I do not typically see myself as having a lot in common with Paige Patterson. I am sure he would agree. In truth, however, we are more theologically akin than we are different.
We both believe that God created human beings in his image and likeness. We both believe that through human rebellion and disobedience sin has alienated the race from the Creator.
We both believe that God sent his only begotten Son into the world to save us from our sins. We both believe that Jesus died a sacrificial death on the cross, that he was buried in a borrowed tomb and that three days later he arose from death and the grave.
We believe that he ascended to heaven and that one day, according to Scripture, he will come again. We believe the redeemed will spend eternity in heaven while those who refused salvation will be forever alienated from God in hell.
This litany is representative, not exhaustive. We have much else in common.
It shouldn't be surprising, then, that I recently discovered new areas of agreement. Responding to the news that baptisms in 2007 dropped nearly 5.5 percent to 345,941, compared to 364,826 in 2006 Patterson said that one reason for the lower figure is that many churches “… did not respond with an annual report. I know that fewer churches are responding,” he said.
While I doubt that many fewer churches responded in 2007 than in 2006, I agree that because many churches do not respond to the annual church profile report we do not have an accurate picture of baptism figures.
Last year in Virginia, of the 1,406 BGAV churches, only 1,013 (or 72 percent) completed and sent to the state office an annual church profile. These churches reported 7,074 baptisms in 2007 compared to 7,757 in 2006 and 7,673 in 2005.
Comparing statistics from years past becomes problematic in that following the formation of a rival state convention in 1996, some churches, exercising their autonomy, chose to sever ties to the BGAV. Obviously, the departure of these churches affected the statistical reports.
Patterson names four primary reasons which, in his opinion, account for the decline in baptisms:
• Southern Baptists are too busy to pray.
• We are not witnessing like we should.
• Preachers are preaching shallow messages rather than deep truths.
• Churches have adapted culturally so they look like the world.
I agree that lack of prayer, lack of witnessing, poor preaching and becoming worldly are problems that seriously affect our evangelism. Who would argue that these factors are not important? We Virginia Baptists certainly need to pay attention to these issues.
But Patterson and I differ substantially on some other assumptions. While he admits that “one can only say that the picture does not look the way those of us who played a role in the conservative renaissance had imagined and hoped,” he takes issue with the conservative Southern Baptists who suggest that the conservative resurgence has become legalistic and mean-spirited and is partially responsible for the spiritual apathy.
He writes, “Thrashing the conservative renaissance as though it were somehow responsible for this decline is irresponsible. One need only ask for the evangelistic and missionary statistics for the moderate churches whose leaders provided the opposition to conservatives in order to debunk this allegation. The present state cannot please our Lord, but it is a safe bet that he is more pleased about what we are attempting globally than about the social and environmentally based programs of moderate and liberal churches. If the conservative renaissance had not happened, our evangelism would look exactly like moderate churches, which are in decline.”
So, according to Patterson, God is not as unpleased as he would have been in that the “conservatives” have kept baptisms from being worse. After all, without the “renaissance” the SBC would look like those moderate churches that are in decline. Wake up, Paige! The SBC does look like churches in decline!
As far as the moderate BGAV, it is true that, like the SBC, our baptism figures are down this year. Unlike the SBC, however, whose statistics have declined three straight years, the moderate BGAV's baptisms were up last year over the previous year! That year it would have been good if the SBC had been more like moderates.
Please understand, we have no cause to crow about the BGAV's baptismal record. I don't know of any serious Christ-following Virginia Baptist who is not concerned that we are not being more effective.
But, Patterson is still making those “moderates” the straw men against whom he continues to wage war. According to Thom Rainer president of LifeWay, “This report is truly disheartening. Total membership showed a slight decline. Baptisms have now declined for three consecutive years and for seven of the last eight years, and are at their lowest level since 1987. Indeed, the total baptisms are among the lowest reported since 1970. We are a denomination that, for the most part, has lost its evangelistic passion.”
In fact, the number of baptisms peaked in 1972 at 445,725 seven years before the official start of the takeover and about the time those pushing for a conservative resurgence began to hold meetings around the around the country.
My purpose in writing this is not to make Patterson and others who are like-minded responsible for the downturn in baptisms. In truth, the reasons are far more complicated than that. But neither am I willing for Patterson and others to continue making moderates the fall guys.
Bottom line? We Baptists talk a lot about winning the lost. But we haven't given the lost a true picture of the church. We have shown them factions and disgruntled name-callers.
There should be a lesson in this. Virginia Baptists have no room to point our fingers at others. With 4.5 million lost people in our state, we have too much work to do to be finding fault with brothers — even those with whom we don't agree on every issue. Until we can show the lost churches they want to be a part of, our witnessing will be wanting.