Southern Baptists Plan To Reach North America

NAMB the missions arm of the Southern Baptist is leading an evangelism effort to reach every person in North America with the Gospel by 2020. This is a wonderful goal to have, but one reason it will not happen is apathy in the church. Look at the numbers, if every Southern Baptist helped lead one person to Christ in the next 20 years, there would be over 16 million new Christians in that time. Is it that hard to reach 1 person in 20 years? In 2006 there were roughly 365,000 baptisms in Southern Baptist churches. It is a sad statement when 16 million members only reach 365,000 people in a year.

God is not happy with an apathetic church. Revelation 3:15-16 – 15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. The apathetic church is of no use to God. There are far too many churches who year after year never see one person led to Christ. That says to me that they don’t care about people. If they cared about people, they would be reaching out to those in need of the Gospel.

Proverbs 1:32 – “For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them. Complacency will destroy Christians and their witness to the community. Good or bad your community should at least know your exists. Christians can’t become happy sitting in their ivory towers, never coming in contact with the “dirty sinners” outside the church walls.

Proverbs 21:13 – He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor Will also cry himself and not be answered. How many times has God sent us the poor and needy that we have turned away? Many times a church will give them money and send them on their way. When in reality what they really needed was the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Apathy has caused people lose focus on the real needs of others. It is easier to give the quick fix, instead of putting some time and effort into a person.

Romans 12:11 – Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. It is easy to spot Christians who have lost their zeal. Today we have placed so much emphasis on that initial feeling that comes with salvation, that when it begins to fade so does our zeal. Our zeal should not be based on the feelings it gives us, but out of a passion to serve the Savior who saved us on a Roman cross.

The church must regain it’s passion for those who need Jesus. There are many churches out there doing a great job, but there are far more who are not. If you are a Christian, commit yourself to leading at least 1 person to Christ in the next year. Don’t rely on your pastor to do all the work. It is the role of every Christian to spread the Gospel. What will it take for churches to become active in the community and in peoples lives? Will it take persecution? As a result of it’s apathy, the Church has lost it’s influence in society. It has remained silent for so long, now no one cares what it says. Now when people have problems they no longer turn to the local church, but to the government. It is time for the Church to become that beacon of light again. Put the apathy behind and start reaching out to those in need. And don’t take a back seat, but begin to speak out on the big issues again. It will not be popular, but we are in this situation because we have let our voices fade. May the voices proclaim Jesus from every city in the land.

Lifeway Says No To Magazine Featuring Women Pastors

Lifeway Christian Resources, an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention, has decided not to display the current issue of Gospel Today magazine in it’s bookstores. The issue features a cover story on female pastors, which is contrary to the beliefs of the SBC. Lifeway and the SBC have come under fire because of this decision. The condemnation has come from both the secular and christian ranks. I want to take a look at some of the things that have been written.

Roland Martin at cnn.com has a major problem with it. He basically skewers Lifeway and the SBC from all angles. Before we look at what he says, lets look at a look at his family background. Mr. Martin’s wife is the Rev. Jacquie Hood Martin. His wife is a former teacher for Lifeway, who severed ties when the SBC decided not to allow women pastors. So it would appear from the article that Mr. Martin has a personal axe to grind. With that being said, He says that what is happening is a “lack of respect for the freedom of the press”. How can someone in this position really not understand the freedom of the press? No one has stopped them from producing or selling their magazine. It is not a mandate that every bookstore must carry every book and magazine. Is he complaining about the secular bookstores who carry no christian magazines? Each bookstore has a right to display whatever it chooses.

Now, to some of the biblical issues that have been raised. The verse I have seen most used is Galatians 3:28 – “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus,”. This verse has nothing to do with ministry at all. This verse in context is speaking about salvation. It is saying when it comes to salvation we are all one in Christ Jesus. Those using this verse to approve of women pastors, also use it to promote egalitarianism. Egalitarianism is basically the position of gender equality in every area of service, including pastor. Those who hold the view that is not about ministry are usually complimentarian. Complimentarianism is the position that there could be gifts that are shared by both genders, but that there are biblical roles and gifts that are gender specific.

They also don’t like the application of 1Timothy 3:2 – An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,. This verse clearly teaches the husband of one wife. Their meaning of this verse is all over the place, as is their interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:12 – But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. I have seen it said that this is cultural and doesn’t apply today. And also that this teaches women shouldn’t take control by force. That all seems to be grasping at straws to explain away what the text teaches. This is definitely not a politically correct response, but I don’t recall Jesus being pc.

This issue has also been an avenue to attack endorsements of Sarah Palin and Beth Moore by Southern Baptists. They will point back to 1 Timothy 3:2 when talking about Mrs. Palin. How can a woman be vice-president and not a pastor? For starters, this verse when taken in context is talking solely on qualifications for church leaders. This is referring to church ministry only. Secondly, in my opinion, pastor is a loftier position that VP of the US. Pastors are held to a higher standard, because they are called to help shepherd Christ’s sheep. The other question I saw was about Beth Moore. How can she be featured on the Lifeway website? She is not a pastor to begin with. She is not trying to be Joyce Meyer. Her ministry is to serve and teach other women. Her ministry is not one of teaching men.

I agree with the SBC’s view on female pastors. This is one of many reasons that I am a member of an SBC church. Unfortunately, male leaders are in short supply in churches today. As a result, many churches have sacrificed biblical teaching for pragmatism. The Bible is the same today as it was when it was written. We can’t change the meaning to meet our needs.