What do you think about the Southern Baptist Gathering?

I think not much at all about it. Not because I’m not Southern Baptist. Not because I don’t care about the issues they are grappling with. But because the convention barely matters at all. What matters are the local churches. And any church or church leader that takes its or his cues from decisions made by the Convention, whichever way things go, has bigger problems than the way things go.

The Southern Baptists are, by design, an association of independent churches. I’m not here taking a stand on whether that’s a good thing or not. I’m merely noting that as such, for all the sturm and drang, all the hand-wringing on both sides, there is precious little at stake. Some in the SBC have sent their Paul Reveres out in force warning that the Woke are coming. Others in the SBC have sent their own Paul Reveres out in force warning that the racists are coming. Neither side, however, has so much as a rusty old cannon to fire at the other.

I’m confident that there are racists in the SBC. I’m pretty sure that any institution boasting 15 million members has racists in it. Racism is ugly, unbiblical, sinful, shameful and should be called out as such. That it persists, however hidden in dark corners, is no argument that nothing should be done. The only thing that can be done, however, is done by the local church. They alone, in the SBC, have any authority to exercise church discipline.

I’m confident as well that there are race hustlers in the SBC, those who embrace the errors of critical race theory, who are at the very least fellow travelers with cultural Marxists. I’m pretty sure that any institution boasting 15 million members has such in it. Critical race theory and cultural Marxism are ugly, unbiblical, sinful, shameful and should be called out as such. That it persists, however nuanced, however disguised as academic credibility, is no argument that nothing should be done. The only thing that can be done, however, is, wait.

There’s the problem. What this is about isn’t, ironically, the local church. It’s all about control over agencies that are not under the authority of a local church. It’s about what message gets sent out by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. It’s about who will teach at what seminaries, and whose books will be marketed by Lifeway. A group of churches so committed to the autonomy of the local church to defang anything above the local church has found itself having annual gum-fests over their wayward children with all the world watching.

I don’t ever want to underestimate the evil of racism or critical race theory. A pox on both their houses. I do want to agree with the principle being fought against by both sides, that the local church is what matters. That is where the work of the ministry takes place. The evangelical-industrial complex, Big Eva, is a pushy broad. My prayer is we’ll all learn to dance with the one who brung us. Invest your time and talent in your local church, and in those who work through their local church.