DownshoreDrift

• I believe that the SBC is so broken into factions, at least by what is represented in the blogosphere and the upper echelons of power in our Convention, that we can no longer dialogue on anything substantial. I have found it completely useless to engage with some people in this debate as they can only accept what they want to and will not listen to other opinions, yet I keep trying hoping to get through or at least not let their accusations go unchallenged. However, we are now talking past each other, and actually have been for some time for no discernable purpose except to state our opinions. I look forward to this being over.
• When the Lifeway Research came out yesterday, there was a concerted effort by many to denigrate and call into question the integrity of the research and work of another Southern Baptist entity. Some are now saying that Ed Stetzer and people at Lifeway Research are biased and therefore implying that their results cannot be trusted. They did not say such a thing when Lifeway produced a study on Calvinism that said that only 10% of SB pastors were Calvinists, but they say it now. I don't want to assign motives to them, but with the number of posts churned out yesterday calling into question the veracity of the study's findings, it is clear that they are very worried about it's implications.
• Others have said that the sample size of 400 Southern Baptist pastors was too small to get an accurate reading, again calling into question the results. I am not great at math, but from my calculations, 400 is approximately 0.9% of 45,000 churches, if we assume that every Southern Baptist church has a pastor. To compare, most national political polls survey around 1000 people. If you consider that we generally have over 100 million people vote in our elections, that survey size is under 0.001%, and yet political polls come back with a margin of error of 3-5%. To say that the sample size is too small is simply not true.
• Over the past year and a half, we have consistently heard calls from the establishment to trust our leadership and to participate in SBC life. We did that through the Roundtable in Arlington in December led by Dwight McKissic and asked Lifeway, an SBC entity, to conduct this research. They did and answers came back that were not satisfactory for many on the opposing side. I truly believe that if the answers had come back more in the favor of those who are upset about this, there would be no questioning the results. None of them actually engaged the implications of the study, as it was easier to just attack the veracity of the study. Draw your own conclusions as to what that says about those in opposition.
• The SBC seems to now be headed for full blown civil war. Yesterday, I really hoped that the results of this study would show the people that I have opposed in this that there are many Southern Baptists who disagree with them and that we should have policies and guidelines that represent all Southern Baptists. Instead, it has raised their ire to a feverish pitch. I read people say that the problem with charismatic temptations are bigger than they ever thought and they began to hint that we should conduct other studies to understand exactly how widespread this is. The implication is that it should be addressed as aberrant theology.
• San Antonio promises to be very tense. The battle will rage through the resolutions as many, including myself, have submitted a resolution in the hope that the mood of the SBC will be captured and that a strong statement will be made. This could easily boil over and become a huge mess.
• What happens after that is beyond anyone's guess, but it is possible that things could only get much worse. 

As I have said repeatedly, this would not be a problem if we would just respect one another and the differences that we have on tertiary issues. Unfortunately, some are now saying that this is not a tertiary issue. It still is for me, as I am fully willing to respect the position of cessationists and their full involvement in SBC life. I do not want to influence or force anyone to believe what I believe on this issue. I do not want to see anyone forced out of leadership or ministry over this issue. Lee Saunders, an emerging voice for balance and reason on this, echoes my sentiments exactly when he calls for peace, HERE. But, I am only fighting this because others are trying to eliminate from leadership people who hold the beliefs of approximately 50% of the SBC! I see that as an incredible injustice. Sadly however, if this keeps up, we will not have an SBC worth saving as the whole thing will splinter into a million different factions. Maybe that is what God has in mind, if in our pride we have built a tower and called attention to all that WE have done for "God's glory."

But, this battle, in the vast scheme of things really becomes quite stupid when you consider all those who do not know Christ and the battle that is really raging with the Enemy of our Souls. We all need to spend time in prayer and ask God to check our motives and our actions. We are still His servants and His glory, not our own, should be our main desire. I pray that that is what happens in San Antonio, but the road there has surely gotten quite bumpy and treacherous. Yes, I am praying for a miracle.