Randy Davis
Morris H. Chapman’s faith received sight when he recently arrived in the eternal presence of the Lord he loved and served — a legacy that still echoes in our convention halls.
I recently attended his funeral at Triune Baptist Church here in Middle Tennessee. Chapman was a longtime pastor and served as president/CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee for 18 years.
He was considered a man of “vision, diplomacy, commitment to evangelism and world missions as well as his stalwart support of the Cooperative Program,” as was stated in a Baptist Press article announcing his death.
But there was another statement in that article that rings as profoundly true today as when he spoke it at the 1992 SBC annual meeting. In his address titled “It’s Time to Move,” Chapman told Southern Baptists, “In moving to the high ground we move beyond moral infidelity, beyond the merely political, beyond doctrinal ambiguity, beyond division within our ranks, all for the sake of the one who called us unto himself and set us to his work.”
It’s been 33 years since that statement, and the sad truth is there are some timid saints who would rather live in the safe and mundane space of the status quo rather than move to higher ground. They’ve wrongly adopted the motto, “I shall not be moved.”
But we must be moved.
Consider: Every great advance of God’s Kingdom came when men and women rose from the status quo with holy dissatisfaction and walked in absolute surrender to the lordship of Christ. Their declaration translated into lives poured out for the great cause of advancing the Great Commission.
People like Adoniram and Anne Judson, David Livingstone, Hudson Taylor, William Carey, Lottie Moon, Annie Armstrong, Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, and Knoxville’s own Bill Wallace, and contemporary figures like the International Mission Board’s Nik Ripken offer more modern examples of Hebrews’ Hall of Faith. Can you imagine any of these settling for the spiritual stagnation of the status quo?
While we laud these faithful saints as exceptional, they began their journeys as faithful followers of Christ. Each of us has the capacity to respond in kind. Yet the call is personal: Each one of us must decide it’s time to move.
Here are three simple characteristics of those who move from status quo to “let’s go.”
Biblical fidelity. Truth without compromise doesn’t change and is beyond negotiation. Truth is found exclusively in Christ and through His Word. The fluctuating tides of public opinion or shifting currents of cultural relativity cannot stand against it.
We must constantly be on guard against the snake of liberalism and the viper of legalism — both poised to strike at our doctrinal core. We can confidently contend for the faith when we connect with conviction to the truth.
Missional priority. Jeff Iorg, president/CEO of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, frequently says, “The mission matters most.”
His statement complements Chapman’s and challenges us with this question: Are we, as Southern and Tennessee Baptists, more focused on seeing the gospel transform people locally and globally, or are we distracted by the secondary issues of maintaining antiquated denominational machinery and ineffective methodology amid declining baptisms and shifting cultural winds?
We must define our priorities and take action to pursue them, or complacency’s tail will wag the SBC’s dog.
Purposeful unity. We have so much going for us: cooperative giving to fund local to global missions; theological unity through our confession of faith; networks of churches that offer strength through gospel collaboration. We have every reason to move forward, but we must choose to “go with the goers” — joining forces with the willing.
We expend far too much energy and precious little time attempting to move those who do not wish to be moved.
There are people in our churches who sense the urgency of our day, want to go all in for Christ, want to give their lives to an eternal cause far greater than themselves, and who are desperately looking for others with whom they can join on that journey. They are the “goers.” Are you a goer?
The reality is time is short, and the need for gospel impact is evident. The path forward is clear. It’s time to move. So let’s go!
It is a joy to be on this journey with you. B&R
