Muscle Shoals’ Grace Life ‘done’ with SBC

Muscle Shoals’ Grace Life ‘done’ with SBC

By Carrie Brown McWhorter
The Alabama Baptist

Alabama Baptist Pastor Jeff Noblit has called it quits on partnering with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).

Noblit, pastor of Grace Life Church of the Shoals in Muscle Shoals, said in an edited video of the Oct. 20 announcement he is not opposed to supporting Baptist entities like the Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries but as far as other SBC projects are involved, “I’m done.”

Pastor of Grace Life since 1989 and a member of the pastoral staff since 1981, Noblit said the church “long ago pulled back 95% of our missions work to support our own missions involvement.”

In fact the church’s leadership has talked about withdrawing from the SBC for years but he has been the one not quite ready “to finally and formally separate,” Noblit said.

A “straw that broke the camel’s back,” he said, is the “rise and the embracing and the affirming of Beth Moore’s ministry.”

Moore’s role in Baptist life has been a frequent subject of debate on social media especially in recent months. The latest dustup came during a conference Oct. 16–18 when California pastor John MacArthur said Moore should “go home.” 

MacArthur claims the SBC has lost faith in the authority of the Bible and has taken a “headlong plunge” toward allowing women preachers.  

SBC President J.D. Greear came to Moore’s defense on Twitter following MacArthur’s comments, tweeting “[Beth Moore], you’re welcome in our home any time.” 

Greear’s tweet kicked off a flurry of comments both supportive and critical of the SBC and its leaders.

Moore tweeted Oct. 21 that she “surrendered to a calling of God” at 18 and “it never occurs to me for a second to not fulfill it.”

Without referring to anyone specifically Moore added, “Here’s the beautiful thing about it and I mean this with absolute respect. You don’t have to let me serve you. That gets to be your choice. Whether or not I serve Jesus is not up to you. Whether I serve you certainly is. One way or the other, I esteem you as my sibling in Christ.”

Recalling a time when MacArthur had encouraged him in the ministry, Noblit called MacArthur “the leading pastor-theologian in the world.” He added that MacArthur’s public denouncement of SBC leadership is what led to his own decision to officially cut ties with the SBC.

Noblit also announced on Twitter an upcoming pastoral training institute sponsored by Grace Life and how his personal ministry Anchored in Truth is a network of churches.

Both tweets promote the two opportunities.

In the Oct. 21 tweet Noblit said, “the Anchored in Truth fellowship of churches is for those committed to being, ‘Glory of God focused, Christ honoring, preaching the Word based and local church centered. And we definitely hold each other accountable for sound doctrine and practice.”

According to the Anchored in Truth’s website, Noblit is the president and it is the missions arm of Grace Life with 18 church partners in several states. Noblit also serves as chairman of the elders for Grace Life.

The church’s annual statistical information — such as membership, baptisms and receipts — in the Alabama Baptist State Convention’s database of cooperating churches has only been filled in once during Noblit’s time as pastor (2005). That year’s numbers show $20,000 of the $2,357,414 budget given through the Cooperative Program (CP), 30 baptisms and 1,263 members. 

Alabama’s most recent giving report shows Grace Life gave $4,800 through the CP in 2018. Of that, $2,400 went to SBC causes.