Resurgence

I have so far refrained from delving into denominational discussions on this blog. However, I am sitting in my hotel room in Orlando, FL, after a LONG day at the Southern Baptist Convention. I was not raised a Southern Baptist, but when I came to White Oak Baptist in 2007, I came understanding that I would be pastoring a long-time, cooperating SBC church. I felt it was the will of God to accept the call to that church, and to then participate in the denomination to which we were sending our mission support.

There was a bit of a learning curve as I begin to understand exactly how the convention operates. I must confess, while there was much about the convention that I loved and appreciated, there were things that I wrestled with, and struggled to reconcile with my conscience. Not long after I came to the church, rumblings of the Great Commission Resurgence began after Dr. Danny Akin preached his now famous (or infamous) sermon on the subject in Southeastern Seminary chapel. I began to study the issues raised by the Resurgence and began to pray about where I stood. What I found was that while I did not agree with everything or everyone speaking for the GCR, I did very much agree with the heart of the movement. Today, the convention voted to accept the recommendations of the GCR taskforce, and to move forward toward a more outward and global focus in the mission work of the convention.

By most accounts, the GCR has been fueled by a younger generation of pastors and leaders. I am no leader in the convention, but I am a younger pastor. As a 32 year-old pastor in the convention, I have often been discouraged to hear many older pastors speak disparagingly and sweepingly about "these young guys" who are "trying to wreck the denomination". Very often, they will describe what these young guys are like by using caricatures and exaggerations that more reflect a few on the fringe of the seeker-sensitive, pragmatic ministry movement. What I have found to be the typical young pastor pushing for the GCR, however, is something very different.

For one, I have seen most, if not all of these young pastors are concrete firm in their stance on Biblical innerancy, and furthermore, are passionate about deep, expositional preaching from the innerant Word.

I also found that the majority of these young men are not a part of the seeker-sensitive, church-growth, "Willow Creek" movement. Instead, they are passionate and vocal about theology and doctrine as an essential part of methodology. They are not pragmatists, preferring to be successful rather than faithful.

Lastly, most of these young pastors have a sincere devotion to doing whatever is necessary to utilize the resources and opportunities we have in America to get the gospel to people who have yet to hear. This is not to say that the older generation does not have this, nor that this is a new development in the SBC. It is simply to point out that their heart is the right place, and their motive is to obey Christ's commands for His church.

Today, I am proud to be a Southern Baptist. We are not the only ones working for Christ's kingdom, nor are we necessarily essential to its completion. He does not need the convention, or any other denomination to accomplish His will. He will however use those who are submissive to His will, and will humbly avail themselves of His power.

My prayer is that those who have fears about the future of this convention would look beyond the superficial differences that often separate generations, and would thank God that He is raising up a large number of young men who love His Word, preach His gospel, and seek His glory.

Those men who fought to recover this denomination from the poison of liberalism over 20 years ago, can be thankful that their labors were not in vain. The children of that resurgence are now poised to take their victory over the enemies of the gospel in their day, and use it as a platform from which to wage a further war on the enemy who is still seeking to keep in darkness those who are blinded to the glorious gospel of Christ. That is a good thing, even though everyone may not see it that way...yet.