At the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Anaheim this week (June 14-15), delegates to the meeting, known as messengers, will grapple with the massive report released in May detailing the SBC’s Executive Committee mishandling of sexual abuse allegations in the convention.
Various segments of SBC have begun to speak out regarding what the SBC response should be. You can read three HERE and HERE and HERE. As illustrated by those examples there is a broad spectrum of ideas about what the response should be. Every Christian should be praying for the SBC Annual meeting.
Thankfully, today it is reported the SBC messengers voted in favor of reforms to address the Guidepost report. That is not the end but a first step.
As for all other Christian churches and/or denomination, each WILL inevitably respond to the very public SBC crisis.. The question is: What will those responses look like? I fear, for many, there will be silence, refusing to acknowledge any peril to their church and /or denomination.
Contrary to apathy in non-SBC churches, there appears to be significant awareness and passion in the public arena, including news and social media. A consensus of “no surprise here” predominates.. Reading the comments from a NY Times article on the SBC crisis is revealing and troubling. Here is one example:
Southern Baptists are perhaps the least Christian of any of the numerous Christian cults that infect our country. Their leaders are mostly misogynistic men who hold racist views and disparage Catholics and Jews. The leadership believes fear is the best way to keep their congregations in line and every service I ever attended was infected with fear and constant judgmental behavior. While they constantly judge others, the leadership holds itself above accountability because it absolutely believes it knows better than you. I [A] lack of humility, self-inquiry and self-awareness was palpable.
Darren, Oregon
May 23 NYT
You can read what people ( NYT commenters) think about SBC and Christian churches, HERE. It doesn’t appear commentators distinguish between SBC and Christian churches in general. Like it or not, the stain is not confined to SBC. The Church’s witness is at stake.
There will be concern about the risk of SBC crisis becoming an “issue” that detracts from mission, but, the depth and breath of the scandal trumps that concern. Red flags in the SBC report are myriad. Responsible leadership, informed about the SBC crisis will digest and assess the information and identify implications for their own context. It is an opportunity for self-examination.
SBC is a fire in the community that threatens the neighborhood. The first response is to recognize there is a problem, alert those in danger and take necessary actions to avoid being consumed by the conflagration. The fire is not the problem but it cannot be ignored.
Among the NYT comments was this anomaly:
Jesus attacked the hypocrisy and selfish, deceptive hearts of many of the religious leaders of his day. But he also found himself the object of false accusations from secular, political and religious groups. Through it all he consistently preached the most important commandment, to Love God with our heart and mind and to Love others as ourselves. But he also said he did not come to a healthy people, but to the sick. Those sick with evil and sin in our lives… all our lives. To all he offers grace and forgiveness for those who repent and accept his gift of amazing grace. He then calls those who have received that grace to walk forward in obedience to this most important commandment.
As a long time member of the SBC I join many others in calling the Church to repent where we have failed to exemplify his Gospel, and where we have failed to hold our leaders and one another to this standard. I’m saddened for the lives that have been hurt through all of this. There is no room for abuse of any kind in the Gospel. We should proactively initiate and accept reproof, and correction. Follow Jesus’s direction to repent, and seek to grow in our ability to Love him and Love others. Let him teach us to become men and women of God, complete, equipped for every good work. Then with integrity do that good work so that others may see God in us, and not us. He is perfect, we are not. [emphasis mine]
REPNAH
Huntsville ALMay 23
“If you’re brought up Jewish, don’t assume that you can lean back in the arms of your religion and take it easy, feeling smug because you’re an insider to God’s revelation, a connoisseur of the best things of God, informed on the latest doctrines! I have a special word of caution for you who are sure that you have it all together yourselves and, because you know God’s revealed Word inside and out, feel qualified to guide others through their blind alleys and dark nights and confused emotions to God. While you are guiding others, who is going to guide you? I’m quite serious. While preaching “Don’t steal!” are you going to rob people blind? Who would suspect you? The same with adultery. The same with idolatry. You can get by with almost anything if you front it with eloquent talk about God and his law. The line from Scripture, “It’s because of you Jews that the outsiders frown on God,” shows it’s an old problem that isn’t going to go away.”
Romans 2:17-24 MSG
“Let the church who is innocent condemn SBC.”
The next post: “the problem “
STILL ON THE JOURNEY