Yesterday, I took the time to listen to a live video stream of Dr. R. Albert Mohler speaking on the future of the Southern Baptist Convention. Today, that speech is available to watch online. You can find the address at http://www.conventionalthinking.org/Toward the end of the address, Dr. Mohler asked a list of questions that Southern Baptists must answer as we look to the future. I find them valuable for discussion on both the national level, but also for state conventions, associations, and even the local church. I offer them here (slightly reworded for this post) for you to consider. If you can take the time, I recommend listening to the entire address.
Here are questions SOuthern Baptists must ask as we move forward and must be answered if we hope to continue to be a people who make an impact for His kingdom:
- Will we be missiological or bureaucratic?
- Is our identity theological or tribal?
- Is the basis of our work together convictional or confused?
- Is our logic going to be more sectarian or more secular?
- Will we become younger or dead?
- Will we be more diverse or more diminished?
- Will we be more missional or more methodological?
- Will we be more strategic or more anemic?
- Will we be more bold or more boring?
- Will we be happy or bitter?
- Are we willing to risk keeping the structural and institutional issues open as we stand on our convictional and theological foundation?
I, for one, am glad that Dr. Mohler is a part of the GCR Task force. I hope that Southern Baptists will consider these issues and that local churches, associations, conventions, and the denomination as a whole will choose to make whatever changes are necessary to engage the present world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Blessings,
Todd
