Passivity is not a description I am comfortable with. I do not believe it describes my ministry
style or leadership style.
Unfortunately, I have come to realize it could be a good description of
my involvement in the SBC.
I pastor Lee Park Church in Monroe, NC. God has greatly blessed the work at Lee
Park. For three and a half years I was a
part-time pastor, part-time seminary student and full-time TV News Anchor at
the NBC station in Charlotte. The church
grew from 50 to 550 in worship. Moving
out of TV and into full-time ministry was an obvious (and God ordained) next
step. In the last three and a half years
our church has merged with a Baptist church that was on the verge of closing,
merged with a Spanish speaking church that was meeting in a home, renovated a
gymnasium for a worship center and grown from 550 to 1,550. I have busied myself with new buildings, land
acquisitions, new staff members, counseling, hospital visits, weddings,
funerals and of course – sermon prep and being a husband and father of
four. I am living the life of a
pastor.
The annual SBC gathering has been a nice diversion for
me. I rarely make the local meetings and
have never participated in a state meeting.
At the national level, I enjoy the speakers and the process. I engage in voting, go to some of the side
meetings, but feel very comfortable sitting on the sidelines and watching
others lead.
That is changing.
Because it is passive…
Recently, I attached my name to a list that is now
unfortunately best known for being a list of non-Calvinist
‘Traditionalists’. I didn’t like the
name from the start and feared there would be unnecessary division. However, I am in agreement with the content
of the document and thankful for the leadership of Dr. Eric Hankins and others
for their thoughtful work. The issue was
and is simple for me… I am not a Calvinist and have no desire to be defined by
the Calvinist ‘point system’ that exists.
In fact, I am not Arminian or Pelagian or semi-Pelagian (or
pre-Pelagian, mid-Pelagian or post-Pelagian); I am a Baptist. I am thankful for the Baptist Faith and
Message and love the freedom of the autonomous church.
While I don’t feel the need to fit perfectly into a
particular system – I do seem to fit with a recent study that says 60 percent
of our Baptist pastors are concerned about Calvinism. I recognize that ‘concerned’ is a broad
term. However, my primary concern
centered on the response from non-Calvinists.
My perception was that the response was either non-existent or
angry. I recognize the frustration that
exists from those who say they are on the receiving end of
Calvinist-condescension. Really I do. However, my concern is that non-Calvinists
have lacked a good response and have lacked the desire to state their case in a
way that generates positive discussion.
My hope was that the document would spark the sort of conversation that
would bring the two sides together… and that is still my hope.
There are extremists on both sides and they are an
embarrassment to the work of the SBC.
Additionally, there are good people on both sides that occasionally make
extreme comments. Still, we should never
choose an ugly fight over a healthy debate and healthy accountability. If we can’t disagree and still push toward
the ‘Great Commission’ we are already dead and simply going through the motions
of a dead church that believes it isn’t dead.
I am committing to being more engaged in the process. I accept the call from our new president to
give an additional 1% to the Cooperative Program (it will go directly to the
IMB and NAMB). I have agreed to join a
leadership network that includes pastors from North and South Carolina. I have committed to attend a state
convention-sponsored gathering of large church pastors and will commit to
attending the state convention.
Additionally, I am communicating with others about being involved in a
group that will seek to have a healthy debate while highlighting commonalities
rather than consternation.
