Monthly archive - July 2012

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Discount Motilium, I was a messenger to the Southern Baptist Convention from 2006 until 2011. I took a more active part in some than in others, but I was always encouraged by the fact that the churches, through their messengers, set the tone for and control the direction of our great cooperative enterprise, Motilium uk. Though I was without ballots in New Orleans in 2012, and though I missed them greatly, I was more encouraged following this convention than I have been following any other. Motilium australia, The spirit of cooperation I sensed, even from those with whom I have been opposed on various issues in the past, contributed greatly to that encouragement. Equally encouraging was the sense that, in the business sessions, 20mg Motilium, the messengers were heard and their will was carried out. I am more grateful than ever to be a Southern Baptist following this most recent meeting, Discount Motilium.

In this post, I will share my reflections on the various sessions of the convention, 10mg Motilium, explaining my reaction to the various items presented and my hope for the future based on the actions of the convention in session. I will divide these reactions based on the various types of business conducted, reacting in order to the motions presented and their disposal by the convention, the election of our officers, the reports of the convention entities, 50mg Motilium, and the report of the Committee on Resolutions. I will close with general observations gleaned from my observations of the mood in the convention hall, as well as various conversations over meals, 200mg Motilium, in the exhibit hall, and elsewhere.

Motions

I was encouraged first of all by the motions that were presented. Discount Motilium, Observers of the SBC annual meeting have characterized time for presentation of motions as being like the time at a family reunion when the crazy uncle shows up. With rare exception, this year, 250mg Motilium, the crazy uncle stayed home. There were no motions regarding an “American Christian Flag,” there was no protest of LifeWay for selling “allegory, Motilium us, ” and controversial non-SBC pastors were altogether absent from these sessions. It was refreshing in that, at least.

There were a couple of items of concern, and these bear mentioning, Motilium canada. First, there was the motion offered by a messenger from Oklahoma regarding the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (ERLC), Discount Motilium. It was an attempt to go around the resolution process and force the convention to speak to the recent controversy surrounding said president. I was grateful that the chair ruled this motion out of order, and that the convention had the wisdom to sustain his ruling. Motilium mexico, As a committed Congregationalist, I am happy that the convention saw the wisdom of that ruling. I’ll have more to say about this messenger and his motion under the heading of “Entity Reports.”

The other item of concern came from a messenger from Illinois who dominated the microphone with a plethora of motions. Discount Motilium, I call this an item of concern based on the reaction I perceived in the hall, and not because it concerned me especially, except that it was a demonstration of poor convention strategy. This messenger had legitimate concerns, and for the most part he expressed them properly, 500mg Motilium, but his concerns, and any agreement the convention might have found with them, collapsed under the sheer volume of what he brought to the convention. 150mg Motilium, While any messenger has the right to bring as many motions as time allows, a prudent messenger must recognize that a perception of trying to dominate the floor will doom his chances of being taken seriously. I believe his ubiquity doomed his legitimate challenge to the proposal for the adoption of a descriptor, brought later as a recommendation from the Executive Committee.

Elections

The election of officers can be, Motilium ebay, depending on the circumstances, either a gripping drama played out on the convention floor, or a good time to visit the exhibit hall. This year, the election of our president was the former, though no other candidate was presented, Discount Motilium. Motilium japan, I was grateful to be in the hall when President Bryant Wright invited messengers to stand in affirmation as Recording Secretary Jim Yeats cast the convention’s ballot electing Fred Luter as the next president of the SBC. It was an historic moment, and a great step forward for our convention in repudiating a past steeped in racism. I was moved to tears, and even though I was without ballots, 1000mg Motilium, I proudly stood alongside the messengers in celebration of Luter’s election.

Sadly, the elections further down the ballot proved to be much of the latter, 40mg Motilium, and though there was no contest for the position of first vice president, the second vice presidential election’s first ballot elected in a runoff, with Dave Miller, a pastor and blogger from Iowa being elected on the second ballot. Discount Motilium, Dave is a friend and a good man, but I’m of the opinion that if blogging is your claim to notoriety, you have no business being elected to a convention-wide office. I shared this sentiment with Dave after the election, Motilium india, and he laughed, and then he gently slapped me.

