SBC Archives - Baptist & Reflector

WHERE ARE TODAY’S STATESMEN?

November 26, 2021

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

During Summit, Chris Turner, the TBMB’s director of communications, and I were having a conversation with TBC president Bruce Chesser and vice president Chuck Groover. The issue of statesmen and statesmanship in the Southern Baptist Convention came up. The general consensus was we have few if any. What a shame.

When I think of Baptist statesmen in my era, the names Hershel Hobbs, James Sullivan, Adrian Rogers, Jimmy Draper, Arthur L. Walker and Keith Parks immediately come to mind, just to name a few.

Though used primarily to describe political leaders, the word basically means “wise, skilled and respected leader” and that can apply to the religious world as well.

As we talked about the SBC, no names immediately came to the forefront, at least for me. In Tennessee, however, it is a different story. We do have statesmen and I consider both Chesser and Groover to be in that category. Both have been strong, effective leaders in the TBC for many years. Chesser was incredible as he navigated the annual meeting with humor and wisdom. There was a great spirit of unity, even with some potentially divisive topics. I believe that was achieved primarily because of the leadership he provided. [Read more…]

DAVIS ADDRESSES ISSUES FACING SBC

November 11, 2021

By David Dawson
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

Randy C. Davis

FRANKLIN — Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission, said he needed a “mulligan.”

During last week’s “Ask Randy” webinar, hosted by the TBMB, Davis was asked the question: “What is going on with the Southern Baptist Convention?” Davis answered the inquiry, but later said he felt his response was inadequate.

On Thursday, Davis issued a “follow-up” response, in which he addressed the question again.

“If you remember — and I remember it — last (week) when I attempted to answer that question, I really pivoted very quickly to everything going on in the Southern Baptist Convention that is good. And I did not spend enough time going into the things that are troubling us the most about our larger family, the Southern Baptist Convention. So, I want to come back and just address that and that alone today,” he said in the new video.

Davis said one of the reasons for the current conflicts in the SBC revolves around the personalities who were recently in SBC leadership positions, specifically Russell Moore, former president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission; Mike Stone, former chairman of the Executive Committee; and Ronnie Floyd, former president and CEO of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention. All three men have recently left their respective positions. [Read more…]

THE SBC’S NEHEMIAH MOMENT

October 28, 2021

By Randy C. Davis
President & executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board

The Southern Baptist Convention is facing a Nehemiah moment.

Put your sandals on and let’s take a walk through the rubble known as Jerusalem. Nehemiah wasn’t a preacher, or evangelist or any other type of vocational minister. He was a godly layman who heard the distant city was in ruins and the effort to rebuild the walls and reestablish the Jewish center of life was stalled. There appeared to be no hope that the nation of Israel would return to prominence and be the testimony to God’s greatness that the Lord had called it to be.

Nehemiah was broken hearted. He was crushed, and he wore his devastated spirit on his sleeve. The Babylonian king noticed and through Nehemiah’s humility, repentance, boldness, faith and determination, God used him to restore the nation. [Read more…]

FLOYD RESIGNS AS LEADER OF SBC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

October 15, 2021

By Brandon Porter
Baptist Press

Ronnie Floyd. — File photo, BP

NASHVILLE — Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, announced his resignation Thursday night in a letter to Southern Baptists released by email. (See full letter below this article)

Floyd pointed to the actions taken by trustees in a special called meeting on Oct. 5 as the basis for his decision.

“The decisions made on Tuesday afternoon, October 5, in response to the 2021 Convention now place our missionary enterprise as Southern Baptists into uncertain, unknown, unprecedented and uncharted waters,” Floyd said in the letter.

Citing his fiduciary responsibilities as president and CEO, Floyd said, “Due to my personal integrity and the leadership responsibility entrusted to me, I will not and cannot any longer fulfill the duties placed upon me as the leader of the executive, fiscal, and fiduciary entity of the SBC. [Read more…]

WHAT’S THE SBC’S FUTURE? IT’S UP TO US

October 14, 2021

By Randy C. Davis
President and executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board

What will become of the Southern Baptist Convention?

That question hangs above our denomination like an ominous cloud. The question is especially germane given the unprecedented decision by SBC Executive Committee Board members to waive attorney-client privilege in the third-party investigation of how the EC handled sexual abuse claims.

The discussion has become strained at times. People have gotten aggressively hostile on social media to the point nothing in their comments resembles the Christian love we are commanded to extend to one another. Attitudes toward board members have become like chum in the Amazon River, feeding a frenzy of piranha. These EC board members are people; brothers and sisters in Christ who stepped out from our churches to serve. They are not the enemy.

WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION?

October 6, 2021

By Randy C. Davis
President & Executive Director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board

What will become of the Southern Baptist Convention?

The issue at hand, sexual abuse, is a serious matter that deserves rigorous consideration and a thoughtful response guided by the Holy Spirit whose counsel must be sought through rigorous prayer. And not just prayer by EC board members and members of the SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force. The work that lies before these men and women should be a prayer concern for every Southern Baptist. We should be praying for them much more than Tweeting at them. [Read more…]

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

July 26, 2021

By Danny Sinquefield
Pastor of Faith Baptist Church, Bartlett

There have been many conversations through the years regarding a name change for the Southern Baptist Convention. It is often a topic that has a lot of feelings associated with it for various reasons.

Some love the tradition and the identity it brings as the largest protestant denomination in the world. Others are quick to point out that the geographic regionalization of the name presents difficulties in areas outside of the Deep South. It is a discussion that has a lot of emotions attached on both sides of the debate.

At the risk of becoming vilified by some in our SBC family, I want to offer just a few positives that may come from such a change. I’m only one voice — a local church pastor who happens to love the SBC and also lives in the southern region of our nation So, this is not a revolt or a rebellion. It is simply just a few thoughts to consider.

What if we changed our name to reflect our passion? Most Southern Baptists would agree that we are passionate about winning people to Jesus, seeing them grow in discipleship and being involved in the mission of reaching the whole world with the gospel. [Read more…]

DAVIS: THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO SBC HIERARCHY

December 2, 2020

By Randy C. Davis
President and executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board

Let’s make one thing clear from the outset: There is absolutely no denominational hierarchy when it comes to the Southern Baptist Convention.

Seldom does my Clarity column address matters involving SBC or Tennessee Baptist Convention entities or institutions, and never in a negative manner. However, this column is birthed out of a significant burden I have regarding an issue too important to bypass. Bear with me; I’ll get to the issue in a moment.

First, some context. There are two important bedrock values Southern Baptists hold dearly and historically: Biblical confession and voluntary cooperation. These were shaped by a unity gathered around the basic tenets of faith as expressed in the Baptist Faith and Message. Together we embrace non-negotiable doctrines like the exclusivity and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; biblical inerrancy and sufficiency of the Bible; substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross for the atonement of our sins; and the literal, physical resurrection of Christ from the grave.

These are a few of the essentials. We provide a broad tent on non-essentials. [Read more…]

SBC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ADOPTS CP BUDGET CUT BY FIVE PERCENT DURING COVID

September 23, 2020

By Diana Chandler
Baptist Press

NASHVILLE — Decreased giving during the COVID-19 pandemic led the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee to adopt a Cooperative Program Allocation Budget Tuesday (Sept. 22) that is 5 percent less than the committee projected last February.

During a special called meeting, the Executive Committee adopted a $186,875,000 CP allocation budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, after originally proposing a budget of $197,700,000.

Approval of the CP allocation budget would have been considered by messengers at the 2020 SBC Annual Meeting, but its adoption became the EC’s responsibility when the annual meeting was canceled because of the pandemic. It was the first time in 75 years – since 1945, when the annual meeting was also canceled – the EC had the responsibility.

Amid the economic slowdown resulting from the pandemic, CP giving was down 2.92 percent in the third quarter of the current fiscal year, and 1.14 percent below budget as of August 31 for the entire year. [Read more…]

IN HISTORIC ELECTION, SBC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTS FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN CHAIR

June 16, 2020

By Diana Chandler
Baptist Press

Rolland Slade, pastor of Meridian Baptist Church in El Cajon, Calif., was unopposed as EC chair and was unanimously elected by ballot vote. Outgoing chair Mike Stone called for a ballot vote, he said, to mark the historic moment.

NASHVILLE — The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee elected its first African American chair in a special called meeting Tuesday.

“I think we all realize by what is going on in this country as well as in our convention, this timing is in many ways the providence of our Lord,” said Stone, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Blackshear, Ga.

Many, including Slade, attributed his election to God.

“I don’t think there was ever a plan for me to be in this position,” Slade told Baptist Press. “I think it’s what God has done. … I believe God loves diversity; He created us and we are all diverse. I think for us to not embrace it is saying that, ‘We’ve got a better idea than You (God).'” [Read more…]

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