A number of us have issued a call for what is being called “A Great Commission Resurgence.” This idea is being talked about, and there are a number of writings in circulation as well. For example, LifeWay distributed at the Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis an 83-page booklet entitled Great Commission Resurgence. I contributed to this (a slight revision of my Building Bridges paper) along with Thom Rainer, Chuck Lawless, Jeff Iorg and Jerry Rankin. My Building Bridges presentation can be found at this website.

Still, some may be unclear, or at least have questions, as to what a Great Commission Resurgence would look like in terms of specifics. I believe the big picture is clear: it is a renewed passion for the pursuit and fulfillment of Matthew 28:16-20. I spoke specifically to this in a chapel message that also gave attention to the life and ministry of William Carey. That message is available here. We are to go and disciple all the nations until Jesus comes again knowing He is with us as we go. So, what are some of the details or particulars that would accompany a Great Commission Resurgence, especially for those of us who are Southern Baptists? This will be the first of a series that will hopefully make clear how the Resurgence might, by God’s grace, take shape.

The Great Commission Resurgence, of absolute necessity, must be wedded to the Conservative Resurgence that was launched in 1979 with the election of Adrian Rogers as president of the SBC, and which reached something of a highpoint with the adoption of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. Had there not been a Conservative Resurgence, we would not even be talking about a Great Commission Resurgence. Therefore, the Conservative Resurgence is the foundation upon which the Great Commission Resurgence must be launched. There can be no backtracking from the ground regained through the Conservative Resurgence. Further, there must be continued vigilance and even advance of the Conservative Resurgence. I have in mind here work that still needs to take place on the state, associational and local church level. Further, our national agencies and entities need continually to be held accountable to the vision that marked the Conservative Resurgence. This will be the very nature of things, an ongoing process. If we fail to build upon and stay rooted in the theological convictions of the Conservative Resurgence, the Great Commission Resurgence will be short lived and ultimately a failure. A Great Commission Resurgence by its very nature must be biblically and theologically driven. What that should look like will be the subject of future articles. Suffice it to say there must be a biblically informed, theologically balanced consensus for Southern Baptists to cooperate in a Great Commission Resurgence. This is not optional. This is not negotiable. Coming together around the bedrock essentials that identify us as orthodox, evangelical and Baptist will be a necessary component of an effective and vibrant Great Commission Resurgence. By God’s grace and for His glory, there will be neither compromise nor retreat from “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). The Conservative Resurgence was never an end in and of itself. It was about Truth. It was about the gospel. It was about fulfilling the Great Commission.