Like cottage cheese in the refrigerator, intellectual movements have a shelf life. Movements are born with promise and hope, and they often die in odious calamities. Evidence of the end of an intellectual movement is often mistaken for something else. Observers blame infighting, when the real problem is the inability of the movement to address new realities. Observers blame loss of zeal, when the problem is intellectual exhaustion of the movement. The “Conservative Resurgence” of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) began in 1979, and by 1990 the denomination was fully under the control of SBC conservatives. For at least 25 years, leaders of the Conservative Resurgence have led the SBC without serious opposition. Now, the SBC is clearly at a crossroads. The denomination is in decline. The sexual abuse controversy is not going away, and the Executive Committee is openly flouting the will of the SBC messengers. There is a pattern here. It is not just that multiple controversies have harmed the convention. It is that the Conservative Resurgence is past its shelf life. The Resurgence is now an intellectually spent movement with no real answers for the issues of the present. Because investing further in this intellectually spent movement is unhelpful, a change is necessary. The change does not have to be theological, it does, however, require new leadership. The current leaders of the SBC have failed, and, to quote a famous American, “The wheel has turned, and it is time. It is time for them to go.”[1]
The Executive Committee (EC) is the arm of the SBC responsible for managing the day-to-day affairs of the SBC while when the Convention is not in session. Unfortunately, the EC has now become a rogue committee doing actual harm to the SBC. A few months ago, correspondence emerged between Russell Moore, the then President of the Ethics and Religious Life Commission of the SBC, and J. D. Greear, the President of the SBC, demonstrating inner workings of the EC. Among other offenses, rank bullying was revealed. Members of the EC, shocked and appalled by a conference on sexual abuse, threatened Moore. Their goal, it seemed, was to keep a cloud over Moore in an attempt to silence him. This is not the behavior of people engaged in the mission of God. It is rank power politics and a tell-tale sign of a spent movement. It is time. It is time for them to go.
When the EC should have reacted with shock and outrage about sexual abuse, it has treated survivors with contempt. One such survivor was referred to as a “whore” by an EC member. Other survivors were referred to as “Potiphar’s wife.”[2] The EC even allowed a report to stand in Baptist Press, an entity overseen by the EC, to insinuate that a survivor, Jennifer Lyell, was in an inappropriate relationship with a pastor. Lyell, who was a vice president at Lifeway at the time, was abused by the pastor. She was not caught in an adulterous affair.[3] To make matters worse, a prominent member of the EC and candidate for SBC president, Mike Stone, had a confrontation with a survivor at the SBC annual meeting. In describing the interaction she stated, “He said I’m doing more harm than good to the SBC, and I’m not doing right by the survivors, and he said the Southern Baptist Convention is bigger than my problems.”[4] While the content of their conversation cannot be independently verified, the fact that there was a conversation that left a survivor in tears is not in dispute. The EC has treated survivors with contempt on multiple occasions, and that is not in serous dispute either. It is time. It is time for them to go.
The classic mistake institutions make when facing crises is to protect the institution and not the innocent. Ronnie Floyd, CEO of the Executive Committee, has done just this. On top of the institutional foot dragging he practiced to prevent a transparent investigation, Floyd has demonstrated the survivors of sexual abuse are not his first priority. In a released audio recording of an EC meeting, he said his concern was not what survivors might say, but rather to, “preserve the base.”[5] Further, Floyd wondered why abuse survivors were not restricted in what they could say at an SBC conference.[6] Concern for the image of the SBC and not for the survivors was Floyd’s focus at the time. With recent actions of the EC under Floyd’s leadership it appears to remain the case. It is time. It is time for them to go.
The SBC is now a denomination in decline. In 1979, the leaders of the Conservative Resurgence believed the denomination was adrift due to liberal theology. Now, the liberals are long gone. The moderates are long gone as well. Fealty to the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message is the unquestioned norm among SBC leaders, seminary presidents, professors, missionaries and entity heads. If the Conservative Resurgence’s leaders believed getting rid of liberals and moderates would lead to church growth, they were clearly mistaken. The best that can be said of the SBC’s current condition is that it is shrinking more slowly than the Mainline traditions. The solutions provided by the SBC leaders thus far are not working as the SBC has been in decline since about 2006. Mostly, the solutions provided are of the “more of the same, harder” variety. The movement has no idea how to reach a radically changed culture with the unchanging Gospel. Finding new ways to communicate the Gospel is not to compromise on theology or suddenly to become progressive. No, it is to recognize the strategies and language that once worked to great effect will no longer work, and that theological conservatism does not equal success. Congregations must be winsome and understand the world around them to have a better future. Many congregations are struggling and are getting few answers from the SBC leaders they trust. The leaders of the SBC are leading the denomination to a significant decline for which they have no answer. It is time. It is time for them to go.
One of the typical tactics of spent ideological movements is to create enemies. In a shocking display of intellectual bankruptcy, many within the SBC have found a new enemy: Albert Mohler. Albert Mohler has been the President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary since 1993 and was an important voice the creation of the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message. His loyalty to the denomination has never been questioned. Suddenly, however, some in the SBC are describing Mohler as a moderate. Consider Mohler’s theological commitments. Mohler believes in inerrancy, believes women should not be allowed to preach, he has no women on the theology faculty the seminary he leads, and he is an outspoken critic of secularism. Calling Mohler a moderate is like calling Jesse Helms a progressive. Those who would say it immediately forfeit all credibility on the subject. Credibility, however, is not relevant here. Having an enemy to denounce is what flailing leaders need. The Conservative Resurgence’s leaders are now feeding on themselves. The time has come. It is time for them to go.
The EC is now in the process of ignoring the will of the Messengers of the SBC. The EC was instructed to fund an investigation and waive attorney-client privilege. While the EC has approved the funding, it has repeatedly frustrated the will of the messengers by not waiving attorney client privilege. Over the weekend Ronnie Floyd released an article about going forward together. In all honesty, we are past that now. The time for negotiating ways to avoid implementing the will of the messengers is gone. Even if Floyd immediately changes course and leads the EC to waive attorney-client privilege, the problem remains. The EC has lost all trust from the SBC members and churches. It is time for them to go.
The current leadership of the SBC has led to denominational decline, maltreatment of abuse survivors, unwillingness to treat sexual abuse seriously, referring to loyal SBC’ers as liberals and moderates to isolate their voices, and coddling destructive leaders like Paige Patterson. This must stop. It is enough. It is time. It is time for them to go.
[1] R. Cheney acceptance speech 2000 RNC.
[2] An allusion to the Biblical story where Joseph was falsely accused of attempted rape.
[3] https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2021/jun/06/letter-baptist-leaders-mishandled-abuse/
[4] https://churchleaders.com/news/399576-hannah-kate-abuse-survivors-victory-sbc.html
[5] https://baptistnews.com/article/southern-baptist-whistleblower-offers-audio-clips-to-back-russell-moores-claims/
[6] Ibid.
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