DownshoreDrift

But, I truly do not want to add to the incredible amount of stuff written on blogs in regard to Southern Baptist controversies. Unfortunately, I have already added more than I ever wanted to.  It is a controversy with no end, and even when it seems over, it is never really over. My time commenting and dealing with any of this is nearing an end. I know that I have said that in different places, but talking about this stuff is neither enjoyable nor exciting for me. It all makes me very sad. I have learned things about corruption and power mongering that I never wanted to know. I have learned that many things are not what they appear to be in our churches and convention. I have learned that the SBC and many of our churches are in desperate trouble and there is mind boggling waste involving our Cooperative Program giving. We need to be praying more than we blog, that is for sure, because only God can do anything with this mess.

Last weekend, I went to the Baptist Identity Conference at Union University. I really felt led to go and I am glad that I did. I saw a glimmer of hope in speakers like David Dockery, Timothy George, Ed Stetzer, and Mike Day. I also think that we are a long way away from being where we need to be as a denomination. That opinion was reinforced, in that all of those men said the same thing. We desperately need Jesus and we need to represent Him and follow Him in all that we do. We need to be missional because He is. We need to practice what we preach because that is what He does.

Being Consistent

I am sick of the controversy. I am sick of Christians arguing and fighting over things that make no difference. We should be kind to one another. We should build one another up. If someone does something to us, we should confront them privately, not in public. We should deal honestly with one another. We should hang out with people who do the same. A friend of mine recently emailed me about questioning how we behave toward one another when we disagree. I was really affected by his words. I pray that in every way, whether we agree with one another or not, we will seek to honor Christ and act in love. At the end of the day, so many of these controversies are out of our control. We must trust God. We must look to Christ and ask Him to live through us.

I have tried to deal with issues within my denomination with integrity and honesty. I have tried to limit my comments to theological and missiological issues. I do not want to talk about personalities in any type of negative way. But, I find that it is difficult, when dealing with problems, to not let them get to you. I am praying fervently that the IMB overturns the two policies on private prayer language and baptism. I am praying that we will deal honestly with one another in all things. I pray that many come to know the Lord through the ministry of Southern Baptist churches. But, I am not Southern Baptist before I am a Christian. I am a Jesus follower, I hope, first and foremost. That needs to be the main thing.

So with that, I have nothing left to publicly say on these issues. I have made my case and said all that is prudent. In either March or May when the IMB ad hoc committees that were set up to review the private prayer language and baptism issues come back, I will comment on that. We are nearing “end game.” This has to end sometime. For me, it ends completely at the SBC Annual Meeting in June in San Antonio. But, my comments on problems in our denomination will be few and far between until then. So, if you come here looking for thoughts on denominational issues, you will have a little more time on your hands from now on. Beyond the convention where things should be dealt with if we have any integrity at all, I do not see myself very involved in the future of Southern Baptist ministry or missions on a personal level, unless things change significantly.

I’m going to keep writing. I am going to India next week to tell people about Jesus, so I'll let you know how that goes. I’ll continue to write about where I see the Father at work in the world around me. I’ll have a post up about Caelan this week (he is doing great!). I will write about God, the Bible, my church, missions, culture, theology, politics, sports, my family, and the Kingdom of God. If you are interested in that, I hope you continue to visit and leave comments. If you are primarily interested in SBC controversies, I invite you to take your curiosity somewhere else. There are plenty of places that major in that topic, and I will continue to visit there from time to time. But, as for Downshoredrift, it is time for me to refocus.