Baptist ID Conference: Day 2

Dang, I'm tired.  A long but good day.

Breakfast with Van Sanders (IHOP baby) and Joe this morning.  Good to think about mission work in the U.S. before the day really begins. 

The first speaker was Paige Patterson.  Paige was glued to the page, reading a paper on what Baptists can learn from the Anabaptists.  There were plenty of interesting points along the way, but nothing mind-blowing. 

The second speaker was Russ Moore, who was speaking at Union's chapel service.  He spoke on T.T. Eaton, an important figure in the history of Union University.  Russ tipped his hat to country music and slapped the bloggers, as expected.  As a whole it was a pretty insightful talk and some interesting history.  Russ didn't hold back on Eaton's problems either. 

The third speaker was David Dockery, the President of Union.  Dockery offered up a helpful summary of of Baptist history emphasizing recent history (since 1979, the conservative resurgence).  Really good stuff.  He offered some great insights on what our current problems are and why different types of Baptists that were necessary for the resurgence don't fit well into our controversy-less era.  He didn't offer much of a path foward, but I greatly appreciated Dockery's perspective and insights otherwise.

The fourth speaker was Greg Thornbury.  This was a great talk on the "angry young men" of the SBC, namely the bloggers.  He was rightly generous and understood the situation of blogs and Baptist life very well.  It was obvious he did his research and didn't just paint with a broad brush.  Greg explained the difference between anger and frustration among the bloggers and pointed out why focusing on Baptist Basics (instead of programs or battles) was the key to the future.

Greg gave a quote from UU prof Hal Poe that I felt was worth repeating.  He said, "Every culture has a question that only the Gospel can answer. Listen for the question." 

Greg is a friend (we met in seminary) and I'm glad he is in the SBC.  If it weren't for guys like him, bloggers like me would be much more frustrated.  I hope his voice grows and his wisdom is heard for the sake of our mission.

Joe and I skipped the last session today by Jim Shaddix on the future of the traditional church.  We both needed some time to finish our sermon work for Sunday and we really weren't interested in the topic.

We then grabbed some hot wings with Timmy Brister and Mark and Jacob (Union students).  Great conversation on seminary, church planting, and culture.

Now, me needy some sleepy.  Gnite.  Oh, and here are a few fun pictures I stole and added rainbows to.  Why?  I dunno.  It just seemed funny to add rainbows to people.  That's Frank Page, our buddies Mark and Jacob, Tom Ascol, and Thom Rainer.  Geez I'm random.  Enjoy!

Comments

[Ted Ancelet]

This my sound a little weird, but I just wanted to say how much I really enjoy your blog. I'm a member of a church planting team in Knoxville and came across your blog late last year. I really appreciate not only your insight, but authenticity. It’s always refreshing. So anyway, just wanted to give you a shout out, say thanks, and hope the rest of the conference goes well.

[Michael]

"Every culture has a question that only the Gospel can answer. Listen for the question."

....then answer the question with the Gospel. This summarizes what the evangelism strategy should be in every culture for every time. I like it.

Sort of reminds me of some comments Dr. Keller made at the Desiring God National Conference last fall (2006) about how to effectively present the gospel in different cultural settings -- and it comes down to understanding the question(s) and using that as the entry point to share the truth of Christ.

[Keith]

"Every culture has a question that only the Gospel can answer. Listen for the question."

That sounds somewhat like Paul Tillich's method of correlation: "The Christian message provides the answers to the questions implied in human existence." Who knew you'd find a key Tillichian principle promoted at a conference on Baptist identity in the SBC? :)

[Rae Whitlock]

Good times. Thanks for keeping us up to date, Steve. I lived in Jackson for a few years (up until about two years ago) while my wife was a student at Union, and I'd probably be at this conference if I still lived there.

Of course, if I still lived there, I'd probably still be a Baptist and not a crazy Presbyterian. :)

[brad andrews]

wondering if you heard any of shaddix's comments and wondered what your thoughts were? here is t. brister's account: http://timmybrister.com/2007/02/16/baptist-id-dr-jim-shaddix-on-the-future-of-the-traditional-church/

is it just me or is this a prime example of what greg was talking about? broad generalizations and narrow-mindedness?

here are some of Shaddix's quotes:

"The emerging churches and alternative venues are not as appealing to the unchurched as the marginally churched in our camps."

This is interesting to me. If by 'in our camps' he means Baptists, I might agree that in more rural areas, smaller stand-alone metropolitan areas [in MO, Jefferson City, Columbia, Springfield, etc.], and outlying suburbs of large metropolitan areas [in MO, St. Charles Co.], but not in large metro areas like Denver, where Riverside is. This is a guess, but I'm sure there is a plethora of emerging churches attended by disenfranchised Baptists [among others] and primarily under 35.

"Did you know that the organ is played more in a professional baseball game than in our churches today?"

Eh? I'm getting tired of folks exalting a cultural expression of the 50's & 60's as THE way worship should be done. In a way, it an elitist view. Those that do start down the road have to answer the question: How far back do we go? Why stop at organs?

Have you noticed that our young people listen to David Letterman and Jay Leno who wear suits and ties?

This is more of a slam on seeker churches [and rightfully so] than on most of the emerging churches I know, especially in the Acts 29 network. Broad generalization...
Postmodernism and its child, the emerging church, is faddish.

"The more recent the movement and mindset, the shorter it will be, the shorter the shelf life."

Then how have any movements sustained? Weren't all movements 'short' at one point before they grew to a more sustained movement? Again, I am growing tired of what comes off as an elitist viewpoint about 'movements' from those who don't REALLY know about it. Because if you did, you wouldn't say these things...

"Every church grabbing towards the latest trend and fad are looking for methodolody, not theology."

Eh? What a horrible generalization? Has this guy heard Driscoll?

Curious about your thoughts Steve...

[Steve McCoy]

I don't know enough to say much, Brad. But the more I talk to people about Shaddix's talk, the more it sounded like the opposite direction to go.

[UberGoober]

Is this the new rainbow coalition? ("There is room in the tent for you, too!")

[brad]

just to clarify, these two quotes weren't mine but shaddix's. i forgot to put quotation marks around them:

"Have you noticed that our young people listen to David Letterman and Jay Leno who wear suits and ties?"

"Postmodernism and its child, the emerging church, is faddish."

It could look confusing, like i said these things...

[Matt Snowden]

Steve,
Thanks for the post. I just listened to Dr. George's lecture and thought it was great.

Michael,
I thought it was a good quote reflecting the best in Tillich's thought. I just finished Grenz and Franke's book. They make the case for a synthesis of Tillich's correlation and the contextualization found in the work of Fuller's Charles Kraft. The quote from Dr. Poe leads me to believe that they are correct.