Let Us Pray: 4 Requests for the National Day of Prayer

Today in the United States is the National Day of Prayer. It is a day that many in our country gather specifically to pray. There are community events at public locations. There are national events involving politicians and other leaders. 

In light of this, I want to ask you to join me in praying these four things today:

1. Let us pray for the good of our nation. By this, I don’t mean that we should pray for our nation to have the goods or to be blessed. Let us ask the Lord to make us a “Good Nation.” That our influence and our activities around the globe will be good for all. 

2. Let us pray for the leaders of our nation. The Bible specifically commands us to pray for those in power. We need to pray for our political leaders, our school teachers, our pastors, and our community leaders. 

3. Let us pray for the churches in our nation.  The church must have a voice and a ministry that takes the gospel of Jesus to those in its community. Each community is different and the needs of the people are different. Let’s pray that the churches in our nation will have the courage to reach out to those who need our help. I want to challenge you, don't only pray for your church. Pray for the other churches in your community as well. 

4. Let us pray for the people of our nation. Many around you are suffering. Many feel oppressed. Many are sick or wounded. Some are doing well, but a crisis is headed there way. Some have lost loved ones and some may even feel that life is not worth living. Let’s pray for each other today.

At some point today, ask God to give you the opportunity and the courage to share the saving love of God with someone who needs to know about it. 

Want to know more about the National Day of Prayer? Here is the official website: http://www.nationaldayofprayer.org/

3 Reasons the SBC is a Missionary Organization

What is the Southern Baptist Convention?

Recently the SBC has been in the news in some unfavorable ways. Some are asking about the purpose and future of our convention. What will the future of our convention be? Do we have a voice in our society? In full transparency, I have sympathy with much of the concern and frustration aimed at Southern Baptists. We must do better on race, on our complementarian positions, on our politics stances, and our overall Christian witness. I think many are trying to do better, my hope is that we will. 

As I think about the role and purpose of the SBC, I am more than a little concerned that we may be losing our way. We are large and influential. We have a voice worth hearing. Our leaders are quoted and highlighted in different public places. 

If we are not careful, we will forget that at our most basic, the Southern Baptist Convention is a missionary sending organization.

1. Our history tells the story of a people with a vision for God’s mission. 

Now, we must never forget that the founding of the SBC is forever stained by our founders support of slavery. This cannot be hidden and should not be denied. However, as one looks over the history of our convention, we cannot ignore the importance of missions. 

Our founding documents implore us to focus on “one sacred effort.” The challenge to take the gospel to the ends of the earth was not a venture pulled our of thin air. It wasn’t the invention of visionary leaders. Early Southern Baptists recognized that the mission was “sacred,” that is, it was God’s mission to which we are called and from which we cannot run. This is the dominating story line of our convention. 

2. Our structure supports this vision for God’s mission

The SBC is a huge organization. It is complicated and confusing. Even those of us who work inside it are often surprised by the nuances and complexities. On the other hand, if we step back, we can see that the Southern Baptist Convention is structured for the purpose of advancing the Gospel around the world. 

We have two missions agencies that shoulder the responsibility for mobilizing and empowering our people. We have six seminaries that exist to train a new generation of leaders to guide our churches deeper into God’s mission. We have an Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission that equips Southern Baptists to speak with gospel clarity to some of the most difficult social and cultural issues of the day. 

The goal of each of these entities is to help Southern Baptists and Southern Baptist churches succeed in the pursuit of this “One Sacred Effort.”

3. Our funding systems support our vision for God’s mission

It is no secret that Southern Baptists are a generous people. Sure, we can alway give more and our entities can alway use more. But the truth is we give sacrificially. We don’t do this because it makes us more spiritual or because we want to be celebrated. We don’t give because we agree with everything done under the banner of our denomination. We give because we have a vision for gospel advancement. 

Our Cooperative Program enables all Southern Baptist Churches to be part of God’s global mission. As a denomination we have established, without hesitation or apology, that the vast majority (almost 75%) of all the funds given to the Southern Baptist Convention, will go toward our missionary advance. We do this through our regular weekly giving as well as through our two annual mission offerings — Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and Annie Armstrong Easter Offering.  We demonstrate, by our financial decisions that we are a missionary organization. 

