Is the SBC at Risk?
iMonk (Michael Spencer) has a series of articles on the coming evangelical collapse. If you haven’t read these, and if you don’t read iMonk, then finish reading this post and begin to scoop up everything he has written. There is not a better blogger around that Michael Spencer.
Spencer states that evangelicalism is going to decline quickly to a smaller, more chastened, more diverse, less influential form. I think he is correct. I wrote about some of this myself last year looking at the issues of the economy, particularly gas prices.
So the question I want to raise, as I venture back into my tribal environment for a moment, is this: if Michael is correct, what does that look like for the SBC? What does the behemoth structure that is the “largest” evangelical denomination look like if evangelicalism declines as it is anticipated?
Here’s my prediction:
1. Not all of the six seminaries survive. Right now, the two that need to survive are Golden Gate and Southeastern. There may be only 3 at most in total that survive the cut.
2. The cost of seminary will be prohibitive for many because the financial support will not exist to offset the costs for Southern Baptists. That will result in less people at seminary, again potentially reducing the number of seminaries needed.
3. The lack of jobs in Southern Baptist churches will also keep people from going into the ministry as a profession. The end of the professional ministry is firmly upon many of us. It is going to be an even greater reality in the years to come.
4. The mission sending agencies will decline unless they can offset the financial fallout. It may actually result in the merger of the two primary missions sending organizations.
5. Other institutions associated with the denomination will be have to be disbanded or minimized, such as Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
6. Colleges affiliated with state conventions will carry more of the load of theological education. But they will need to provide a more multi-disciplined approach, incorporating training in other areas such as business or education into the curriculum so that graduates will have marketable skills in the economy.
7. If the financial fallout does occur, then the number of state conventions that survive will smaller, and the number of associations, particularly in the “pioneer” areas, with be smaller. They all depend on support from the North American Mission Board.
8. Churches will take more control of the mission work; the denominational institutions will not be able to support as much.
9. Ministers will flood the workplace as churches disband and staff members are released from their full-time pay and denominational employees are cut from the financial fallout.
10. Churches will have to work with churches from other denominations to get work done. The body of Christ may not be so fragmented as it is now.
The financial fallout is beginning, and will be in full force when a certain demographic dies out. At the rate in which younger Southern Baptists are leaving the denomination, unless they are somehow persuaded to be involved, the fallout could be disastrous.
Have I missed anything? What would you take exception to?
Related Posts:
Tags: Cultural, Evangelicalism, Missional, SBC
David,
Interesting list. Financial crisis may speed these along or make them glaringly obvious. But, these kinds of things have been on their way for other reasons too.
Todd
Todd,
I agree…I think the evangelical crisis imonk speaks of (he gives it 10 years I think) speeds this up in ways I don’t think anyone is ready for.
Interesting. Do you also believe it will be in 10 years? Why Southeastern and Golden Gate?
MaC