The Independent Baptist Movement - Part 3 of 4

Its Ideals, Its Integrity, Its Imperatives

By DR. SHELTON SMITH
(Read Part One)
(Read Part Two)

As soon as the first two articles in this series went out, I began to receive response both by mail and by phone. Some response was positive, and some was negative.

On the positive side, some who know the issues and have convictions about them simply said thank you for taking a stand. Others said they were helped tremendously and were appreciative for it.

On the negative side, there were those who accused me of being divisive, hurtful and mean-spirited. Others said my articles were filled with misinformation, but they provided no documentation to support their claim. Still others said that the attention to these matters is diversionary and detracts from our efforts to evangelize the world.

Obviously, I know beforehand that not everyone will agree with me. I know that when you nail a particular issue, the folks who are engaged in it will probably holler “ouch.” Sometimes they do so with anger.

Although we always hope for better, we understand up front that the truth is not always welcome.

It is never my desire or my design to hurt anyone or to do anything that would diminish the testimony of Christ. I know, however, that discomfort may be a by-product of getting at the truth, and that I’m willing to create that kind of discomfort.

Some of the folks who have compromising affiliations and who are engaged in carnal activity simply need to do the right thing and correct their course. Instead of taking issue with me, they need to stand up and be counted with scriptural integrity. It is my hope and prayer that they will.

There are many, many others who simply do not know the issues, the dangers and the consequences. For them, we have great hope. We are confident that a significant number of them want to do right and when faced with the facts, they will. Amen!

Recap of Article Two in This Series

In the second article in this series, I gave a list of reasons why I believe the Southern Baptist Convention is further down the wrong road than they were when the conservative leadership took control of the national SBC body in 1979.

The reasons I gave in that article were eight in number. In a capsule, I reiterate them here before giving another nine reasons.

The facts are, the Southern Baptist Convention (1) is more ecumenical, (2) is less Baptist, (3) has contemporized, (4) has a growing problem with five-point Calvinism, (5) has adopted “cool and casual” as the persona of its clergy, (6) has a weakened stand on alcohol, (7) has very few pastor-led churches, and (8) has a major deficiency in evangelism.

Since my last article went to press, the Southern Baptist Convention has released information which details their great alarm over their declining numbers in baptisms and membership.

In a Baptist Press (the SBC news agency) piece written by Rob Phillips, they acknowledge the dilemma in which they find themselves.

The number of people baptized in Southern Baptist churches fell for the third straight year in 2007 to the convention’s lowest level since 1987.

Although the SBC added 473 new churches and gave more than $1.3 billion to support mission activities around the world, Thom S. Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources, said there’s no escaping the fact that Southern Baptists are not reaching as many people for Christ as they once did.…

According to LifeWay’s Annual Church Profile (ACP), baptisms in 2007 dropped nearly 5.5 percent to 345,941, compared to 364,826 in 2006.…

“This report is truly disheartening,” Rainer said. “Total membership showed a slight decline. Baptisms have now declined for three consecutive years and for seven of the last eight years and are at their lowest level since 1987. Indeed, the total baptisms are among the lowest reported since 1970. We are a denomination that, for the most part, has lost its evangelistic passion.”

In the same news release, it is reported that the SBC churches report a membership of 16,266,920 with Sunday morning average attendance of 6,150,000. Do a bit of math, and the numbers do become discouraging. For example, the average number of baptisms per SBC church is about 8 (for the entire year). That means it takes the average SBC church about seven weeks to reach and baptize one person. The likelihood is that most of those 8 baptisms are coming from baptizing the children of existing families in the church.

If you take the Sunday morning attendance of the 43,000 SBC churches (6,150,000) and divide it by the number of baptisms (345,941), it means that it takes 18 active SBC members an entire year to get one person baptized.

Since the Convention is a stickler for compiling data from their churches, it is easy enough to check the details and assess the situation. No one, including the SBC leadership, can deny that they are approaching crisis on this matter.