Now, I am not naive. I don’t believe for a minute that the issues we face in the SBC will disappear overnight. I know we have a long way to go before we become the convention we want to be. 

However, let’s not forget our vision is for the fulfillment of a “sacred effort.” No matter what we do. I pray this vision will remain true. Our mission is to follow God’s mission for his people to make disciples of all nations.

** If you are interested in knowing more about the mission and function of the Southern Baptist Convention, you can pick up a copy of my book, Together on God’s Mission. The details are on the book page. **

Finding God's Mission

As we seek to discover God’s plan for our lives and determine how we should follow his call, it is vital that we understand his mission. A quick scan of books, blogs, and social media posts reveals a lot of confusion, and even misrepresentation about the purpose and goal of missions.

Thankfully we can see much about the purpose of God’s mission in the opening pages of the Bible. Here we read of God’s creation of this world and everything in it. The pinnacle of creation was humanity, man and woman. After creating them and bringing them together, God declared this world to be “very good” (Gen 1:31). Despite God’s bold declaration, we no longer live in a “very good” world. Though some seasons are good, a brief look at our lives, the lives of those near us, the news, or our social media feeds is clear evidence that this world is broken, it is no longer “very good.”

What happened?

Again the answer can be found in the Bible. The story of creation is followed closely by the story of what theologians call the fall. This single event destroyed the “very good” character of our world. Genesis 2, describes a perfect garden. The garden is filled with lush plants, plenty of water, gold, and precious gems. God walks and talks with his creation. Everything is in perfect harmony.

Genesis 2:17 says God pointed out one of the trees and told the man not to eat from that tree. However, as we all know, he did eat from that forbidden tree, and as a result, all of creation fell into chaos. The apostle Paul, reflecting on this event, wrote, “Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned” (Rom 5:12). This one, seemingly simple act of rebellion against the will of God produced a world that, though it retains elements of its original goodness, is no longer “very good.                   

Following this initial act of rebellion, both man and woman were overcome with shame, guilt, and fear. They hid their bodies from one another and also tried to hide from God. Their disobedience placed them under God’s judgment. Let’s look again at Romans 5 to see how Paul describes the consequences of this initial sin:                                         

5:17 . . . by the one man’s trespass, death reigned . . .

5:18 . . . through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone . . .

5:19 . . . through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners . . .

The Fall introduced physical, relational, and spiritual consequences to the world. Humanity chose to walk away from God, but thankfully, he chose to pursue us.                      

A key verse in the opening pages of the Bible is Gen 3:15. God is speaking to the serpent, the source of temptation and the essence of evil. God promises, “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your o spring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

In this verse, we read God’s promise to rescue men and women. Here we have the unveiling of God’s mission to destroy evil and sin through the work of a Son. This Son will be wounded (the serpent “will strike his heel”), but this wound will result in the crushing of the serpent’s head. Paul explains, again in Romans 5:                       

5:17 . . . how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.                   

5:18 . . . through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone

5:19 . . . through one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

The mystery is revealed. God’s mission is seen in Jesus Christ’s ministry to rescue creation from the consequences of the fall. Our mission today should fall in line with God’s mission as it is laid out in the Bible. We go into a fallen and broken world to carry the good news of a God who loves the world so much that he gave his only Son.

This message we proclaim because it is the message of our God to our world. 

This is an adapted excerpt from D. Scott Hildreth’s new book Together on God’s Mission: How Southern Baptists Cooperate to Fulfill the Great Commission, (B&H Academic, 2018).

Cooperative Essentials

There has been a lot of conversation about cooperation within the Southern Baptist Convention and the Cooperative Program. It is easy to criticize what we have, but it is equally important to understand the value and benefit of it as well. Not only is the Cooperative Program an extremely successful funding machine, it also supports the strategy and identity of the Southern Baptist Convention. As I have written elsewhere, the Cooperative Program has become the financial driving force, some might say, “the lifeline,” for much of the expanse and success of the SBC. The development of a unified budget, and the expectations of regular contributions, allows each of our boards to plan their work and not be encumbered by the constant need to raise funds or pay solicitors. In this post, I want to briefly address some of the requirements for ongoing cooperation and health of the Cooperative Program.

