Albert Mohler has written a brutally honest article in the wake of Paige Patterson’s dismissal as President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. It will go down as one of his more important and most powerful statements on the life of Southern Baptists. If you haven’t read it yet, then stop now and take a look.
One of the most fascinating portions of the article for me personally was Mohler’s decision to return to the Conservative Resurgence in which Paige Patterson played an important role. I found his reflections to be honest, helpful, and precise. I am in, I suppose, somewhat of a unique situation in that my theological education and training in pastoral ministry afforded me the opportunity to experience both the moderate viewpoint of things and the more conservative viewpoint. I attended Belmont University from 1994-1998 – before the school split from the Tennessee Baptist Convention – and their approach to religious studies was certainly moderate. During my time there, the President of the University called a faculty meeting to ask the question, “What does it mean to be a Baptist?” It was only a matter of time before the school could no longer hold to the principles of the TBC.
And yet, I have nothing but good memories about Belmont. The school challenged me, took me into areas of study I probably never would have considered otherwise, and most importantly, the professors never dismissed me, even with my more conservative viewpoint. I’m sure that some of my professors and fellow students who attended Belmont might wish that I was not quite so evangelical in my thinking, but we respect one another, even in our different viewpoints, and I think most of us are thankful for the time we spent on that Nashville campus.
I attended the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary from 2006-2009 and am currently studying there for my D.Min degree. The program was dramatically different from Belmont and it was overwhelming (and comforting) to be around some of the most well-known and brilliant scholars in the world who actually believed the Bible is without error! My passion for my education, but more importantly, my passion for the Lord skyrocketed.
So, with that background in mind, I was amazed by Albert Mohler’s comments when he said this:
“Has the Conservative Resurgence in the Southern Baptist Convention come to this? Is this what thousands of Southern Baptists were hoping for when they worked so hard to see this denomination returned to its theological convictions, its seminaries return to teaching the inerrancy of the Holy Scriptures, its ministries solidly established on the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Did we win confessional integrity only to sacrifice our moral integrity?
This is exactly what those who opposed the Conservative Resurgence warned would happen. They claimed that the effort to recover the denomination theologically was just a disguised move to capture the denomination for a new set of power-hungry leaders. I know that was not true. I must insist that this was not true. But, it sure looks like their prophecies had some merit after all. As I recently said with lament to a long-time leader among the more liberal faction that left the Southern Baptist Convention, each side has become the fulfillment of what the other side warned. The liberals who left have kept marching to the Left, in theology and moral teaching. The SBC, solidly conservative theologically, has been revealed to be morally compromised.”
It’s hard to argue with that. Most (not all!) of my fellow students at Belmont continued to progress to the left in their theological liberalism, and I could never in good conscience recommend the school for religious studies today. But it appears their concerns about SBC power and corruption are truths we are forced to deal with now, like it or not.
As for me, I like it. And here’s why. The Southern Baptist Convention does not have the power to dilute, distort, or alter the glorious goodness and holiness of God. But God certainly has the power to do whatever he wants with the Southern Baptist Convention. Although I do not rejoice when our denomination suffers brokenness, I trust the sovereignty of God to bring us to repentance where necessary and to turn our hearts back to him and his commission.
I have faith in the SBC not because of the SBC. I have faith in the SBC because I have faith in God. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
