A group of young Southern Baptist conservatives has issued a statement to counter the influence of a rival conservative group that has been critical of the use of power by recent Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) leaders.
According to some observers, the dueling groups may be harbingers of more intramural disputes to come within the SBC’s conservative ranks.
Meeting near Orlando, Fla., Sept. 25–26, about 40 pastors and seminary professors calling themselves the Joshua Convergence presented a set of seven “Principles of Affirmation” and heard several speakers well connected in Southern Baptist life.
According to a “purpose statement” on the Joshua Convergence Web site, the event’s organizers convened “to give a voice to younger leaders across the Southern Baptist Convention who are strongly committed to biblical inerrancy, who support the goals and leadership of the conservative resurgence, and who unashamedly embrace biblical standards of separation and morality.”
In the months prior to the June SBC annual meeting, debates surfaced about how tightly SBC leaders need to hold control of the denomination. Much of the debate was fueled by younger SBC bloggers.
Several dozen of them gathered in Memphis, Tenn., last May to issue a declaration repenting for Southern Baptists’ “triumphalism” and “narcissism” and promising to be more attentive to holding denominational leaders accountable.
Their support of South Carolina pastor Frank Page helped elect him as SBC president over two other candidates, even though Page was opposed by the SBC power structure. (ABP)
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