In a ringing show of support, several prominent Baptist leaders have publicly endorsed a ground-breaking blog operated by reform-minded pastors within the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).
The endorsers include the presidents of three SBC entities and a college president — Morris Chapman, president of the SBC Executive Committee; Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources; Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board (IMB); and David Dockery, president of Union University in Jackson, Tenn.
‘Candid exposure’
All have posted messages of support for SBCOutpost.com. The weblog, previously run by Georgia pastor Marty Duren, relaunched in June as a collaborative site with the goal of becoming the “premier site for Southern Baptist news and commentary.”
Participating writers include several well-known bloggers who recently announced they would quit writing about the SBC on their respective personal weblogs.
All of the bloggers are conservatives and have been involved in efforts to reform the SBC, which most say has become too narrow and moribund under the leadership of an older generation of biblical inerrantists.
The endorsements from Chapman and Rankin are especially notable.
Chapman, the SBC’s chief executive, has repeatedly called for more openness and less bickering among SBC leaders.
And a controversy over new IMB trustee policies triggered the Baptist blogging revolution in 2006. Some of those policies were widely believed to be targeted at Rankin by his own trustees. Blogging by Oklahoma pastor Wade Burleson, an IMB trustee and Rankin supporter, prompted other trustees unsuccessfully to seek to remove Burleson — who is not among the SBCOutpost contributors.
In his statement, Rankin said he appreciates the “vision for the new direction” of the site and called the blog a “significant channel of communication (that) can serve Southern Baptists … .”
Rankin also praised “[c]andid exposure of denominational policies and developments” that hold leaders to accountability and integrity.
“Informed people are better equipped to respond appropriately to contemporary issues,” Rankin said. “Most channels of communication are controlled by editors, boards and organizations, but the blogesphere [sic] opens the door to a comprehensive, free flow of ideas that is mutually beneficial to contributors and readers.”
Open conversation
Chapman noted the benefits of “open” writing as well. In his endorsement, he said he is “encouraged” by the SBCOutpost contributors’ stated intentions to “tone down personal criticisms of those who have differing views.” If they achieve that, the site will become a “model of Christian decorum,” he said.
“Whether you agree or disagree with any particular opinion expressed by Outpost bloggers, their open and straightforward style of writing gives insight into their own thinking while often challenging the reader with views that otherwise might remain unspoken and thus unheard,” Chapman said.
Dockery and Rainer also emphasized that the site should be a “positive” outlet and “tool … to open doors of conversation.”
The site is noteworthy not because the articles and comments are always right, Dockery said, but because “significant issues are addressed in a well-informed, and often challenging, manner.” (ABP)
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