As I returned home from the Southern Baptist Convention, I brought with me three overriding perceptions.
First, I was shocked that only 8,618 messengers gathered for the Southern Baptist Convention—and that only 331 Virginians from both the BGAV and the SBCV attended. At the height of the conservative-moderate controversy, a record 45,519 messengers assembled in Dallas for the 1985 convention.
Since 1951 when 6,493 messengers traveled to San Francisco, only the meetings in Salt Lake City in 1998 attended by 8,582, the 2003 convention in Phoenix and the 2004 meeting in Indianapolis, with 7,077 and 8,600 messengers respectively, were attended by fewer people.
What made the low attendance this year unique, though, is the location. We are not just talking about the Bible belt. We are talking about Texas—the star in the middle of the buckle of the Bible belt. According to research conducted by editor Trennis Henderson of Kentucky's state Baptist paper, the Western Recorder, 1942 was the last time so few SBC messengers gathered in Texas. And gas was being conserved for the war effort.
Jim White
Henderson notes, “Since 2000, the average messenger count has been fewer than 10,000 per year—in a denomination that claims more than 16 million members in 44,000-plus congregations. That compares to an average annual registration of more than 18,000 in the 1990s and more than 24,000 in the 1980s.”
Dividing the number of churches by the number of messengers reveals that an average of four of every five churches sent no one to the convention. And that is the best case scenario. Given the fact that many churches sent multiple messengers, the ratio was actually much higher than that. Or, to put it another way, each messenger cast ballots for 1,856 other Southern Baptists. That's like a church with a membership of 1,856 letting one person show up at the business meeting and make all the decisions.
But what does it mean that only 8,618 messengers gathered? Some have suggested that when there is no major controversy, Baptists let others make the decisions. This convention was not without some controversy, though.
Others have surmised the opposite: that the diminished attendance shows that Baptists are fed up with conflict. One Virginia Baptist put this attitude into focus when he told his pastor, “I have to put up with conflict at work every day. I'm just not willing to go to church and have more conflict.” Jay Strack, president of Student Leadership University and panelist for a Pastors' Conference breakout session at the SBC, told pastors, “We are a divided convention,” referring to the rift between older SBC leaders and younger Southern Baptists who demand more openness in the way agency decisions are made. “But the iceberg is melting,” Strack continued.
Some have offered disputing over diminutive and divisive doctrines as an explanation for the small convention this year. Without doubt, there is some truth to this. The decisions by International Mission Board trustees to no longer appoint missionaries who use a private prayer language and to question the authenticity of candidates' baptisms reminded many of discussions of the Pharisees who were caught up in theological trivia and missed the larger truth. Hopefully, Baptists have better things to do with their time than to participate in pedantic Phariseeism.
Still others postulate that the lack of attendance indicates a lack of denominational interest. To many Southern Baptists, the convention is becoming increasingly irrelevant. This is not to say it is unimportant nor that the lack of interest is limited to the SBC. Other denominations are experiencing the same phenomenon. In an age of instant communication and rapid travel, churches are forming meaningful partnerships without respect to denominational lines or geography.
Many churches are identifying with teaching churches like Willow Creek or Saddleback or a plethora of others. But even Willow and Saddleback have cancelled conferences recently due to lack of interest indicated by lower-than-expected pre-enrollment.
My second perception was “We reap what we sow.” From comments made by platform personalities, it was apparent that a lot of wrangling had taken place in SBC leadership behind the scenes. Several speakers made derogatory reference in sermons and statements to “the bloggers” who have contended that the leadership needs to be more open. In a prayer session for pastors, T.W. Hunt said, “God cannot use our arrogance. The reason our baptisms are not increasing is because we are doing things in our way and not God's way.”
SBC president Frank Page addressed the convention in his sermon on the need for confession and repentance for the lack of humility the convention has shown. Curiously, while speaking of the need for repentance, they were also careful to say that they still believed that conservatives taking control of the convention was necessary. No one seemed to make the connection that the need for repentance should extend to actions and attitudes in those days. It seems to me, however, that if controversy is sowed, one should not be surprised if controversy grows.
My third perception is that despite its flaws—more obvious to some than to others—the Southern Baptist Convention is doing Christ's work. Forget the Paige Pattersons and other high-profile SBC political types if possible. The real work is being done by missionaries both in North America and abroad whose hearts are not political and who are open to working with anyone who will help bear the message of Christ with integrity. These modern-day apostles want simply to be left alone to do the ministry they have been called to do. We all rejoice when people are won to the Lord.
Because we are still human, Christ's people of all stripes and persuasions are tempted to vilify other groups instead of seeing them in light of the kingdom good they are doing. This is easy when we judge them to be wrong. Some feel at home in the SBC. Others in the CBF. Probably most do not fully appreciate everything about either one. We are simply looking for ways to be effective Christ-followers in changing times.