Earlier this month, Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, addressed the future of the Southern Baptist Convention.  As someone who grew up in a Southern Baptist church and still deeply cares about the future of the denomination, I watched this hour-long address with particularly high interest.

I admire Dr. Mohler because he seems to be simultaneously progressive when it comes to methodology while conservative when it comes to theology.  This is a winning recipe for any denomination, but particularly for the SBC, which at times seems to stubbornly hold on to structures of the past when it could benefit from updating its methods.  Instead of balancing secularism (being part of the world) with sectarianism (being separate from the world), the SBC’s choices have increasingly separated them from the culture surrounding them, even in the “Bible Belt.”

If you think these are just my opinions, you’ll be surprised to learn that Dr. Mohler says many of the same things in his address. If you just want to scan the speech, check out these portions:

• 28:00 – Dr. Mohler says the SBC is trapped in the organizational logic of the 1950′s in my ways, comparing the denomination’s mindset to that of failed automaker General Motors
• 47:00 – Dr. Mohler discusses how the SBC has become a sect in many ways
• 53:00 – Dr. Mohler says the SBC must be a missiological think-tank — continually updating strategy
• 55:00 – Dr. Mohler says the SBC has gained a reputation of “denominational crankiness,” always bitter, upset, angry, frustrated, bickering.  If you’ve ever seen the inner-workings of a church the subscribes to a congregational form of government, you know what he’s talking about.

As the talk ends, Dr. Mohler admits that the SBC has unfortunately garnered a reputation as being backward and unloving. The first and hardest step to solving any problem is usually identifying what is wrong and owning up to it.  He has to be admired for speaking, at times, difficult words.  He ended the address with this wise challenge:

“Let’s not be caught in the dark, wondering why we missed the opportunity while it was day.”

Indeed, Southern Baptists are at a crossroads. Here’s hoping they take choose a path that preserves the important theological heritage they steward.

Posted in: Cool Stuff, Random Rants