In a 2004 study done by the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (SBC), they reported:

For some 20 years, a disturbing statistic has left its mark on Southern Baptists—70 percent of Southern Baptist churches are plateaued or declining.…

From 1978 to 1983, the Sunday School Board (now LifeWay Christian Resources) found that 30.5 percent of churches were growing, 51.9 percent were plateaued and 17.6 were in decline. In the years studied by the Leavell Center, 1998–2003, 30.3 percent of churches were growing. And though that statistic has remained basically unchanged for 20 years, the number of declining Southern Baptist churches has increased by 6 percent from 17.6 percent to 23.9 percent. Plateaued churches now [comprise] 45.8 percent of all Southern Baptist churches.

Another report by the SBC’s North American Mission Board reveals that approximately half of the denomination’s 43,000 churches baptized three or fewer converts during 2007.

Now a word of caution to our independent Baptist brethren. We must not be smug about this and assume that we are getting the job done—if we are not.

But what we must acknowledge is the very obvious danger of assuming that the Convention is headed in such a great direction that the rest of us ought to go with them, join them or head in their direction! No! No! No! Let’s not be fooled into believing the spin that some give on this matter.

Another Nine Reasons Why the Southern Baptist Convention of 2008 Is Not Doing Well

Now I want to extend the list of my concerns about the SBC by giving you another nine reasons.

9. The Southern Baptist Convention of 2008 has yet to address liberalism with authority and finality.

When the conservative men are elected president of the SBC, in their very first press conference they are invariably asked about the conflict with the liberals. Without exception they all respond with some version of “the big umbrella” philosophy. You know, there’s room for all of us.

While they have achieved a measure of success, it is pretty obvious that they have not “cleaned house.”

The liberals, in a number of cases, have started their own seminaries. Several hundred of them have attached themselves to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (a haven for liberals), but almost all of them have retained some measure of affiliation and some degree of involvement with the SBC or its affiliates.

The fact is the conservative leadership has had thirty years to take a bold and clear-cut stand. They have not done so with authority and with finality.

10. The Southern Baptist Convention of 2008 still has a sizeable denominational bureaucracy that lessens the influence of the local church.

In SBC circles, the local church is not headquarters for anything. Though they give lip service to the autonomy of the local church, everybody understands that the denominational offices in Nashville set the pace and lead the churches.

It should be noted that “the autonomy” of churches inside the SBC is never equated as “independent.” With their autonomy, they have chosen to affiliate with the SBC, and their autonomy will not be questioned unless that autonomous church decides to disagree with the denominational program. At that point the integrity of their denominational loyalty will come into question.

Let there be no doubt. The denominational structure (Southern Baptist Convention nationally, the individual state conventions and the local associations) has a strong bureaucratic hold on and over the churches.

11. The Southern Baptist Convention of 2008 still has issues with the Bible text and its authority!

In many ways this is the heart of the massive problematic dilemmas facing the SBC today.

Over the scope of my personal acquaintance with the SBC (stretching back into the 1950s), they have given place to first one Bible and then another. It has been a long, long time since there was a standard text in the SBC.

They have run the gamut—the Revised Standard Version, the Living Bible, the New International Version, the New American Standard Version and now their own SBC-produced Broadman-Holman Bible.

In their colleges and seminaries, place has been given to the corrupt Westcott and Hort texts and almost all English versions that have been developed from them.

Although they came to terms on “the inerrancy of Scripture,” they don't know which one of their various editions is inerrant.

One prominent SBC pastor in my acquaintance said to me, “Inerrancy we settled, but the authority of Scripture is a whole different issue.” I believe he summed it up very well.

12. The Southern Baptist Convention of 2008 has a charismatic element that remains unaddressed!

Although the count is uncertain, there has been a growing number of SBC churches who have gotten caught up in the charismatic movement.

The most significant positive step in recent times was made by the SBC’s International Mission Board in 2005 when they agreed no longer to appoint missionaries who practice a “private prayer language” (that’s tongues). The director of the IMB, Dr. Jerry Rankin, is known to have been involved in the practice. Though it has been an issue, he remains at the head of the mission board.

Frank Page, the current SBC president, has taken what has been called a “big tent” philosophy on this as well. Once again, there’s room for everybody without regard for Bible doctrine.

