I admit to knowing more than I let on. I also admit to not really caring.
I’ve been part of the SBC blogosphere for the past 3 years. I’ve been to denominational meetings. Heck, I was even on the Committee on Nominations for 2007, which was an event that has made me never want to serve on a denominational board ever again. I have pulled out of blogging about the SBC unless it revolved around issues of missiology. I just don’t care.
I’ve noticed over the past several months, however, an interesting transition. No one is talking about the SBC anymore. SBCOutpost is done. A confession, I was the technical person behind that blog after Greensboro in 2006. Some guys opened a collective blog at SBC Today, but it’s mainly just a handful of folks talking amongst themselves and they have not had anything meaningful to say in some time. You have people like Wade Burleson who is still blogging. In addition, there is this debate over Calvinism going along in couple of blogs.
But for the most part, nobody cares anymore.
Now a little journey. Think with me what has happened as a result of the blogging in the SBC:
- The oligarchy’s choice didn’t get elected as president in 2006. An unknown named Frank Page did. He was the best president of the SBC since Jim Henry.
- The world got to see the pitiful theology and ethics of Tom Hatley, John Floyd, Jerry Corbaley and most of the board of trustees at the IMB. An interesting thing has happened…I am told that the one who really began pushing for the adopted PPL and baptism policies is now working to overturn those policies. They did not anticipate the divisiveness it would bring.
- Page Patterson at SWBTS was effectively neutered. The documentation that came out about his spending, his theology regarding women, and how he was attempting to achieve the firing of Jerry Rankin (among other things) has rendered him a persona non grata for most.
Yarni!
- One of Patterson’s mouth pieces, Malcolm Yarnell, whom I affectionately call “Yarni”, is only welcomed in certain venues. His landmarkism and baptist identity theologies are not welcomed in most places either. Most people don’t listen to them anymore.
- An entity president, who was set to run for the SBC president, told his staff that he would not run. The reality that his character flaws were being revealed on the blogs was too much.
- The blogs stemmed the growth of landmarkism within the convention. Hopefully, that will not raise its ugly head again.
What the blogs did not reveal, frankly because I don’t think anyone really cares anymore, is that another entity president was set to be fired by the same board that hired him. In fact, the board had already talked to an interim. It seems horrible administrative abilities have rendered that entity hapless. But the board didn’t have the courage to do what needed to be done. They left the mess for others.
The major outcome of SBC blogging, however, has been to expose the lack of character of those who led it for so many years. Good theology did not result in right practice. What you do is a result of what you believe. It is evident that so many of the the SBC leaders over the past two decades lacked right belief, because their character was severely flawed. Slander, lying, manipulation, blacklisting and blackballing…these are not the works of the Spirit.
What it has led to is a culture of turf wars. Many know Patterson and Morris Chapman hate each other. But to date, no one has the courage to get on a stage at a convention and call for confession of the sinful leadership we have had, nor for reconciliation and love to be accomplished among the brethren. This is a reason the convention is in decline. Until that happens, the only projection I have for the SBC is continued decline.
The turf wars and power struggles have all meant that the denomination will not be able to make the necessary structural changes to adapt in the coming years. There is coming a day, and it may not be too far off, when a huge chunk of the convention goes away. It may be sudden. The tipping point has already occurred. The reality of SBC life is that many have already practically given up on the convention.
It has been said that Rome’s defeat was more a result of its own debauchery than the force of outside warriors. The end of the SBC…and blogging about it, will result from the lack of character of those who led it for the past 3 decades. It may just end up in the same scenario as Rome.
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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 applaud your bold and honest assessment of life in the SBC. You have articulated here what many of us have been feeling for nearly 20 years.
By way of background, I graduated from Southern Seminary in 1990, the last year of Dr. Roy Honeycutt’s tenure as President. In my time there as a student, and in the years following as I lived in the Louisville area, I saw friends slandered and maligned by those who sought to shift that institution onto another vector.
I believed then–as I believe now–that the “conservative resurgence” within the SBC has been more about power and control than it has been about correcting theological drift. And the Kingdom of God has suffered because of the arrogant power plays of a few.
These have been, and continue to be, strange days to be Southern Baptist!
David, well said. Some strong words, but I too believe your assessment is acurate and of course very sad and deeply disappointing at the same time. The Yarni pic is priceless – well done!
I thought you went down this path with the rest of us after San Antonio.
Well, since you are on the subject and I feel like dispensing a few SBC thoughts this seems an opportune moment… so…
1. Frank Page was a very good President, who, at the very least, did not waste money riding all over creation encouraging people to do harder what hasn’t worked in decades – and if you listen to Bob Roberts, and we both do, has never worked since 2/3 of the people added to the rolls of the church have opted out since our heyday.
Beyond that, at least he was judicious in almost all of his appointments and sought to bring the convention together, whether he succeeded or not.
2. Many, many things were seen as a result of this move within the IMBOT. Sadly, overturning the “guidelines” at this point will not undo what has been done. As you said, the tipping point has already been reached.
3. I wouldn’t say that Paige has been neutered, but he has lost a ton of credibility with those who were otherwise blind.
4. You are getting really good with GIMP. The same has happened for Malcolm as has happened to Paige. You are precisely accurate in your estimation of his regard throughout the SBC.
5. I’ll bet that stung. It was something he really desired, from what I gathered. Hooking his wagon to Patterson and the former Inner Circle killed that movement rather than securing its prosperity.
6. We’ll see. Frankly, I think that the SBC will be left to the Landmarkers as everyone else moves out. The tipping point has been passed, after all.
re: Patterson and Chapman, I think the word “hate” is probably a common term used colloquially here, but is also probably not exactly accurate. That they have different visions for the future of the SBC, there is no doubt. That they have worked to see the success of their vision at the expense of the other, there is also no doubt.
The reason the SBC flounders spiritually has nothing to do with whether anyone has ever called out these two from the stage. While their inability to work toward a common goal may be a part of the issue, it is much deeper than that.
At least part of the problem with the SBC is that it is made up of member churches that are likewise made up of members who expect the local church to reach out on their behalf so the churches expect the denomination to reach out on their behalf. This inbred missiology that creates sedentary people and churches has also created this denomination which is in decline.
A swift kick in the pants can’t hurt, but I sincerely doubt that it will have any lasting effect.
Just sayin’.