Advising Southern Baptists to “maintain a careful balance between cultural adaptation and gospel proclamation,” Morris Chapman took aim at a trio of controversial topics, which he implied could ultimately cause denominational division.
In his report to messengers at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting June 23, the SBC Executive Committee president suggested that the convention “is not too big to fail.”
While disagreements over doctrine and identity are nothing new, Chapman said a focus on anything but fulfilling the Great Commission “is a grievous sin against the Spirit of God.”
“I believe the time has come to stop talking of what made the SBC great or what will make the SBC great again,” he noted. “All these questions are in direct competition with the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Chapman again expressed his concern regarding the Great Commission Resurgence document drafted by SBC President Johnny Hunt and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary President Danny Akin.
Chapman said he held a “number of discussions” with Hunt about it. He indicated that the two men still hold differing opinions on the matter.
In a lengthy op-ed piece published in May on the Baptist Press Web site, Chapman outlined his reasons for not signing the document.
He primarily cited Article IX, which calls for a reorganization of the convention.
Chapman took issue with the language in an early version of the document that called denominational structures “bloated and bureaucratic at every level.”
Even though the wording later was softened, Chapman still called for the removal of the article.
In Louisville, Ky., Chapman expressed further concern about the intent and purpose of the Great Commission Resurgence — for which a task force was overwhemingly adopted by SBC messengers later that day.
“Does the Great Commission Resurgence seek personal transformation of our hearts or institutional transformation of our structure?” he asked.
Chapman also voiced his reservations that such a plan would unite all Southern Baptists without alienating “certain demographics,” as well as honor the “long-established trustee governance of (SBC) entities.”
“No committee, no president, no agency, no institution and no executive director can renew our strength,” Chapman said. “No program and no report can revive our soul.”
Chapman also commented on the growth of Calvinism as a divisive issue and a potential stumbling block to fulfilling God’s call.
“If there is any doctrine of grace that drives men to argue and to debate more than it drives them to pursue lost souls and persuade all men to be reconciled to God, then it is not a doctrine that will form a foundation for a fervent fulfillment of the Great Commission,” he said.
A LifeWay Research study released in 2007 showed that nearly 30 percent of Southern Baptist seminary graduates identified themselves as Calvinists. The theology is a controversial one, particularly its teachings on unconditional election and limited atonement.
Chapman suggested, rather, that the “sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man” have “equal value in principle” and urged Southern Baptists to “come together at the Bible, not at some man’s theology to believe that God is sovereign.”
“If we could also believe that our witness is important to others to know Jesus Christ, I believe we would fill missions fields and church-planting opportunities like never before,” he said.
Also in his report, Chapman — without naming names — condemned the remarks of a Seattle pastor who came under fire recently for preaching sexually suggestive sermons.
Mars Hill Church Pastor Mark Driscoll, who has been criticized in the past for using profanity in his messages, recently was the subject of a Baptist Press article that detailed his sexually explicit interpretation of the Song of Solomon during a 2007 sermon series he preached in Edinburgh, Scotland.
“Some of the church-growth methodologies that masquerade under the guise of Bible exposition are increasingly known for the crude themes and the vulgar language of their strongest advocates,” Chapman said.
“The sacred desk is no place for the carnal, the sensual and the sensational.” (Editor’s Network)
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