June 29, 2009 - SBC in Louisville

Last week, the Southern Baptist Convention met in Louisville, Kentucky. It was a jam-packed four days – two days of the actual convention and two days of pre-convention meetings. All of this was preceded by Crossover, a significant ministry evangelism project to impact Louisville with the gospel. Over 1,000 first-time professions of faith in Jesus were reported as a result of those events. 

The convention itself was very focused on two things – the Great Commission and how SBC organizations are weathering the current economic downturn. Related to the economy, seminaries and mission boards reported they have trimmed budgets, prioritized spending, and made intentional plans to stay focused on their respective assignments. The reports on these matters were positive, hopeful, and determined. SBC leaders are not averse to making hard decisions and pressing ahead through rough times – economic or otherwise. 

The major emphasis of the convention, however, was the adoption of President Johnny Hunt’s Great Commission Resurgence initiative. Based on a chapel message and paper by Dr. Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Seminary, the initiative is Dr. Hunt’s attempt to narrow the focus of the convention to the Great Commission and rally Southern Baptists to greater emphasis on missions and evangelism. Given the decline in our national baptismal and membership statistics, the urgency of this project is quite evident. 

As part of energizing our focus on the Great Commission, clarion calls to pastors and other local leaders were issued in sermon after sermon. It would be hard to miss the point of this convention – get busy evangelizing! Another part of this emphasis, however, is organizational. The convention authorized Dr. Hunt to appoint a Great Commission Resurgence Task Force (which he has already named) to make recommendations and suggestions to the denomination for improving its organizational focus on the Great Commission. 

This group has a formidable task. The Southern Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist denomination are not the same thing. The convention can speak authoritatively only to its agencies – not to churches, associations, or state conventions. The means the task force will need to lead by influence and by appealing to the common good of mission advance. Needless to say, in a denomination as large and diverse as ours, this will be quite a challenge. 

Let’s pray for them and give them time to work before prejudging the possible outcomes negatively. At Golden Gate, we will cooperate with this process fully and make any changes necessary to improve our work. This is no time to guard turf or defend past success. The urgency of the times demands humility, frankness, and openness to improvement. May God give us the grace to move boldly ahead.


Questions or comments? Please email those to jeffiorg@ggbts.edu

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