When the current controversy erupted over Calvinism in the SBC erupted a couple weeks ago, I debated whether or not to enter the fray. Things have changed quite considerably since the hay day of 2005-2008 when Calvinism seemed to be the death-defying whipping boy of folks with more fight in their hands than love in their hearts. But alas, perhaps the change was merely an intermission thanks largely in part to the Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) which, for a time, seemed to unite Southern Baptists on the front lines of the Great Commission.
But the SBC, since the affirmation of the GCR, have gone back to the barricks and once again are turning against one another as if the willingness to fight is a temptation of which one too many are unwilling to walk away. Needless to say, I have my thoughts on the “traditionalist” March to New Orleans, and undoubtedly sparks are going to fly about Calvinism and whether or not the Baptist Faith and Message is a sufficient confessional guide to afford meaningful and substantive cooperation for Southern Baptists. Several of my friends have taken up this discussion on the Internet, including Tom Ascol (whose series I high recommend) and Nathan Finn (whose aspirations I wholeheartedly embrace). I don’t think I have much to contribute other than what they (and others) have been able to say in ways far more reasonable and eloquent.
BUT, if I have one contribution to make to the discussion leading up to next week’s Annual Meeting of the SBC in New Orleans, it would not be critiquing a very poorly written traditionalist document, nor would it be explaining the postmodern power play of subject-defining labels like “New Calvinism” and “traditionalist”, nor would it be showing how the “majoritarian” party has failed to influence the direction of the SBC since 2006 (2006-07 Joshua Convergence; 2008-09 Baptist Identity Movement; 2010-2011 Anti-GCR Movement; 2012 Traditionalist Movement). Rather, I’d like to issue a statement to my fellow Reformed brothers in the SBC. With all that is going on next week, there’s some fundamental things that I’m preaching to myself and think it helpful to share with my Reformed brethren. To put some order to my thoughts, here are five “Do’s” and “Don’ts” as it related to next week’s Annual Meeting.
Case Study in the Need of a Great Commission Resurgence
December 17, 2008One of the things I have learned about blogging and addressing issues is that whatever issue you address that is most controversial ends up sticking to you whether you like it or not. When people in the “real world” sit down with me and get to know who I am or what makes up my life, I make it my goal to describe myself as a follower of Christ, husband, father, and pastor/missionary. Our conversations for the most part are markedly different than the kind I experience on the internet, and I’ve come to accept that.
However, it goes without saying that whenever I meet someone who knows me via the internet, it is typically Timmy the blogger guy or some variation of that. There are other guys who nominally refer to me as the leading “Calvinist” blogger in the SBC. While some may not find this a surprise, I do find this rather intriguing. For you see, over the course of the past four years, I have submitted some 1,700 blogposts here on P&P. How many of them do you think have to do with Calvinism? 94. That comes out to 5,5% of everything I have written. Is it fair to label a person based on 5% of what they write? Perhaps. I’ll leave that for someone else to decide. Furthermore, regarding the SBC, I have written a total of 225 blogposts on or around SBC issues, again coming to 13%. Not exactly the kind of percentages that would seem to dominate or characterize someone’s internet presence. But I digress.
In any case, I want to make a simple and yet very frustrating point as a Southern Baptist and a Calvinist. Over the past two weeks, I wrote about two main issues (a few misc. posts excluded) : Calvinism in the SBC and missional prayer. Here’s the breakdown:
Calvinism in the SBC
11.30 David Allen, Hyper-Calvinism, and James White: The Rundown
12.4 Ed Stetzer Responds to David Allen’s Critique of Calvinism Research
12.5 Hyper-Calvinism, Anti-Calvinism, and Founders Ministries
12.8 Casualties of Anti-Calvinism
12.9 Nathan Finn on Calvinism and Cooperation
Missional Prayer
12.10 Missional Prayer: Introductory Thoughts
12.10 Missional Prayer: Jesus
12.11 Missional Prayer: Early Church
12.15 Missional Prayer: Paul
12.16 Missional Prayer: Concluding Thoughts
Now I want you to see the stat chart from the past two weeks. Notice the change from Dec. 1-10 to Dec. 11-17.
On a whole, I put about 1/3 the amount of time, effort, and study with Calvinism as I did missional prayer, and yet this kind of controversy brings more than double the traffic. This kind of thing has happened time and again over the years, and while I am never surprised, the level of frustration and disappointment continues to grow. I have no way of knowing exactly who takes the time to read my blog, and so I am perhaps going to be “preaching to the choir” here (the controversy hungry readers probably have all been run off by all this talk about prayer, mission, and Jesus). But that’s just it.
It is a case study of the kind of conversation (or controversy) that people want. It speaks to the direction we prefer to go–divide and conquer. We are excited (or upset) when controversy ensues or Calvinism is brought up, but no one is excited to talk about Jesus and discuss His mission of which we have been entrusted. The solemn call gets little serious attention or single-minded earnestness. Anyone who wants to kill traffic on a blog just mention the gospel, mission, Jesus, or prayer. You will be rewarded with 50% less readership. But it will be the readership that really counts.
I don’t know what kind of credibility this little case study lends to analyzing where we are today. Honestly, I hope that the trend is opposite of what I just experienced on my blog! A Great Commission Resurgence will need indicators that show our interest is more in the building of His Church, living out the gospel, being faithful to the mission, and seeking to glorify Jesus with those who are Southern Baptist or not, those who are Calvinist or not. I know it is not sexy or titillating, but it is coronary and commissionary.
Yes, I’m a blogger, a Southern Baptist, and a Calvinist. I wear those titles because that is how the game works on the internet. But there’s a whole lot more out there on my blog and the blogs of other Southern Baptists that are well worth reading and considering if we could get beyond ourselves and realize that being servants of Christ and stewards of His gospel are the only titles we should ever be concerned about in the first place.
After all, those are matters of first importance.
Categories: Calvinism, Personal Commentary, SBC
Tags: Controversy, Great Commission Resurgence, SBC
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