Last June 13, the day Dr. Bart Barber was elected President of the Southern Baptist Convention for a second annual term, I invited him to come to Illinois. Throughout his first term I had respected his candor and transparency in speaking to the many complex issues and challenges facing the national SBC today, and I wanted to give Illinois Baptists an opportunity to meet Dr. Barber and interact with him personally.
I had also learned through mutual acquaintances that Dr. Barber is a big fan of both Abraham Lincoln history, and St. Louis Cardinals baseball. So I was optimistic he would say yes. We’ve now scheduled that “Meet the President” event for Tuesday, April 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. including lunch, at the IBSA Building. Please come!
The timing of this event is significant. Less than two months later, the national Southern Baptist Convention will be hosted in nearby Indianapolis, on June 11-12. Messengers from churches across our nation will hear reports and consider actions on a variety of vital issues, ranging from sex abuse prevention to women and pastoral ministry to the criteria for churches to remain cooperating with the Southern Baptist Convention. There will also be a report on the effects of the “Great Commission Resurgence” actions that have reshaped much of the cooperation between the North American Mission Board and Baptist state conventions over the past 15 years.
And who knows what else may come up in Indianapolis?
Last year was perhaps the most participative engagement by church messengers from the SBC convention floor that I have ever witnessed. The Baptist Faith and Message statement, unchanged since 2000, was amended and immediately voted on, without referral to a study committee. Saddleback Church, one of the SBC’s largest, was removed from SBC affiliation over the practice of women serving as pastors. Additional churches were removed due to their handling of sexual abuse matters. And next year, there will be the added drama of a new SBC President being elected to succeed Dr. Barber.
Why come to meet the SBC President?
That’s why I’m hoping as many Illinois Baptists as possible will come to the April 16 event, to hear from Dr. Barber’s heart and experience as SBC President, and to engage with him and with fellow Illinois Baptists on the significant issues Southern Baptists are facing today.
Too often even well-meaning Baptists can develop opinions based on hearsay, or social media posts, or even distorted or incomplete information. We can jump to conclusions or have our emotions stirred against others in ways that threaten our unity on the essential truths of the Bible and our cooperation in fulfilling the Great Commission.
Those two hallmarks of Baptist cooperation—a deep commitment to biblical doctrine and a passionate pursuit of worldwide missions—are what bind our diverse churches together across geography and across generations. No wonder these become the targets of the enemy’s attacks. If we divide into factions over what we believe or over how to do missions together, we will be tempted to drift apart rather than pull together. I pray this will not be where we find ourselves as we approach the 100th anniversary of the original Baptist Faith and Message as well as the Cooperative Program, both birthed in 1925.
I don’t want to exaggerate the importance of any single event or gathering, including the ones scheduled for April 16 or June 11-12. I simply want to communicate why I’ve invited our SBC President to come to Illinois this spring, and why it’s important that we all ask good questions and gain informed understandings about the matters that are before us today.
I hope you will come Meet the President in Springfield on April 16!
Learn more and register at IBSA.org.
Nate Adams is executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association. Respond at IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org.