The Southern Baptist Convention appears to be in decline. I say appears because the “Bagdad Bob’s” of the SBC are poo-pooing recent membership numbers that demonstrate this is a stark reality. There has been a firestorm over this release, especially in the commentary provided by the head of Lifeway Research, Ed Stetzer. People at all levels of the convention leadership are exhibiting different reactions. Some are upset, while others are acknowledging reality, and still others are wondering why it took so long to get published.
Being a Southern Baptist, and pastoring a Southern Baptist Church in Delaware, I felt I needed to weigh in on this issue. I, in general, do not blog about SBC issues, but this is as much a missiological issue as it is a SBC issue. It should wake up not only the American church, but the SBC about the state of the church in this country.
I want to first address the importance of this decline in the SBC. For years, we have been told that the reason other denominations were in decline was the move toward liberal theology. I guess we were wrong, because it appears theology was not the factor. With the reality that the SBC likely has tipped and is on its way down, this is very disconcerting for many. This is especially distressing for the oligarchy leadership who think they own the SBC. The move toward conservative theology has produced the lowest evangelism rates and the tapering off of membership since before the takeover began. I am conservative in theology; however conservative theology alone does not move one toward evangelism. Thus the conservative resurgence did not lead to a Great Commission resurgence convention-wide.
Second, it demonstrates a fallacy within the Southern Baptist Convention. For some reason, we thought we were the last and only hope for America. We raised our voices with a triumphalism and arrogance that said, “Look at us! We know how to reach people.” We do not believe that we need to work with anyone else; we have it all figured out. Now we have to begin to eat crow. Rumor has it that a good beer or glass of wine makes it go down easier.
I also want to note what did not cause this decline.
1. We did not decline because churches are cleaning up their membership roles. A few may have jettisoned members they could not find in the past 15 years, but to say that enough of them did that to cause a decline in membership overall is silly.
2. We did not decline because we lost our Baptist identity. Some are raising this issue, namely that our great time of growth happened during a period when Landmarkism was a movement in parts of the SBC, though it was rejected in the early 1900’s. This teaching, which borders on heresy because it denies the use of the Old Testament and the New Testament teaching of the universal church, has arisen again. There is a neo-landmark resurgence in the SBC today with leaders like John Floyd and past and current IMB trustees as well as entities like Southwestern Seminary (Let us not forget that SWBTS is providing theological education for a Landmark Baptist College in Texas). The growth of the SBC and Landmarkism is neither correlation nor causation. It is more like chance or coincidence.
3. We did not decline due to statistical error or manipulation. These are numbers from the reporting tool Southern Baptist’s use. This was not a poll.
Here is why I think the Southern Baptist Convention is in decline. It is not exhaustive, just random thoughts from someone who interacts daily with people inside and outside the SBC.
1. We are not ordering our work around the mission of God. We are ordering everything around our identity. Southern Baptist have historically organized around the mission of God. Now those want to play in the game have to organize around a neo-landmark view of baptist identity according to some. Instead of jumping into the work of the kingdom there is fighting over what a Southern Baptist is. Again. Most pastors, especially young pastors, abhor this rhetoric and just want to see God’s kingdom built. As such, they are aligning themselves more with people outside the convention than within. Many are leading their churches away from the SBC. Many SBC trained pastors are starting churches not aligned with the SBC because of this.
And I’ve said many times in many places. Alan Hirsch has noted that when a denomination looses its missional focus, there has never been one to regain it. We have lost our missional focus. We lost it years ago. Apart from the sovereignty of God and the movement of the Holy Spirit in revival, we will continue this decline.
2. We have not acknowledged the post-christian, post-christendom culture that is the United States. For some reason we still assume that Christianity is the dominant worldview in the country. We preach as if it is, we share our faith as if it is, we run programs as if it is. But it is not the dominant worldview in the country. In fact, it is becoming more and more irrelevant because the church has become more and more irrelevant.
3. We do not understand the Gospel and do not know how to share it. The typical SBC’er only knows that the Gospel gets you into heaven and keeps you out of hell. If they share their faith, it comes through theologically questionable and simplistic presentations like FAITH. But the Gospel is so much more than that. The Gospel is about transforming every aspect of a person and culture. It brings wholeness, healing, and peace, and begins the journey back to the Garden, where man was in perfect relationship with God. It transforms cultures socially, politically, economically, and relationally. It is not just about getting out of hell.