13. The Southern Baptist Convention of 2008 continues to tiptoe around the “women in ministry” issues!

In a growing number of cases, especially with the moderate (liberal) wings of the SBC, churches are electing female pastors and deacons. The conservatives are chided as being ignorant and culturally irrelevant.

Though there have been a few cases where a local association expelled a church over this, it continues to fester inside the Convention like an open sore that will not heal.

14. The Southern Baptist Convention of 2008 is not producing preachers and missionaries as it once did!

When the fire dies out, it’s hard to keep things cooking. Here is another case where there’s just not a lot of bread coming out of the oven.

It’s one of the reasons why the independent Baptist churches are being courted so warmly. In many of our churches, we still have a steady flow of young people preparing for full-time service for the Lord.

Southern Baptists are finding it impossible to keep their 43,000 pulpits filled. Many of their churches go for extended lengths of time unable to find a pastor simply because the available men are scarce.

15. The Southern Baptist Convention of 2008 has recently begun to turn from the conservative resurgence!

When Frank Page of South Carolina was elected president of the SBC in 2006, there was “a youth movement” that propelled him into office. Voices openly critical of the conservative leaders were clamoring for everybody to get along with one another.

It is too early to determine if the trend will continue, but the conservatives are nominating one of their most prominent and popular men when they meet in Indianapolis next month.

Dr. Johnny Hunt of Atlanta, Georgia will be nominated and will probably be elected. Where the current direction will lead is uncertain, but the Frank Page presidency proves, I think, that there is a large element of SBC men who are not going to be happy with someone who takes a strong stand on the issues.

16. The Southern Baptist Convention of 2008 has deemphasized the task of preaching!

There are still some men in the SBC who are strong pulpiteers. They are, however, the exception.

Preaching with authority and with fervor has long since slipped off the front burner in SBC circles.

Teaching is favored over preaching. Addressing emotions and life situation needs are the big thing.  Hammering on Bible truths with application to the heart and life is lessened considerably.

Generally speaking, the preacher is “hired help” inside the SBC. He is shackled in the pulpit and cannot lead the church without first having committee approval on almost everything he dreams of doing!

17. The Southern Baptist Convention of 2008 is well on its way to where the Methodists and Presbyterians have already gone!

The acknowledged decline of the Southern Baptists is in the developing stages of a tailspin that long since became the norm for the once thriving Methodists and Presbyterians.

The root causes with the Methodists and the Presbyterians are basically the same as I have outlined in these articles with the Southern Baptists.

The rate at which the decline of the SBC continues downhill is not something any of us could predict with accuracy. What is predictable, I believe, is that the decline is irreversible.

You cannot take off in so many wrong directions (as I have itemized here) and expect that things will work out by and by.

So What’s the Point in Reviewing These Issues With the Southern Baptist Convention?

The point is: The Southern Baptist Convention does not merit the support of its member churches, and our independent brethren do themselves and their people no favor by leaning toward the Convention.

Despite the appeals to broaden the base of your ministry to include interaction with the Convention, the flags of warning need to be flying high.

It is worthy of note that when an independent Baptist church aligns itself with the Convention, it is the independent Baptist that changes. It doesn’t take its strong stand into the Convention. Never is that the case. It’s always the independent who lines up with them and changes philosophy and practice!

We believe that the very contemplation of giving place to the Southern Baptist Convention is leaning toward the compromise of a lot of good and treasured things.

We believe the case can be made for the legitimacy of our stand, and we want to urge all of the brethren to do the same.

Southern Baptist Convention men, we believe, should take the same stand we have taken and free themselves from the trappings and the shackles of the Convention.

Independent men, we believe, should give no thought and no place to any accommodation to or affiliation with the Convention.

As these articles have progressed, they have also grown. Therefore, the three-part series will now have a fourth part which we expect to have in the next issue of the sword of the lord. In it, we will specifically address the issues of the ideals, the integrity and the imperatives of the independent Baptist movement.

It is my prayer that the Lord will warm the heart of every preacher who reads these articles. In today’s religious climate of compromise, carnality and capitulation, there is an urgent need for men of God to stand like prophets and put the trumpet to their lips.

May the Lord help all of us to do exactly that with conviction and with courage.

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