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Allen S. Nelson IV Profile picture
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Apr 26 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
As a pastor of a normative size SBC congregation, I can assure you that what those in the pew want more than anything else when it comes to the SBC is trust. They want to be able to trust that the money they give is being stewarded well according to conservative theology.
They want to trust Lifeway and NAMB and the IMB and our 6 seminaries. They want to be able to trust that the churches we plant and the missionaries we send and the partnerships we have and the curriculum we us is all actually conservative in theology AND practice.
They want to trust that the ERLC isn’t supporting those who are pro abortion or helping Christians vote for those who are pro abortion in anyway.

But in all of these things and more there is such a culture of mistrust.
The people in the pews didn’t create a culture of mistrust. And no, miscreants on Twitter didn’t do this either.

It has been our entities & leaders that have created this mess. Either positively by saying things like God whispers about sexual sin or plagiarizing sermons.
Or positively in the way they act on stage. Dodging questions. Pretending asking questions is wrong. Acting smug and wagging the finger at the peasants on the floor.
Or negatively by NOT standing up when they should have. Not helping overthrow Res 9. Not calling out the ungodliness of ERLC tactics last year. Not calling out Beth Moore as she abandoned complementarianism.
As the average person in the SBC Pew is made more and more aware of these things they stare almost like a deer in the headlights. They are in disbelief. They trusted our leadership was leading conservatively. They were told to trust the system and they did.
But what remains appalling is as awareness is brought to these issues and as new issues are revealed #thePlatform wants to label those raising the issues as the problem! And they don’t want to be accountable. And they don’t want to take these issues seriously.
What is the reason? The only thing I can figure is money. The SBC is such a big machine that to radically change now means seminaries would shrink, churches would leave, jobs would be lost.

But we have no other choice. We must #ChangetheDirection or we die.

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More from @cuatronelson

Allen S. Nelson IV Profile picture
Apr 25
FWIW I texted Josh King *before* @bartbarber announced his nomination for presidency. And this event was already set. And Josh did not know Bart was going to be nominated. When Josh found out Bart was being nominated he text me in order to be transparent about it.

So…
Last year the Ed Litton event was completely set up for a campaign event. I think this event was not so much set up as one but does now happen to be one. And it is troubling because I just don’t feel like our seminaries would do the same for a Tom Ascol event.
Now if our seminaries wanted to sponsor a couple of these events so be it. That’s a different discussion.

But to have 2 years in a row where the Platform candidate is going to a free lunch for pastors paid by SBC seminaries but the other candidates are not, that’s a problem.
Read 4 tweets
Allen S. Nelson IV Profile picture
Jan 6
A🧵 for clarity:

When I say “liberal drift” I mean setting a course in a direction (intentional or not) that ends up denying the authority & inerrancy of the Scriptures altogether. Anytime we abandon the sufficiency of the scriptures we move that way, intentional or not.
So, one says “well its okay to be on different sides about whether or not SSA is a sin.”

But if one denies the sinfulness of SSA, they are denying the Scriptures sufficiency to speak to the issue. And they are (intentional or not) moving in the direction of outright liberalism.
One says “well plagiarism is wrong but it’s not liberalism.”

But when one denies the sacred duty of proclaiming the truth of God in shepherding his people he is denying the scriptures sufficiency (& also denying it in its qualifications for pastoral ministry)
Read 5 tweets
Allen S. Nelson IV Profile picture
Jan 4
Last night our little Ella came up to me and said she has been converted to Christ after reading a short fictional book on John Bunyan's blind daughter, Mary.
Ella can answer all the typical salvation questions correctly (which any child in a Christian home ought to be able to do). We do hold out great hope that she has been born again! At the same time, since she is still so young (10), it is prudent for us
to continue to counsel her, observe her, and point her to Christ before we baptize her. There needs to be balance here of course, but I believe conservative evangelicalism has been greatly harmed by hasty baptisms of young children
Read 4 tweets
Allen S. Nelson IV Profile picture
Dec 14, 2021
Was the coming of Jesus into the world good? Absolutely.

Yet, there also was tremendous tragedy accompanying his arrival. Herod murdered children under 2 in Bethlehem trying to kill Jesus (Matt. 2:16).

Commentator Daniel Doriani notes,
“Bethlehem and its environs had a modest population, so that perhaps no more than twenty boys were slain. Still, it was a great tragedy for those families and that town.”

In one sense it’s *because* Jesus entered the world that led to the murder of these children.
*Because* Jesus came, Herod ordered this horrendous deed that affected many families. Herod is to blame of course. But it doesn’t take away this point:

Experientially, I’ve seen people come to Christ and the physical aspects of their lives doesn’t get better at all.
Read 7 tweets
Allen S. Nelson IV Profile picture
Nov 30, 2021
I appreciate Dr. Merritt stepping down from SEBTS. He should. I also appreciate Dr. Akin honoring that request to resign. A gracious departure is okay.

But, a big BUT, what’s not okay is the silence over *the* issue at hand.

Reminds me of:
When @BethMooreLPM left SBC. She *should have* left SBC as she wasn’t southern baptist for a long time. And we didn’t need blog posts lamenting her departure. She left because she wasn’t southern Baptist. And it’s sad that wasn’t addressed by many in leadership positions.

BUT:
Dr. Merritt’s situation is different. He has declined an SBC seminary professorship *b/c* he has endorsed the preaching of an openly gay man and a sermon that was gospel-less calling it faithful.

(This is all the more sad since the gay man is his son.)
Read 9 tweets
Allen S. Nelson IV Profile picture
Nov 27, 2021
Like 10’s of thousands of the rural southern Baptist pastors, I missed a couple days in the study this week because of Thanksgiving. On top of that, I’m sure like thousands of others, I had pastoral visits, hospital visits, and a Saturday funeral to preach.

Why mention this?
I mention this not to brag nor to complain but to simply say, no matter what the week may bring, we dare not “subcontract” our great privilege and duty of preaching God’s Word to our people on this coming Lord’s Day. No sermon team. No copying others’ work.

Instead,
Studying to show ourselves approved. Breaking open the Word of God with the fruits of our own study, own illustrations, and preaching to our own people, Thus saith the Lord.

Preaching God’s Word week in and week out is a sacred duty. May we dare not neglect it or minimize it!
Read 4 tweets

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