4. We do not know how to provide community outside the church building walls. Recent research by our denomination also indicates that unchurched people don’t want to come to church. Southern Baptist do not know how to create third spaces, places to interact with unchurched or dechurched that are not in a church setting. Americans are some of the most lonely people in the world and are looking for good relationships. But we only want to create “Christian Alternatives” instead of good, family friendly, have-nothing-to-do-with-church-stuff places where people can connect relationally. We have not trained our people to do anything but invite people to church. This is something Jesus did that we do not know how to do.
5. We refuse to contextualize. The mosaic that is our culture requires us to communicate in different ways to different people. Southern Baptist do not do this, or in some cases find it biblically reprehensible to do this. The problem is that every part of our reality is constructed based on context, culture, experience, and sensory information. We either don’t believe that or we choose to ignore it. We must start where people are and move to the Gospel, not start with our view of the Gospel and force people to understand it on our terms.
6. We are running out our most creative and missional people. They are being rejected based on methodology. They are being nit-picked to death. They do not fall in lock step with the SBC oligarchy. They want to reach the world for Christ and they have the energy and creativity to do so and they are rejected. So why even bother? I know were it not for our local association and state convention, we would not be Southern Baptist anymore. Our people don’t care; in fact, the reality is that if most of them knew we were SBC before they got to the membership class, they would not have joined.
All of the above are things that can be changed.
But what really is needed in our convention is repentance. It is time for those with blood on their hands from the conservative resurgence to “man up” and confess the ungodliness, slander, and vilification they participated in. They need to repent and resign their positions. I agree that we must be true to the scriptures, but the labeling of conservative people as liberal was a sin. It is time to be confessed. Our denomination will go as its leadership goes, and until the leadership openly confess their sin as it relates to the conservative resurgence, our denomination will continue to decline.
It is time for the churches in our denomination to shut down programs and fall on their face in prayer, confession, and repentance, and to cry out for the salvation of those we know who are not Christ followers.
It is time to organize around the mission of God, not the mission of the SBC.
It is time for the SBC to begin acting like humble missionaries, not triumphalist culture warriors.
It is time for the SBC to put the Holy Spirit back into His proper place as the third person of the Trinity, and get the Bible out of that spot.
The last and only hope for America is not the SBC. It is the Holy Spirit sweeping through the hearts of people. Can Southern Baptists be part of that? Yes, if we are willing to do it God’s way, not ours.
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David is an entrepreneur, pastor, coach, and author. He has his doctorate from George Fox Seminary where he studied under Len Sweet, his M.Div. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and has done post graduate work in communications from the University of Alabama and the University of South Florida. He lives with his wife Brenna Phillips in Smyrna, DE. 
David,
I have a feeling we (in the SBC) suffer from an ostrich mentality–if we surround our heads with sand then we won’t be able to hear, see, smell, or taste the reality in which we live.
It isn’t necessarily good to be right all the time. As a matter of fact, sometimes our claim to be right makes us wrong. And besides, even when we’re right, to be so belligerently makes us wrong.
Perhaps it’s time for Southern Baptists to realize that the SBC is not God, nor is the SBC Christ, and the last time I checked the SBC is not the Holy Spirit. Keep calling us to focus our focus.
Benj.
David,
This is really good, er, bad, er truthful stuff. You’ve brought together a number of important streams very nicely. A close friend of mine who could have brought rich vitality and creativity to the table was just about ready to join up and plant a network of church with the SBC, but got nitpicked right out of the game . . . of course, he would have been rejected on methodology in time, anyway.
I know you don’t like dwelling on this stuff here, but thanks for taking the time.
Peace bro. See you in a few weeks.
David,
Good words indeed. The only disagreement I have would be your contention that theology did not play a part in the mainline decline. I would still maintain that it did, but would maintain equally that it also has to do with the decline in the SBC.
The mainline folks are hemmoraging because of an irrelevant liberalism that simply baptizes all of culture but leaves lives, for the most part, largely unchanged. Although I believe the majority of SBC folks are NOT far-right wing, I do believe there is a far-right element that is influencing our Convention in a very, VERY negative way, and that this explains, at least partly, why we are declining.
I had a great, very conservative professor who once said “I don’t like it when anytone messes with the pure message of the SCriptures, and I don’t care if they are liberal or conservative.” After 16 years in ministry, I totally agree. We “won” the “Battle for the Bible” yet it seems that many on the winning side aren’t satisfied with letting the Bible stand on its own. Instead, their desire is to add to God’s Word just as the liberals wanted to take away from it. The overwhelming majority of laity in the SBC (i.e. those who are actually paying the bills) are solid conservatives, yet see very little benefit from participating in some of the current discussion that is going on.
Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of people in SBC churches are saying “huh?” and simply “checking out” when it comes to convention affairs. Of the 8 million “active” membership, less than 10,000 care to attend the SBC annual meeting. That’s less than 1/100 of 1 percent who actually care enough to show up and vote. At least part of the reason for this is that the average SBCer doesn’t think the larger SBC to be relevant. I hope we can change this.
Dear Brother,
You wrote: “Some are raising this issue, namely that our great time of growth happened during a period when Landmarkism was a movement in parts of the SBC, though it was rejected as heresy in the early 1900’s.”
I would like to know exactly when Landmarkism was rejected by the SBC in the early 1900’s and when the SBC considered Landmarkism heresy? These are strong statements that need to be backed up by historical facts.
Ben Stratton
I think you are right on as usual. # 6 rings true for me. I believe if you tell a creative person no enough they are going to go where they can use their creativity.
Great thoughts, David. I especially liked what you were saying about losing a missional focus. The same can be said about churches, and even individuals. We are blessed to be a blessing. For many of us, we just hold on to our blessings. Thank you for cutting through the fog on this very important issue.
Ben,
I stand corrected. I should not have said the SBC viewed them as heretics.
However, the convention would not seat them in the early 1900’s as messengers. In addition, I view them as heretics because:
1. They deny the use of the Old Testament. (See Trail of Blood and the marks of the church)
2. They deny the universal church taught in the New Testament.
The successionist path they claim is filled with at least one group who deny the deity of Christ and others who are borderline gnostic.
I have corrected the statement you reference.
It should be noted, however, that the SBC rejected their theology and ecclesiology.
Joel,
I certainly agree with you on liberal theology. I see that in Emergent where it is a redo of the social gospel movement.
My point, which I didn’t communicate well, is that the headlines in Baptist Press and everywhere else was that it was all about theology. “Look what the CR saved us from!” “We’re not declining because our theology is not liberal”. That has been ingrained in so much I’ve seen regarding the CR and why we were still growing. Theology is part of it, but not all it .
Well written. I’ve read a bunch of posts over the last few days about this research from Ed Stetzer and you wrap it up the best. I totally agree with you and think that we have an incredible opportunity to take heed, make the changes and watch God work. If not, we probably need to start writing our chapter in church history because it’s coming to an end.
I also agree that you do as good a job here of anyone I have read in describing the likely explanations for the decline in the SBC. I hope and pray many more will take note to what you (and other similar voices) are saying on this.
RIGHT ON BRO! Man you nailed this one.
Now I do believe that the assessment was correct “when we were told that the reason other denominations were in decline was the move toward liberal theology.”
However the reason the SBC was “growing” during this time was because Christians from other denominations were leaving their churches and moving towards the SBC. It certainly was not, as some would claim, that unchurched people were being attracted to conservative theology. . . . but I digress.
Your 6 points as to the reason for the decline are SPOT ON.
David,
Good points. Recently I read again about the life-cycle of churches that move from ministry/growth to plateau to decline. Don’t you think that maybe denominations have a life cycle somewhat like churches do? In general the fastest growing “denomination” is found in the rise of non-denominational churches. The brightest and most innovative are not allowing themselves to be constrained by denominations.
Chris,
You may be on to something. I’ve not thought of that before…good word
David,
While some may differ with you on a minor point or two and have expressed that difference, I think you have clearly articulated the problems and the way to correct them.
I’ve heard for years that a church, after several years with a pastor at the helm of leadership, will begin to reflect the character and leadership style of that pastor, for good or bad. Whether that is an established fact or not, I’m not sure, but I’ve seen it come close to reality in my travels in our convention. I think it may be, as you said, also true of leadership in areas of denominational life.
I’m convinced that leadership [ and our entire denomination] can change. But it will take a broken and repentent spirit. Thank you for calling us to it. I will look at my own places of leadership/service as a beginning point. May God grant a baptism of repentence to us all.
Chris,
I’ve read about the cycles of organizations for years. It’s interesting to see companies like Starbucks and organizations like the IMB going through such similar processes. They always move from inovation to efficiency to processes/policies which leads to bureaucracy. The sad thing is that it’s really difficult to break out and return to innovation….it’s messier and typcially hard to attract the creative/ innovative types back to an established organization.
Camel Rider