This article probably will not matter much to readers who are not Southern Baptists.  For those of you who are Southern Baptists, the actions of the Daviess-McLean Baptist Association in Western Kentucky should disappoint you.  According to the Western Recorder (the news magazine of Kentucky Baptists), this association recently denied membership to another Baptist church.  Pleasant Valley Community Church had applied for membership to join the work of Baptists in their geographical area.

Baptist entities, including associations, have the right to admit or deny any church so choose.  However, having the right to do something does not make it wise.  In this case I believe the exclusion is extremely unwise.

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The Economist has published an article on Calvinism and Southern Baptists.  From the title, Southern Baptists – The New Calvins: Tensions inside one of America’s most successful churches to the content, it is clear that the writer of this article is not a very savvy theology writer.

Putting that aside, the article does quote Southern Baptists Wade Burleson and Richard Land.  I am hoping that the writer did not accurately portray Land’s sentiments.  If the article is accurate, then Land is guilty of two offenses.

1.  Land is directly quoted with a statement that is a classic example of building a straw man only to knock him over.

People try to argue that Southern Baptists have always been Calvinist and we’ve departed from the way in the past 80 years.  That is demonstrably false.

I know of nobody who has either argued or tried to argue that Southern Baptists have always been Calvinists.  Historian Tom Nettles was one of the first in our times to present the case that in Southern Baptist history, there was a strong Calvinist segment from the beginning.  That is vastly different from saying that Southern Baptists have always been Calvinist.

Did you see what Land did in his statement?  He presented an argument which does not exist, and then declared that the argument is false.

2.  Land is indirectly quoted with a statement that assassinates the character of Calvinist pastors.

He says Calvinist seminary graduates keep their beliefs below the radar when they’re out applying for work, only to uncover them once safe in a job.

Wow!  I hope this is not what Land intended to communicate.  I am pretty sure he did not use the terminology “applying for work.”  Baptists churches usually have what is called a pulpit committee that looks for and interviews candidates for the pastoral position in that church.  In the past, I interviewed with several of these committees.  Not once did anybody ever ask me about being a Calvinist.  I was never evasive in my answers to their questions nor did I try to keep any beliefs below the radar. I spelled out my core beliefs and my philosophies of ministry.  During those years, I experienced wonderful relationships with the churches I served. In fact, Richard Land preached for me in my absence in one of those churches.

Perhaps somebody has been guilty of what Land asserts, but it would certainly be the exception and not the rule.  I think he knows that.  If he does, then why is he the head of the Southern Baptist agency that deals with ethics?  If he does not know, then he should not be speaking about it.  Either way, Land needs to clarify his comments.

My pastor, Jimmy Scroggins, has penned an excellent article on the Cooperative Program and how churches spend their missions dollars.

Point of View – Pastoral Economics: Compelling vision, not guilt will build Cooperative Program – Florida Baptist Witness.

This is the kind of wisdom that I have grown accustomed to from this godly man.  It is such a joy to be a part of First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach for the second time under his leadership.  My hope is that SBC leaders will take to heart what he has written.

For too long Southern Baptists have operated like givers to the United Way or to the IRS.  We like some of the things are money does.  We are neutral about others.  We may even disagree over some expenditures.  Yet all the while we keep giving (or having it taken from us by the government).

Today, we have options when it comes to our giving.  Churches should be wise about these options.

Each year in June the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) convenes for a meeting of business and inspiration.  The Pastors Conference kicks off the major events with what is usually great preaching on Sunday and Monday.  On Tuesday and Wednesdays the business of the SBC is conducted with some preaching mixed in.  In 2010 the meetings were held in Orlando.  Like thousands of others, I watched the sessions on-line for free.  I was even able to use Twitter to interact with others around the country.  (See The Good, The Bad, The Ugly & The Funny at SBC Pastors Conference via Stream and Twitter.)

micahfries – don’t know what’s crazier – that we can’t get copies of SBC sermons online for free or that the place to purchase them is known as SBCtapes?

Southern Baptists often discuss whether our organizations are stuck in the 1950′s.  Fries’ tweet does seem to suggest that we have made it out of the 50′s…but only to the 70′s.  SBC Tapes???  The name of the distribution company conjures up turning over cassette tape to hear the remainder of its contents.

To their credit SBC Tapes does provide the sermons in CD audio and DVD video formats.  So, even though it makes me chuckle I could live with this.  What does trouble me is that the pricing and other constraints make it appear that the content of these sermons is a closely guarded secret.  We can’t possibly want people to hear again what was preached or have anybody accessing them without paying a stiff price.  Consider these things that I learned from the website distributing the sermons:

1.  To listen again to Matt Chandler’s sermon, I would have to pay $9 for a CD or $17 for a DVD.  That’s for 1 sermon.  Through such modern contraptions like internet websites or iTunes, I can listen to hundreds of Chandler’s other sermons for free.

2.  To get the package of all 14 Pastors Conference CDs, I would have to pay $106.  The DVDs – $210.  Seriously, I’m not making this up.

