FORT WORTH, Texas (Story from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) — More than 40 students and pastors in a doctor of ministry (D.Min.) seminar at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary participated in a panel discussion, July 6, discussing the Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) Task Force, which was appointed by SBC president Johnny Hunt at the annual meeting in June; its role as a continuation of the Conservative Resurgence; and how Southern Baptists can be involved.
Ronnie Floyd, GCR Task Force chairman, an alumnus of Southwestern and pastor of First Baptist Church of Springdale, Ark., said the formation of the task force marked a commitment to the Great Commission.
“I believe that day was one of the great days in my life as a Southern Baptist pastor … because I saw a denomination really rally around the cry of the Great Commission. Let’s put everything on the table, and let’s see what we can do to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. And that’s how Dr. Hunt and I are looking at it.”
When asked what church leaders could do to help, Floyd called on pastors to inform their congregations that the SBC is doing an in-depth study to get more resources toward fulfilling the Great Commission. He also encouraged pastors to point their people to the GCR document online at www.greatcommissionresurgence.com.
Panel members included Floyd, R. Albert Mohler Jr., GCR Task Force member and president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president; Nathan Lino, an IMB trustee and pastor of Northeast Houston Baptist Church; and David Allen, dean of the School of Theology at Southwestern.
Steven Smith, associate dean for the D.Min. program at Southwestern, moderated the panel with Floyd and Mohler participating via telephone.
Task force meetings start in August: Floyd asks for prayer
Floyd said the task force’s first two meetings are scheduled for August, and Floyd requested prayer for the members of the task force as they embark on this undertaking.
“My goal is to try to get 5,000 Southern Baptist Christians to walk alongside us in this with prayer,” he said.
Mohler said involvement in the SBC by younger pastors is an issue of stewardship and cooperation to accomplish something greater than themselves. He expressed gratitude for the leaders of the Conservative Resurgence and excitement about the “new generation rising to responsibility in the SBC.”
“This is the generation produced by the Conservative Resurgence,” Mohler said. “Without the Conservative Resurgence, we would have no hope of seeing a generation of those who are now on our seminary campuses, young men who are now planting churches, younger pastors who really are rising to the moment of denominational leadership.
“I think it comes as we understand that we have inherited patterns for which we are grateful, in terms of the stewardship of the mission entrusted to the SBC, but even more pressing questions about what kinds of structures, processes and all will really fit a missional approach to the 21st century. What we’re looking at here is a generation that, to its credit, is disinterested in the older kind of patterns of Baptist cooperation. …
“I want the Southern Baptist Convention to be the answer to the question ‘How best do Southern Baptists do that together?’ A tribal identity just is not going to work. … When I talk about the tribal identity, I’m talking about the Southern Baptist Convention produced particularly in the 1950s and the 1960s — a generation that had a very corporate mindset. … They sublimated theological conviction to an institutional, tribal ethic. The leaders of the Conservative Resurgence were not only willing to break that tribal ethic, they basically became outlaws in the old denominational infrastructure.”
Both Floyd and Mohler encouraged pastors to contact them and other task force members with questions, concerns and suggestions.
What about the IMB?
When asked if the International Mission Board needs a Great Commission Resurgence, Lino replied, “Absolutely. I think a lot of this GCR groundswell has come out of a need at the IMB.”
He explained the $30 million shortfall in the 2008 Lottie Moon offering, resulting in suspension of critical missionary endeavors and cutbacks on missionary appointments. Because of the shortfall, the IMB only has the funds to appoint 200 missionaries to the mission field in 2009, and as of May, 191 have been appointed.
“Here’s the sad factor: In 2008, if you count the money given to buildings, missions and budget giving, Southern Baptists gave $12 billion to our churches. Of that, 2.5% got to the IMB, and only 5% of the world’s population lives in the United States. I think we need a Great Commission Resurgence. I think we’ve lost our focus, and we’ve got to get back to valuing the people overseas who are dying more than we do the programs that satisfy our happiness here in the states.”
Allen: “Cautious, but optimistic” about GCR
Allen was asked questions about his views on the GCR document and its relationship to the Conservative Resurgence. He expressed both excitement and concern over the GCR document, mentioning questions about the scope of article nine in the document and the extent of the phrase “methodological diversity.” Regardless, he signed the online document.
“Like all documents, no document is perfect,” Allen said. “I’m in basic agreement with what the GCR document is all about. We’ve got to focus on the Great Commission, no doubt about it.”
As for the first generation of those in the Conservative Resurgence — including Paige Patterson and Jerry Vines, who Allen is closely associated with — Allen noted that everything in the GCR document is “exactly what they were pushing.”
“A Great Commission Resurgence, if it is done biblically, is exactly what we need,” Allen said. “So, from that standpoint, I am optimistic about where it could go and what could happen. Cautious but optimistic would be my way of viewing the document and why I’m supporting it.”
This article can be read in its entirety at www.swbts.edu/campusnews/story.cfm?id=5C48D308-15C5-E47C-F90399C22FD19780