Posted on 12/22/2008 7:16:10 PM PST by Alex Murphy
Times are tough, even in the salvation market. After decades of growth, the nation's largest group of Protestants, the Southern Baptist Convention, is reporting losses (in church membership and recorded baptisms) for the third year in a row. Baptisms are at a 20-year low, a figure liable to put an eternity-conscious church into a severe depression.
Cutbacks at Southern Baptist seminaries and agencies are even hitting the denomination's bold, new marketing strategy designed to spread the gospel (and increase the flock) to every soul in North America by 2020. The campaign, called "God's Plan for Sharing" (Yes, GPS), includes a new image media campaign, "We Are Southern Baptists."
But some SBC leaders are concerned that the strategy will fail. The 2009 budget includes zero funding for GPS. "You can't have a vision that doesn't have a funded budget," John Avant, former vice president of evangelization at the mission board, told Bob Smietana of The Tennessean.
Where there is no funded vision, the people perish. It's hard for me to believe there might be a single soul in North America who hasn't heard about Jesus. But I suppose if a church is going to measures its success by cultural standards -- in a market economy, that means statistical gains and losses -- then it's going to look for culturally-appropriate ways to assess its product and improve its market share. But isn't there a more faithful way to measure the church's success?
No doubt there are market forces behind the SBC's declining statistics.
1. The product is less appealing. Southern Baptists still profess the belief in Christ is the only path to salvation. But a new Pew Forum analysis shows that a majority of all American Christians (52%) think at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.washingtonpost.com ...
Trying to force-fit Catholic style hierarchical thinking upon a Baptist church is an exercise in futility. The congregants have power if they feel called by God to exercise it. Otherwise, the deacons are in control over functional church affairs, and the pastor is in control over matters of faith. That is, unless the congregation or the deacons come to believe that the pastor is not what he should be, due to a disagreement over a point of Baptist doctrine or a personal failing that is beyond their ability to forgive, in which case the pastor will be asked to leave, and a search is mounted to locate an acceptable replacement for him. On an individual and family level, Baptists can and often do vote with their feet, and visit other Baptist churches, in search of a new “home,” if they ever become disenchanted with their current home church. That is what you are seeing here, disingenuously reported to appear as if the Baptist denomination as a whole is in decline, when in fact just the largest association of Baptist churches, the SBC, is experiencing a decline. Does this make any sense to you?
I’m sure they’re doing better than the Washington Post’s circulation numbers.
Wow! Is that some loaded language? That makes it sound like a communist or muslim showdown.
“The person or persons who get to decide what the Bible means on any given subject are the real power in your church.”
The Bible isn’t subject to interpretation. It is cut and dry.
The church. It rarely happens, but if a pastor runs off with the piano player, he would be unqualified, and the church would replace him.
If his children are out of control (and still under his authority), in many cases, he could be considered unqualified—again, rarely happens.
According to the Bible, he would be brought before the church and the charges laid before him. He would explain his position or the circumstances, what he may be doing to fix the issue. He would leave, and the deacons, along with the membership would discuss the problem and decide by a vote at some point what to do.
It’s basic church discipline 101 that would be applied to any member. Usually members get away with their faults as long as the church isn’t directly involved, while the Pastor, being the church leader, usually won’t get away with certain issues.
Where there is no funded vision, the people perish
LOL. They really said that. An abuse of an abuse of scripture.
It's hard for me to believe there might be a single soul in North America who hasn't heard about Jesus.
Oh, they've mostly heard the name. What they mostly haven't heard is the whole "born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law""crucified, and after three days raised" thing.
We are aware of at least to congregations in our area where the pastors left the pulpit, either willingly or were forced to do so. One could assume that for that reason, baptisms fell.
It seems their are alot of of people critical of the Southern Baptist church.
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December 23, 2008 8:39 AM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on December 23, 2008 08:39
Fred217 :
When the nation, as a whole, embraces the concept that being anti-Gay is as anti-American as being anti-Black, then the SBC will drop its’ institutional pandering to homophobia. (How many churches, SBC, Mormon, etc. would not let blacks join until the last 2 or 3 decades?) Once you get to that point, the light will come on about equal legal rights (the right to not testify against a spouse in court proceedings, adoption rights), denial of tax benefits (social security pensions, inheritance), and the civil rights to not be discriminated against in employment and housing.
Churches can let in whomever they want, but secular rights under the Constitution should not be subject to ecclesiastical review.
December 23, 2008 3:02 AM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on December 23, 2008 03:02
IpiTombi :
The life span of bigotry masquerading as religion may be a million years, but it ultimately dies a slow death. When I hear Southern Baptists, all I hear is Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Oral Roberts, intolerance, prejudice, and racism. My prayer is that they continue to lose membership. They are an ignorant and arrogant bunch.
December 23, 2008 1:21 AM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on December 23, 2008 01:21
aardman :
The demise of the Southern Baptist Church and their theology of hate, intolerance and hypocrisy is actually good for mankind.
When I hear someone proclaim “I am a Christian”, I immediately expect that person to be self-righteous, moralistic, xenophobic, narrow-minded and disdainful of anything non-white and non-heterosexual. They are also very quick to find scriptural justification for legally sanctioned lethal violence —from capital punishment to waging a war of choice in Iraq. But Jesus’ teachings on peace-making and mercy and compassion seem totally invisible to them.
I now realize that it is not all Christian sects who are like that but mainly just the Southern Baptists. And that Christians who noisily trumpet “I am a Christian” for all to hear actually are lacking the humility that marked Jesus’ life as described in the Bible. Sadly too, humility is not the only Jesusly (yes I just made that adjective up) trait that they lack.
December 23, 2008 1:14 AM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on December 23, 2008 01:14
orionexpress :
The average person with any degree of intelligence, is starting to wake up to the fact that the Southern Baptists have basically been a Religion of Hate, Bigotry, Prejudice and mostly a bunch of shysters. I lived in Rome ,Ga for five years and basically there message of LOVE is, Praise the Lord Jesus and now pass me some rope so I can make Nooses.
December 23, 2008 12:17 AM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on December 23, 2008 00:17
bldlcc :
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