Larry Robertson
By Larry Robertson
Sr. Pastor, Hilldale Baptist Church, Clarksville
Three frogs were sitting on a log. One decided to jump off, so how many are left? Three, because deciding to jump is not the same as actually jumping.
That old joke is a reminder to us that good intentions mean little until they become action. Incidentally, Evangelist Sam P. Jones (a southern contemporary to Dwight L. Moody) is credited with coining the phrase, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Tennessee Baptists transacted a number of important decisions regarding our mission and our future at last week’s Summit in Brentwood. The Five Objectives recommended by the Vision 2021 Transition team and approved by the assembly are hugely significant in establishing a clear and compelling vision for the next 10 years. Our goal is simple — to reduce the level of spiritual lostness in Tennessee.
We also elected the first African-American president of the convention! What a great statement of the ethnic diversity of Tennessee Baptists. Michael Ellis will lead us well this year.
Arguably the most significant decision made was a third affirmation in five years to move to a 50/50 split of Cooperative Program funds between our state and Southern Baptist causes. This decision, while debated passionately on both sides, was overwhelmingly supported by the body. The idea behind the move to 50/50, of course, is to push more money out of Tennessee to places with far less access to the gospel than our state.
Sure, people can go to hell from Tennessee just as they can from India. But considering India has 600,000 villages that have never heard the gospel and more Unengaged Unreached People Groups (UUPGs) than any nation on earth, that comparison is hardly fair.
Tennessee has one SBC church for every 2,039 people in our state. Rhode Island, on the other hand, has one SBC church for every 87,524 people in that state. In Ontario, Canada, the ratio is 1 to 233,414 people in that province!
We have 4,800 International Mission Board missionaries but can only afford 4,000 based on current income. IMB is selling off properties and dipping into reserves just to keep from bringing 800 missionaries home! And that doesn’t even take into account the many approved missionaries waiting to go to foreign fields when funds become available.
Those numbers are staggering to me. We must not waste this opportunity that we have to move forward with a courageous vision.
These decisions we’ve made, while bold and exciting, will do little to impact lostness in Tennessee or mobilize more missions dollars for work outside our state if we do not put hands, feet, heart, and faith to work!
I don’t have to tell you how important it is to pray, prioritize, participate, and partner in the mission that lies ahead.
The theme for this year’s Summit was “Whatever It Takes.” Let’s ask God to stretch our definition of “whatever.”
“A bunch of Baptists were sitting on some pews. Most decided to move boldly into the future…”
May time reveal more than good intentions.
