"As I See It" Part One

It has been awhile since I posted and the reason is I had nothing to say. Over the last several weeks as I have been listening and watching events take place in the Southern Baptist Convention, I have felt compelled to write. I want to start with answering the question of what kind of change is needed to propel Southern Baptists to reaching more people, planting more churches, and sending more missionaries. I have read that many godly men in our convention believe that the problem is a lack of Baptist identity. If we become the type of Baptists people were in the 1700’s, 1800’s, and early 1900’s then the world would be fine. As I see it, the problem isn’t a lack of Baptist identity, but a lack of Christian identity. It is true that many people don’t understand what it means to be a Baptist, but there are a whole lot more who don’t understand what it means to be a Christian.

I believe the change needed is one that only happens in the heart of men and women as they realize what it means to be a Christian. People don’t need to be more conservative, but more Christian. Southern Baptists don’t need a reformation, but a revival of authentic Christianity. Once I asked Dr. Tanner, former president of the Home Mission Board/NAMB, “How did you survive the conservative resurgence without getting in the middle of it? I haven't read anything that talk about you in any controversy.” Dr. Tanner said, “I believed I could be Christian and conservative at the same time.” As I see it, we as Southern Baptist need to start asking some different questions. How do we show the world authentic Christianity? How do we build our denomination while staying true to the Kingdom of God? How do we change the focus from being Baptist to being Christians who are also Baptist? As I see it, every Southern Baptist needs to take responsibility for becoming more like Christ and building their own Christian identity in their home, church, and world.