Frank Turk, writing over at one of my favorites blogs – Pyromaniacs, has posted and open letter to the Southern Baptist Convention discussing why he and his family will not be joining an SBC church in their new hometown. Why should we care? Well, here is Frank’s answer:
The reason you should care, I think, is that my wife and I are predisposed to want to join an SBC church, and have joined several in the past that were in need of hands and feet because we believe that the local church is God’s plan for the world, and that the SBC has, historically, been a place where that work happens best. God’s word is preached. Discipleship is made. Community is built. God’s glory is displayed – even if sometimes it is a glory from a run-down building or a worn-out hymn book. It has always seemed to me that when we are decreased, He is increased in right-minded John-the-Baptist fashion. That we could not find a church in Little Rock which we felt free to join is bothersome to us, and perhaps it should be bothersome to you as well.
Frank goes through several key points and discusses the lack of certain things. Leadership, ministry, community and sadly the name of Jesus fall into that list. After reading the article all I can do is sadly agree with him. It echoes my experiences over a 6ish year stretch before I found my church home. The one thing I would add is this: I grew up in an SBC church and culture and I have visited SBC and non-SBC churches of the baptistic Evangelical persuasion and I would say that these are not only issues that affect the SBC, but Evangelicalism in general.
I pray that our churches can recover the gospel where it needs to be and understand our true purpose.
Tags: community, gospel, pyromaniacs, southern-baptist-convention