Entity Reports

The entity reports were encouraging as usual. Motilium coupon, As I stated above, I am a committed congregationalist, and as such, I was grateful for the change in our bylaws after the 2006 annual meeting which required that entities reserve not simply one third of the time allotted for their reports, but specifically that they reserve the last one third of that time, 100mg Motilium, for discussion from the floor. There is no way in which the entities of the SBC are more accountable to the messengers of the convention than during that time, and prior to 2007, Motilium usa, it was the custom of those delivering reports on behalf of the entities to begin by asking if there was any discussion, then proceeding to give their reports. I don’t fault those reporters for using that tactic, as it tended to minimize or even eliminate questions from the floor, but I’m glad the bylaw has been changed, Discount Motilium.

It is always good to hear reports that are focused on the spread of the gospel, and in New Orleans, messengers were not disappointed, Motilium paypal. The Great Commission was mentioned in each and every report, and stories of faithful Baptists carrying out this charge were prominent, as well they should be, 30mg Motilium, in the reports from our two mission boards.

The seminary reports were similarly encouraging, as messengers were told about legions of young men and women being trained for kingdom work in our churches and around the world.

I was grateful that the time for questions was utilized well during the LifeWay report. Discount Motilium, In years past, it has been “crazy uncle” time, but this year, a questioner with some sanity rose to the microphone and gave Dr. Rainer an opportunity to explain their process for determining what they will sell in their stores, Motilium overseas. The thrust of his response was that we should trust those we have elected to oversee LifeWay, and I couldn’t agree more.

My moment of discouragement during the reports came during the report delivered by the president of the ERLC. Motilium craiglist, The discouragement has not to do with the content of the report, but with the time at the end rightly allotted for questions. I mentioned in the section on moti

ons that a motion was offered by a messenger from Oklahoma attempting to get the convention on record opposing the recent actions of the ERLC president, actions for which he has apologized repeatedly and publicly, Discount Motilium. I was discouraged that this messenger did not display the courage to take advantage of the opportunity to question the president directly and openly on the floor of the convention. That the messenger continues to blog disparagingly about the ERLC president only heightens my disappointment that no questions were addressed to the president when he stood before the convention to receive them.

Resolutions

I was greatly encouraged by the spirit that attended the report of the committee on resolutions, 750mg Motilium, and the adoption of their recommendations with only friendly amendments here and there. Much of the conversation heading into that Wednesday session was focused upon two proposed resolutions. Discount Motilium, The first was on the “Sinner’s Prayer,” which emerged from the committee in edited form as “An Affirmation of the ‘Sinner’s Prayer’ as a Biblical Expression of Repentance and Faith.” The second was reported by the committee titled “On Cooperation and the Doctrine of Salvation.”

The “Sinner’s Prayer” resolution was thrust into the spotlight due to proclamations made by two leading pastors on different sides of the “Calvinist/traditionalist” divide, and the committee did a commendable job of reworking the originally submitted and widely publicized submission into a resolution both sides could wholeheartedly support. Though there was an attempt by the anti-Calvinist faction to add an amendment that would have been fatal, the attempt failed, and the convention overwhelmingly adopted the resolution.

The resolution on cooperation passed as well, giving me and many others great hope that the convention will not divide over soteriological questions. Those who seek division solely on this basis among brothers and sisters in Christ who joyfully affirm the Baptist Faith and Message are being increasingly marginalized in conversations throughout the convention, as well they should.

Conclusion

As I’ve repeatedly said in this reflection, this convention left me greatly encouraged. Though I dearly missed the ability I have had in years past to participate directly, I was gratified by the mood I sensed in the convention hall that the desire to cooperate for gospel advance is greater that any desire to divide over issues that, while significant, pale in comparison to the agreement we find in our common confession. In convention hall encounters, meals shared with friends old and new, and chance hallway meetings, this sense of cooperation permeated, with rare exception, every conversation I had in New Orleans. The future is bright, and I look forward to being a part of it.

