amidst the ruins of Christendom while we continue to proclaim the excellencies of the Risen One.

Is It Biblical to Ask Jesus Into Your Heart?
The Southern Baptist blogosphere has erupted in conversation on whether it's proper to use phrases like "asking Jesus into your heart," "accepting Christ," or methods like the "sinner's prayer" when sharing the gospel. Like many online conversations, this one has tended to generate more heat than light, and I get the feeling that good folks on both sides of this issue may be talking past one another.

Behind Every Theological Crusader, There's Usually a Story:
Sometimes the crusader just wants to be heard. So let them tell their story. That said, debating the finer points of theology is not the way to go. Debating the strengths and weaknesses of the charismatic worship movement or the man-centered or God-centered nature of Calvinism or church growth isn't the point. When someone's been burned, they need a bandage, not an explanation of how the burning takes place.

Being Southern Baptist Among and For Evangelicals:
Now is not the time to water down our Baptist distinctives, seek unity at the level of ecclesiology, and pretend that all evangelicals are the same. Allies in WWII did not give up their sovereignty or their countries' distinctive traits. But neither did they treat each other as opponents. They built bridges in order to see freedom advanced beyond their countries' borders. Likewise, this is the time for Southern Baptists to maintain the bridges, not tear them down. We stand with evangelical allies. We are in a position to do for evangelicals what evangelicals once did for Southern Baptists.

Screwtape on the Southern Baptist Convention
The fact that we lost the battle over the Book almost caused me to lose hope. But we still have a chance. The gospel and the cursed Commission are the tools the Enemy has used against us all these years. You will do well to make sure that these Baptists focus on everything else.

I fear what lies in store for us. The Enemy will not give up on these people. So neither should we.

Calvinism and the SBC: A Review of Whosoever Will
Being forced to decide which stream I belong to - Charleston or Sandy Creek - is like someone asking me to take sides in Grandpa and Grandma's divorce. I'm an intellectually-inclined high church guy who loves aspects of Grandpa Charles, but I've been nurtured by Grandma Sandy's distinct version of piety too. I love them both, and I want them to stay married. Keeping them together makes for a stronger Southern Baptist family.

What Southern Baptists Can Learn from Romanian Baptists


Comments:

John Carpenter

June 18, 2012 at 11:04 AM

In the last one you say that you believe in the universal atonement -- that Jesus paid the price for everyone's sins. If that's the case, isn't everyone saved? There would be no wrath of God left against anyone and so no basis on which to condemn anyone to hell.

Brett

June 18, 2012 at 01:53 PM

Re: Calvinism and the SBC...

A good friend of mine recently signed the controversial "A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God's Plan of Salvation." Without revealing to him the origin, I asked him if he could sign a certain confession of faith, particularly in light of points III and IV:

"III. That Adam fell from his original state of purity, and that his sin is imputed to his posterity; that human nature is corrupt, and that man, of his own free will and ability, is impotent to regain the state in which he was primarily placed.

IV. We believe in election from eternity, effectual calling by the Holy Spirit of God, and justification in his sight only by the imputation of Christ's righteousness. And we believe that they who are thus elected, effectually called, and justified, will persevere through grace to the end, that none of them be lost."

He said no, the document was clearly Calvinistic, and that he would never be able to sign it.

The document was "The Principles of Faith of the Sandy Creek Association. (1816)."

My point is that the Charleston vs. Sandy Creek comparison is not a legitimate argument for the Calvinisim and non-Calvinism streams as the foundation of what would become the SBC. The Sandy Creekers were Calvinistic, just not as strongly perhaps, as the Charleston stream. Even Paige Patterson has admitted this.