First, let me address the need for common theological foundation. This is absolutely necessary; however, it is not something I believe we need to spend too much time on in this post. Southern Baptists already have a well written theological document. The Baptist Faith and Message expresses our common faith and is the standard of accountability for denominational employees and agencies. With relationship to cooperation, theology is not unimportant, but I am writing from the perspective that Southern Baptists have addressed and settled this.

Three Requirements for Long Term Cooperation

1. Vision –

The Bible says: “Can two walk together without agreeing to meet?” (Amos 3:3) Though this passage refers to God and His people, it is no less true of people in general. Before Southern Baptists can cooperate, we must share a common vision and direction. Despite the diversity of our convention: size, location, ethnicity, style, methodology, Southern Baptists do in fact have a common vision. Our founding documents state that we exist, “for the purpose of eliciting, combining, and directing the energies of the Baptist denomination of Christians, for the propagation of the Gospel…” You know, anyone who identifies as a Southern Baptist, or is part of our convention, has embraced this vision. Though their practices and methods may differ, cooperation requires that we trust that they are on our team and are seeking to fulfill this vision.

How can we cooperate financially and missionally? We can do so when we embrace vision that commands our attention and requires us to shoulder the burden with others. In Alice and the Wonderland, Alice asks the Cheshire Cat which road she should take. He responded, “It depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” As Southern Baptists, we have a clear vision “where we want to get to.” Cooperation is possible, as well as profitable, as we keep this vision in mind.

2. Respect -

Southern Baptists are an odd lot. Before you agree and point to others, those you point out and make fun of at the annual SBC, go look in the mirror and then thumb through your church’s pictorial director (or Facebook pages). Ha! See what I mean –

I love the title of John Ortberg’s book, Everybody’s Normal Till You Get To Know Them. That is us. In fact, one of the fun parts of being a Southern Baptist is how we embrace our oddities. On the other hand, these differences can create tension and this tension requires respect. 

Cooperation requires that I value fellow Southern Baptists even when I don’t agree with them, or when I am not even sure I understand how (or why) they are as they are. Respect is the quality of holding someone in esteem and treating them well - especially in public. The opposite would be to disregard someone as valueless.

Because of our differences, the future of our cooperation requires us to respect each other and to publicly value each other. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: “Those who love their dream of Christian community more than the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be severe so honest, earnest, and sacrificial.” SBC cooperation demands that we look across the aisles, and into the convention halls, and love - deeply love - our brothers and sisters who are quite different from us.

3. Grace -

In my Southern Baptist kindergarten class, Ms Lauber taught us the golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” That became the standard for our behavior. It is why we didn’t steal cookies, it is why we didn’t tattle-tail, it is why we put the seat down in the bathroom(!). As we get older, it is so easy to forget that simply rule – BTY, I found out later that wasn’t Ms Lauber’s rule, it originated with Jesus.

I am a pretty broken dude. I say things I shouldn’t. I do things I shouldn’t. Even after deep contemplation, study, and planning, I make mistakes. The thing I want from you is grace. I don’t need you to ignore that I am imperfect; truth be told, I need you to help me be a better man. But the thing I really want, is for you to extend grace and understanding – not to beat on me when I mess up. Now, according to Ms Lauber, because this is what I want from you, it is the very thing I should “do unto you.”

The future success of our denomination rests on our willingness to extend grace to one another. Grace does not ignore sin or mistakes. However, it does seek wholeness and well-being. If we will continue to cooperate, and if this cooperation will continue to be the strength of our convention, our relationships, conversations, and our whole beings need to be grace-full.

There are other things I could have included in this list. Below are three that I intentionally left out because, even though we might like them to exist, they do not and they cannot be our requirement

Uniformity — we cannot require everyone to be just like us before we will cooperation with them. This is impossible and unhealthy.