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Buy Motilium No Prescription, It has often been said that, thanks to the battles of the last generation in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) to return the convention to a commitment to biblical inerrancy, we can be grateful that theological discussions in the SBC can be conducted on that basis. We do not spend our time debating and arguing the veracity of the creation narrative or whether the teachings of Paul on gender roles and homosexuality are culturally conditioned. We have been set free to have robust theological debate on the basis of a firm reliance on scripture, and our disagreements are family ones among brothers and sisters in Christ. David Dockery has contributed greatly to the family discussion in this presentation of essays, 100mg Motilium, compiled from two conferences held at Union University, where he presides. The topics addressed are the ones we ought to be discussing, 50mg Motilium, not allowing less important issues to sidetrack us. I was privileged to attend the second of these conferences, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to review this important book, Buy Motilium No Prescription.

In the preface, Dr. Dockery discusses our heritage, and the challenges it poses for the future, 10mg Motilium. He also points out how postmodern thinking and the loss of our programmatic identity as Southern Baptists pose risks to our future cooperation. It is precisely this loss of a programmatic identity that points to the need for a renewed consensus on which to base our future cooperation. Buy Motilium No Prescription, His itemized steps focus primarily on the authority of scripture, but they begin by pointing out the importance of our heritage as Baptists. This neatly provides the rationale for the content that follows. 20mg Motilium, Dr. Dockery has organized that content into two parts. The first part, “Theological and Historical Perspectives,” is composed of chapters written, Motilium coupon, as the heading suggests, by theologians and historians. An essay by R, Buy Motilium No Prescription. Albert Mohler, 1000mg Motilium, Jr. asks if we as Southern Baptists have a future together. He concludes that we do, and in this chapter introduces the concept of “theological triage” (p. 31) as a way of categorizing our disagreements by their ultimate importance as we continue debate, 500mg Motilium. Buy Motilium No Prescription, Though itself often the subject of debate, this concept of triage is an important contribution to our ongoing discussion in the SBC.

The outstanding Baptist theologian R. Stanton Norman seeks to answer the question, “What makes a Baptist a Baptist?” He does so with thoroughness, Motilium uk, helpfully identifying the “constituent elements of Baptist distinctives,” (p. 44) and ecclesiological distinctives rise to the top as primary. Gregory Wills contributes an essay offering a historical perspective. He begins with the recent controversy surrounding inerrancy, but then goes on to trace the history of Baptists, and again, ecclesiology surfaces as a prominent distinction, Buy Motilium No Prescription.

Timothy George follows with a chapter asking, 40mg Motilium, “Is Jesus a Baptist?” The Beeson Divinity School Dean offers three strategies by which our cooperative work can continue. Russell Moore’s chapter, “Learning from Nineteenth-Century Baptists, Motilium canada, ” is an application of the life and work of T.T. Eaton (1845-1907) to our current situation, offering many helpful insights. Paige Patterson contributes an essay discussing what we can learn from the Anabaptists. Buy Motilium No Prescription, James Leo Garrett, Jr. closes Part 1 with a discussion of the beginnings of Baptist belief, Motilium overseas, beginning with the church fathers and the early creeds and continuing through the Reformation to the English Puritans.

Part Two, “Ministry and Convention Perspectives, 250mg Motilium, ” is a wide-ranging discussion of the state of our cooperative union, from the perspective of those serving in all areas of denominational life. These perspectives originate from the Executive Committee to our publishing house to the seminaries, and all the way up to the local church, the top of the ladder in SBC life, 750mg Motilium. Jim Shaddix offers a pastor’s perspective on the future of the traditional church. Michael Day gives a somewhat radical picture of the future of associations and state conventions, suggesting that theological and mission-focused affinity will soon trump geographic proximity in these organizations, Buy Motilium No Prescription.

Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer address the way in which we see our mission, given by our Savior, 30mg Motilium, to take the gospel to every nation. Richard Land discusses the nature of religious liberty, a hallmark of Baptist identity since the Anabaptists, and Nathan Finn outlines those things that should mark our cooperation into the future, primarily a recovery of our identity as Baptists, Motilium ebay. Part Two begins with an essay by Morris Chapman, past president of the Executive Committee, discussing the nuts-and-bolts of our cooperative, 150mg Motilium, yet independent, work together as Southern Baptists.

The content of these essays, though varied in background and intent, hold together well on the basis of the overall purpose of the book, Motilium india, which is to call us back to a family discussion about who we are as Southern Baptists. Buy Motilium No Prescription, Though at times they can seem to veer off topic, as a whole the book accomplishes the purpose set out in the introduction, namely to call us back to a discussion of what it is that sets us apart from our brothers and sisters in Christ who hold to other traditions.

The distinctives that emerge consistently from the essays in this volume are baptism by immersion, a regenerate church membership, Motilium japan, and a commitment to the idea of a free church in a free state, with no power vested in either to interfere with the other. These are the ideas that make us Baptists, and this volume is supremely helpful in focusing us on these discussions, to the exclusion of those things that would distract us, Motilium craiglist.

Throughout the excellent essays contained in this collection, one theme continually resurfaces as the definitive distinctive of Southern Baptists: ecclesiology. More than anything else, Motilium usa, the way that we approach the function and work of the church sets us apart from the rest of the evangelical world. It is here that our discussions as Southern Baptists ought to be focused, because it is here that our true unity lies, Buy Motilium No Prescription. When we seek uniformity on issues not foundational to our identity as Baptists, the result will be bickering, infighting, fracture, Motilium us, and perhaps ultimately the dissolution of our great cooperative union.

As illustration, one need look no further than the cautions put forth by Dr. 200mg Motilium, George in chapter four. In the first strategy he identifies, “Retrieval for the Sake of Renewal,” he argues that we must not ignore our history in seeking to be New Testament Christians, but that all of our history ought to be understood and embraced only as it lines up with the clear teaching of scripture, Motilium mexico. Buy Motilium No Prescription, To that end, he addresses the question, “Are Baptist Calvinists?” His approach to that issue can teach us a great deal as we look at the discussions currently ongoing within our convention of churches.

His answer to the question speaks directly to us in these discussions, and his answer ought to be the end of them, at least as they are now dividing Baptist from Baptist within our confessional denomination. Motilium paypal, He says, simply, “some are and some are not, and it has been thus among Baptists for nearly 400 years.” (p. 95) This ought to be understood by every Calvinist in the SBC who believes and writes that to be less than fully Calvinistic is to flirt with the heresy of Pelagius, Motilium australia. By the same token, it ought to be taken to heart by every “traditionalist” who believes in his heart that the convention, in order to survive, must be purged of all those who hold to all five of the Dordtian responses to the students of Arminius.

In an article first written at my request for another blog, and recently republished in Baptist Press, Paige Patterson addressed the relationship between Calvinists and non-Calvinists in the Southern Baptist Convention by pointing to the split that occurred between the General and Particular Baptists in eighteenth century England, and the disastrous results for both camps, Buy Motilium No Prescription. The General Baptists lost their doctrinal emphasis and headed into universalism, while the Particular Baptists became anti-missionary hyper-Calvinists. The emphasis of each group balanced the other, and without each other, both became irrelevant in fairly short order.

This is a clear warning for the Southern Baptist Convention. Both Calvinists and “traditionalists” need to appreciate the contribution of the other without insisting on uniformity. Buy Motilium No Prescription, We are a confessional people, and the confession adopted by our convention is big enough to contain both groups.

What is needed in the SBC today is a vigorous discussion of the topics addressed in this excellent book. Issues of ecclesiology are being minimalized in churches large and small across our convention, and this is where the energy we have for debate must be expended. Our very existence as Baptists is at stake, yet we are being distracted by debates that matter less. In the process, we are in danger of losing the distinctives that make us Baptist.

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