A Plea to Our Predecessors

Last night my heart was grieved yet again as I read (yet again) another essay from an older SBC statesman lamenting that things "ain't what they used to be." With more straw men and mischaracterizations and a healthy dose of fear mongering, I was grieved not because of how the Convention is portrayed or how its trajectory is mislabeled.

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I was grieved because again I found myself saying "Is this really how you want to go out?" Several years ago during our national meeting, one of the architects of what can only be described as the miraculous Conservative Resurgence took his final address and stomped his feet about the changes he didn't like being proposed. Earlier this year we watched a tragedy unfold as a denominational hero dug in his feet and stomped and kicked. AFA published a hit piece on the newly elected SBC president and stirred up a storm predicting that it won't be long before the SBC descends into cultural liberalism. SBC entities are put under fire and accused of being accomplices with Soros and his global takeover.

As a Millennial pastor, can I make a plea to our predecessors? Don't go out like this. Don't sacrifice an entire lifetime of faithful service and personal cost. Don't give up an entire generation of labor and honor, taking the high road and preserving biblical fidelity. Please.

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You are honored - I say this with all sincerity, few of us would be where we are if not for the work of those who came before us. I would not have been invited to church where I met Jesus for the first time with a friend if that church hadn't been faithful to the Bible. I'd not have had a pastor who taught and preached if he'd not been trained and equipped by faithful seminaries. Those faithful seminaries wouldn't exist.if not for the work of diligent trustees appointed by godly men who loved the Bible and labored to ensure that our denomination would return to its orthodox roots. We don't look away from our predecessors. We are amazed when we see footage of Dr. Mohler fielding questions from seminary students intentionally standing against Scripture and the school's theological statements. We truly do honor what you accomplished.

We are not liberal - One of the accusations lobbed at the shift in SBC involvement and leadership is that it's "liberal," whether it's cultural or theological. Predecessors, we are not. We are committed to historic orthodoxy, the orthodoxy you taught us. We are committed to biblical inerrancy, the same inerrancy you worked to reclaim. We are committed to the exclusive salvation through Christ, the same you preached to us that we heard and responded to. We have been taught and trained under an entire generation of professors and pastors who affirm without reservation key fundamental documents and theological positions. What you labored for theologically is safe.

We are not social gospel - Unfortunately the GA Baptist article pushed a view that the SBC and its younger leadership is moving towards a social gospel. But we cannot divorce the evangelistic commands of Mark 16:15 to "preach the gospel to every creature" from the call of Micah to "do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God." We cannot separate John 3:16 from James 1:27. We cannot put into conflict Romans 10:13 and Matthew 25:40. The same Bible that tells us that we are to go to the ends of the earth on mission is the same Bible that tells us to defend the cause of the weak and fatherless. It's a legacy we inherited from you to do disaster relief, provide food pantries, collect for benevolence, to volunteer in schools, to do clothing drives, and to host Cub Scout packs. 

We are not feminist - One of the central moves of the Conservative Resurgence was to return to a biblical model of pastoral ministry laid out in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 - that the office of pastor is reserved for qualified men. The backlash to the effort among many in the SBC to try to find ways to engage women in leadership has prompted many to question if women should be pastors. None of us are saying that. None of us, not even the women who are providing a voice for inclusion, are saying this. We are applying the same hermeneutics you taught us, to let Scripture speak. And it does. Women have a function and role in the church: Phoebe, Priscilla, Junia, and others did more than operate fellowships and walk around barefoot & pregnant. So when we recognize the giftedness and calling of women in the church, we recognize both what God has gifted them with and also the boundaries placed on the pastoral office.

You will not be cast aside - My fear is that many who hang on too tight or who go out kicking and screaming do so because they think they will be cast aside. Please don't feel this way. We want you, not just for your wisdom but for your friendship and impact on our lives. We want to learn how to be better pastors, better preachers, better counselors. And we need you more than you know. We learn a lot in seminary about exegesis, but it takes a seasoned mentor to show us how to hold a widow's hand as her husband of 60 years dies in front of us. It takes a seasoned mentor to help us navigate change in established churches. We need you. You will always have a place, you always have a seat at the table.

We love you. We're grateful for you. We cannot say enough how much we appreciate the hard work and sacrifice you made. We will take care of what you built. It won't look exactly like you built it, because each generation leaves its imprint on its legacy to pass down. But it will be cared for well, because we, like you, will stand before King Jesus and give an account for how we cared for His Bride.

So please, my dear brothers and sisters, don't go out like that.

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