Agreement on every issue — There are things that my wife and I disagree on, how can I expect to agree with anyone else on everything. However, complete agreement is not necessary. When we can agree on a common vision (which we do) and basic theology (which we do), we can cooperate with enthusiasm.

Perfect Partners — If we wait for the others to perfectly conform to our standards we will be unable to cooperate. But, since we are not perfect either, they will be waiting on us too. Perfection in our boards, leaders, churches, members, etc. Shouldn’t be a prerequisite for cooperation.

The Most Haunting, Yet Undeniable Truth in the Bible

I will never forget the day I sat with a group of young men who had recently become Christians. They had grown-up in a country with few Christians and limited access to the gospel. They received Christ with great joy, but were immediately struck by the reality that no person in their families, living or dead, had heard. They asked, “What is to become of our family? No one ever told them about Jesus?”

Questions about what happens to unevangelized is more than a theoretical exercise. It is attached to faces, names, and experiences. Honestly, I wish I could ignore the question; however, the consequences are too great. Millions have not heard and the Bible is clear, unless a person hears and personally responds to the gospel, there is no hope for salvation. People are not protected from wages of sin because they have never heard. God’s mercy and justice do not allow for a broader path to forgiveness through ignorance.

1. Humans are condemned because of personal sin and idolatry.  

Many mistaken believe that those who have never heard are innocent; however, Paul’s letter to the Romans shatters this myth of an innocent unbeliever. According to Romans 1, all people are idol worshipers. Because of God’s creation, men and women experience inward emptiness or guilt. Neither of these experiences draw us to God; instead, humans fashion religion (or man-made worship) to eliminate guilt or they worship the creation. Both reactions violate God’s first and second commandment. The Bible says that everyone on the planet has sinned, created idols, and worshiped wrongly.

Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.”

Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death. . .”

Those who have not heard are not right with God in their ignorance; the truth is, they are enemies of God because of their knowledge.

2. The mandate and mission of the Scriptures exposes the futility of this claim.

Many have observed, if a person is free from judgement if they remain ignorant, then the most wicked act one could commit would be tell them. If ignorance is an excuse, telling creates instantly culpability. By preaching, you condemn some to hell.

The problem is, even a cursory reading of the NT shows the first Christians compelled to proclaim Christ to the whole world. They preached the message far and wide because Jesus had commanded them. Paul’s passion was to, “Evangelize where Christ has not been named.” (Rom 15:20). He sought to evangelize to the ends of the earth because he knew that God’s gift of salvation, placed him under obligation to those who had never heard. (Rom1:14-15) This cost him his life

It may be possible for someone who does not affirm the full authority of scripture to embrace a broader path of inclusivism. But, I do not believe that anyone who takes the Scriptures seriously can do so without denying significant parts of the New Testament.

3. The consequences are too great to be wrong on this issue

Philosophers refer to Pascal’s Wager as a reason to believe in God. In Pascal’s work Pensèes he describes a simple bet. To summarize, a person must bet whether God exists or not. If a person believes, and God exists, she has won everything. If God does not exist, she has lost nothing. However, if she does not believe in God and he does exist, she has lost everything. The wise bet, he claimed was to believe in God.

Many philosophers have argued that this formula is problematic. For the sake of this post, we will leave that discussions to my philosopher colleagues. However, considering the implications of our current discussion, a similar wager could be used.

If (unconvinced by my previous two points) someone believed that those who had never heard would not face God’s judgement, no harm has been done by aggressively seeking to obey Jesus’ commission to make disciples of all nations. However, if I am right, our lack of obedience sentences millions to an eternity separated from God. The consequence is simply too great.

Sometimes, when I travel to places where clear proclamation of the gospel is lacking and when people who reject my witness, because mine is their first encounter, I wish I could believe differently. The numbers are so great, eternity is so long, the penalty for sin and idolatry is so severe. However, my heart and mind is captive to the Word of God, and I believe that Scripture clearly teaches that a person must hear the gospel and intentionally place their faith in Christ to be saved. Therefore, we must continue to proclaim Christ to the whole world.