Expressing displeasure over what they call a “narrowing of cooperation through exclusionary theological and political agendas” in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), a group of Southern Baptist conservatives issued a document May 3 calling on the convention to repent of such behavior.
Called the Memphis Declaration, the 990-word document is the culmination of two days of discussions involving about 30 Southern Baptists from a variety of perspectives.
The group’s declaration offered public repentance on eight points and noted commitments for change. The first point marked the group’s repenting from “triumphalism about Southern Baptist causes and narcissism about Southern Baptist ministries which have corrupted our integrity in assessing our denomination bureaucracy, our churches, and our personal witness in light of the sobering exhortations of Scripture.”
The seven points that followed were aimed at issues including a spirit of arrogance and condemnation toward others, prioritizing entities rather than churches and failure to cooperate with those who disagree on articles “not essential” to the faith.
It also noted repentance for “having turned a blind eye to wickedness in our convention,” valuing uniformity over unity and neglecting to hold entity trustees accountable.
Participants indicated that these issues threaten the integrity of the denomination. And while examples were not stated, much of the concern expressed by participants was motivated by recent developments at the SBC’s International Mission Board and with other SBC entities and leaders.
There had been rumors that the group might nominate a candidate for president of the SBC and that motions or resolutions might be forthcoming. No such actions took place, though some attendees have submitted resolutions for consideration by the SBC Resolutions Committee.
Plans call for the group to meet again during the SBC’s June 13–14 annual meeting in Greensboro, N.C. (BP, ABP)
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