There was no mistaking it. The overriding characteristic of this year’s annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) was zeal — zeal for Jesus and zeal for the lost.
From the opening notes of the praise music to the closing echoes of James Dobson’s impassioned plea for the family, messengers were encouraged to love God with heart, soul, mind and strength and to make Him known to lost people around the world.
Convention president James Merritt of Georgia reminded messengers that Jesus “is the only name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved.” International Mission Board president Jerry Rankin urged messengers to do more to make Jesus known around the world.
North American Mission Board president Robert Reccord thanked messengers for their mission and evangelistic efforts in the United States and Canada. Dobson cautioned that the American family is losing its place as the “seedbed” of the gospel.
Over and over again speakers affirmed the foundation of the Christian faith — “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
In prayers and praise, in sermons and reports it was clear that this group of Baptists had a zeal for Jesus and a zeal for the lost.
That emphasis is consistent with the restructuring of the SBC adopted in 1995. The impetus for the reorganization, messengers were told, was missions and evangelism. Now those two efforts have become the heartbeat of Southern Baptist entities. Both endeavors begin with a zeal for Jesus and a zeal for the lost.
Perhaps that is why there is a bit of irony in the fact that while zeal for Jesus and zeal for the lost were the overriding characteristics of the annual meeting, it was ministry to the family that grabbed the headlines. Also getting a great deal of attention was the report of the SBC drug task force, another ministry.
Both the Council on Family Life and the drug task force had their beginnings in the SBC Executive Committee which does not have a program assignment other than Cooperative Program promotion. Yet, it was from the Executive Committee that the call came to establish convention-wide efforts for the family and against drug abuse.
Perhaps this irony points to the importance of ministry in the life of the church. A zeal for Jesus and a zeal for the lost are lived out in ministry. To use language from the book of James, faith (zeal for Jesus and zeal for the lost) empowers work (ministry). In turn, ministry (work) validates zeal (faith).
Whether it is gifts to exotic dancers in the French Quarter or a program to develop Great Commission families, ministry to the needs of people goes hand in hand with zeal.
Every reorganization has continued refinements. Perhaps Southern Baptists are near the time when entities will be encouraged to include ministry as a major focus along with missions and evangelism. In the long run, ministry needs a firmer base than an ad hoc call from the SBC Executive Committee.
That may happen in time but change takes time. In recent years the Southern Baptist Convention has been restructured. The Baptist Faith and Message has been rewritten. New leadership has carried the day in convention life and in the various entities including the seminaries. That is a lot of change, almost more than an organization can bear.
Some observers blame the rainy weather for the low attendance in New Orleans. The 9,561 registered messengers is the lowest number of messengers for an annual meeting in a southern city since 1948, when the convention met in Memphis. They may be right. But fatigue could also be a factor. Southern Baptists may be tired from the enormous changes experienced in the last decade. They may need to catch their breath and refocus their energies before making any more major changes.
In the meantime, the messengers attending this year’s annual meeting seemed content to follow the direction of their entity leaders. During miscellaneous business, it was three entity presidents who lined up to successfully defend the Baptist Faith and Message against amendments. It was the provost of an SBC seminary who chaired the resolutions committee and whose report was adopted without debate. It was an entity president who renominated the president. Such a high profile for entity presidents is unusual in SBC life.
Whether this indicates a shift of convention leadership from pastors to entity presidents is too early to know. It can only be said that at this convention, messengers were pleased with the leadership offered by entities and willingly followed.
A zeal for Jesus and a zeal for the lost are wonderful hallmarks for Southern Baptists. Hopefully, a zeal for ministry will be added. At whatever speed Southern Baptists continue to change, may the direction always be toward greater service to our risen Lord.
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