Thread by @etoddfisher

What are pastors of smaller SBC churches (which are majority of SBC) saying about issues we’re facing in New Orleans? I had no less than 75 of these @OKBaptists pastors contact me in last 2 wks asking questions/sharing thoughts on annual mtg. I heard 6 common themes:🧵#SBC23

1. They’re not in doubt about, nor have they wavered in commitment to, the inerrancy/authority of Scripture & convictional/confessional beliefs to which Baptists have long held. They are, however, confused why some w/in the SBC want to move it beyond confessional boundaries.

2. They view the Bible as clearly teaching complementarianism & are firmly committed to it. At the same time, they value & want to encourage/equip, not alienate, women who are gifted/called to serve indispensable roles of ministry in the church w/in the guidelines of Scripture.

3. Along w/ confessional standards, these pastors cite the Cooperative Program as a major reason they’re SBC. They believe in the CP as a means to advance the gospel beyond what their church can do alone.

They want assoc/state/nat’l conv. & entities to appreciate the sacrifice it is for their church to give to the CP & be able to trust them to be transparent & faithful stewards of CP funds churches are giving.

4. They take the issue of abuse w/in the church very seriously. They want to do their best in preventing abuse, reporting/stopping abusers, & effectively/lovingly ministering to abuse survivors. Most have sought help from external resources & implement good policies.

5. They want the SBC to uphold confessional standards and they want to rightly respond to the issue of abuse while at same time honoring church autonomy & recognizing/maintaining the SBC as a “bottom-up” org. where authority rests with the local church, not state/nat’l conv.

6. These pastors repeatedly talked about evangelism. They’re concerned about downward trends in SBC. They’re concerned w/ embarrassing behavior/tactics of some in SBC on social media. They long for evang./missions to be pervading focus of SBC mtgs & efforts.

I think it wise to consider the perspectives of these grass roots pastors on issues we face b/c SBC is a grass roots org. These pastors are godly, wise, temperate, experienced men who are the backbone of the SBC. Praying we prayerfully take their words to heart in New Orleans.