3.  Shipping adds another $2 per CD/DVD (max $10).

4.  The website indicates that this is a private ministry.  Ministry???  It does indicate that over 50% of the money for Pastors Conference sermons goes back to the Pastors Conference.  No such statement exists for the SBC session.

5.  Anybody interested in hearing the Executive Committee report again?  I seriously doubt it, but if you did you could get part 1 for the $9 or $17.  Part 2 would cost you the same.  If I was truly sadistic and wanted to watch again both parts of this report, it would cost me $38.  Yes, $38.

6.  Once you order an item, it takes 3-4 weeks to get your order to you.  Are they being shipped from China on a boat?  As somebody who does business on line, a CD can be shipped for less than $2 and arrive in 3-4 days.

6.  The SBC consists of several million members with about 20,000 actually attending the sessions.  Shouldn’t we try to make these sessions as available to our members as possible?  Who is actually buying these?

7.  Once you do buy a CD, you still are limited in its use.  Read this notice from the website:

Please help us protect this revenue stream by not duplicating or uploading any of these messages without SBC Tapes written consent.  The Pastors’ Conference thanks you for your honesty and support.

Notice that the sermons of these preachers is now a “revenue stream.”  Notice also the switch in nouns in these two sentences.  In the first sentence, the revenue stream is controlled by SBC Tapes.  In the second sentence it is The Pastors’ Conference that thanks you for your honesty and support.

For those of you with influence in the SBC, this system needs to be thrown in the garbage heap right away.  As Fries suggests in his tweet, make them available on-line and without cost.  This can be done without incurring any additional charges.  No objection to this should exist unless the goal is “revenue streams” rather than ministry.

It has been an interesting experience watching the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) on-line and engaging with other baptists on Twitter.  The only hitch was that the on-line feed went black at exactly 5pm.  Only problem was that the primary vote for this year happened between 5:05 and 5:10pm.

Much of the activity at the SBC makes me glad to be a part of this denomination.  Others things make me want to pull my hair out.  Now I don’t get riled by spirited debate.  That is part of being in a large democratic organization.  With any group that large, you will get some whacky statements and actions.  Instead of focusing on that, I am most interested in the statements of the body as a whole and of the leaders of the group.  So here are the things that I like.

1.  Approval of the Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) report.  If curious you can go here to see the report (it has been slightly modified).  Hopefully, this will help the SBC be organizationally more functional towards what matters.

2.  I was pleased that the GCR Task Force toned down the rhetoric and acted much more diplomatically.

3.  I like that a new generation of SBC leaders are all about God’s glory and reaching our world for Christ.

4.  I am appreciative of the graciousness of President Johnny Hunt and team demonstrated when others might be tempted to smack a few folks.

5.  I am most thrilled that my heart has been stirred afresh for a global mission of reaching people from every tribe and nation.  Thanks to Jerry Rankin for his leadership at the International Mission Board.  He is retiring from that post.

Now, here are a few things that I did not like:

1.  Morris Chapman’s attempt to derail the GCR.  I don’t fault him for having a differing view.  I just don’t know what has happened to Chapman these past couple of years.  He seems so out of step with the denomination that he has been at the helm for 18 years (this is his last).

2.  I wish that opponents of the GCR proposal would have made arguments as to why they were opposed instead of trying to use methods to prevent a vote.

3.  What most frustrated me was the report of the ERLC (Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission).  The president of the ERLC is Richard Land.  I had Land preach in my pulpit when I was a pastor in the early 1990′s.  But Land sounds more like a pawn of the right wing of the Republican Party rather than a spokesman for biblical ethics and religious liberty.

I may not agree with the healthcare direction in our country.  But I know there are people who love Jesus who differ with me.  Why link ourselves with a political position that just isn’t the priority of biblical Christianity?  Land went even farther in his comments on U.S. immigration.  That’s not what I want my mission dollars being spent doing.

Now for some funny tweets:

JimmyScroggins: At biz @ SBC n Orlando. When the mics open, weirdos come out & the dumber the motion, the more Prez Hunt calls u “Dear brother.”

JimmyScroggins:  Morris Chapman is bashing the GCR & GCR task force @ SBC Orlando. Feels kind of like when your senile grandpa cusses u out

FakeJDGreear (Several):

Make no mistake. Every #GCR vote counts. And since we’re in FL, some of them count 4 or 5 times.

Humiliated. I was kicked off the @baptist21 panel because of my “old dude sellout suit.”

My book is better than @plattdavid’s, plus when you finish reading it you don’t have to sell your bass boat.

5ptsalt:  I love Al Mohler, but brethren, I do wish he would consider decaf

djword:  Southern Baptists resolve to expand their evangelistic reach by inviting Big 12 schools into the SBC

HannahBadgett:  I received a few strange looks when an “Amen” slipped out at work. Watching #sbc2010 live streaming.

jrbuchanan:  Morris Chapman is as out of touch as a homeschooler at the prom.

mattprivett: Where are the vuvuzelas when you need them?

DvdAlexandr:  Can we just skip to the world cup soccer game? Whose in charge of the big screen?