Study Shows GOP & SBC Marriage Consummated

A recent study conducted in April by Lifeway Research found that a whopping 80% of Southern Baptist pastors plan to cast their vote for Republican nominee John McCain in November!

1% of Southern Baptist pastors prefer Obama

AND

O%, yes ZERO percent, of Southern Baptist pastors support Hillary.

Back in 1998 during an interview with the New York Times, Richard Land - perhaps the most visible Southern Baptist leader over the past 20 years - said this about the relationship between the Religious Right and the Republican Party:

“No more engagement. We want a wedding ring, we want a ceremony, we want a consummation of the marriage.”

10 years later, it's clear that Dick got what he so desperately desired.

Lifeway Research has clearly revealed that the marriage has been consummated.

The Wedding Bells Done Rung. The Honeymoon is Over.

Apparently not many Southern Baptist pastors remember the wise words of the late Carl F. Henry, a hero to men like Al Mohler, who often declared that there exists "no direct route from the Bible to the Ballot Box."

BWA President Addresses CBF

Live from the Hotel.

Great General Session tonight.

After the missionaries were commissioned and songs were sung, President David Coffey of the Baptist World Alliance addressed the General Assembly. Coffey was introduced as THE Global Baptist leader who pushed and pushed for the CBF's membership into the Baptist World Alliance. Indeed an excellent preacher, Coffey challenged Fellowship Baptists to have an anointed ministry like Jesus' in Luke 4. He said that we should know the World like Jesus knew Nazareth. We should know the Bible like Jesus knew the Scriptures. Coffey pointed out that Jesus' reading of Isaiah 61 focused on mercy rather than vengeance. An anointed ministry would produce transformation and be prophetic.

Affirming the need to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, Coffey was not afraid to to speak a positive word about the Charismatic Movement. In fact he adamantly stated that...

Baptists should not be afraid of charismatic practices!

Also during this portion of the sermon, Coffey declared that...

Some people are more concerned with loyalty to following their denominational guru than to the Kingdom of God.

Good words indeed.

Bill Leonard's Message for Southern Baptists and Moderates

A recent article in the St. Louis Dispatch profiled troublemaking Missouri Baptist layman, Roger Moran. Recently, according to the article, Moran declared that the Missouri Baptist Convention is on the "brink of civil war."

In years past, Moran targeted true "moderate" Baptists with his guilt-by-association tactics. Now, he's after a so-called "new generation of moderates" within Southern Baptist life who are part of the Emerging Church Movement. Moran has described the emerging church as "one of the most dangerous and deceptive movements to infiltrate the ranks of Southern Baptist life."

Without a doubt, Moran has escalated his war against "moderates" or in this case, non-fundamentalists. However, what stuck out most about this article was a quote from Dr. Bill Leonard, the Dean of the Wake Forest University Divinity School....

"The Southern Baptist Convention is growing increasingly terrified that they've spent all this time recreating the denomination in this (conservative) image, and now nobody cares," he said. "Young seminarians are challenging them on issues and saying, 'Your vision of reality is not ours.'"

Let's be honest, Leonard's statement is completely true for Southern Baptist fundamentalists and partially true for moderates.

Like in Southern Baptist life, moderate leaders are greying. Nonetheless, the "old guard" in moderate Baptist life is genuinely reaching out to the younger generation. This is quite apparent when one attends worship services and break-out sessions as the annual CBF General Assembly. Last summer, a break-out session was even held on the Emergent Church.

But moderate leaders are undoubtedly concerned about the future of Baptist life. From my experience, many seminarians who attend schools partnered with the CBF are infected with the disease of apathy. These seminarians are apathetic towards the CBF structure. They don't really care that "blood" was shed in the SBC Controversy. Some are enamored with all things emergent but could care less about their Baptist Heritage.

And that my friends is unfortunate - very very very unfortunate.

Will the next generation of moderate leaders be authentically Baptist or just nominally Baptist?

Will we remember the contributions of James Dunn, Foy Valentine, and Cecil Sherman?

Or will our Baptist heroes be forgotten?

Leonard's quote is definitely relevant for moderates and fundamentalists alike....



HT: Wade Burleson: Fellow Southern Baptists Are Not The Enemy