By: Danny Akin & Jonathan Akin
The recommendations of component 4 will allow NAMB to have a direct church planting and evangelism strategy where they can appoint personnel directly. They have not had that freedom in the past. At present, and much of this due to cooperative agreements, the majority of NAMB “missionaries” are serving in the most reached and most served areas of North America (see recent blog by Micah Fries). Despite some comments … [Read More]
Why We Believe the GCRTF Report is Good for the Future of the SBC (4b): Reaching North America
Why We Believe the GCRTF Report is Good for the Future of the SBC (4a): Reaching North America
By: Danny Akin & Jonathan Akin
“There is no formal conclusion to the book of Acts. It is open-ended. God means for the story of Pentecostal power and revival to be prolonged after the same manner…Since Pentecost, there is no age, no century, no era, no time without the marvelous outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The soul-saving experience continues. Darkness and death and decay may reign in one place, but always light, life, and salvation … [Read More]
Baptism and the Great Commission
Southern Baptists have been discussing a Great Commission Resurgence for a couple of years now. One related discussion concerns the relationship of baptism to the Great Commission. Some Baptists at least tacitly downplay the role of baptism and instead cast the Great Commission as simply the advancement of the gospel to all nations. Other Baptists argue that baptism is a crucial component of the Great Commission, and without it, the gospel may indeed be advancing but the … [Read More]
Gospel, Church, and City (2): The Gospel Smashes a Church Planter’s Idols
In the first session of the Greenhouse Church Planter’s CoOp, we talked about the importance of a church planter’s submission to Jesus in all aspects of his life and ministry. I taught from Luke 14:25-33, in which Jesus makes clear that a disciple is one who loves Jesus more than any of life’s other loves—even more than wife and family and friends. Our love for him is to transcend and even position all of life’s … [Read More]
What is the Missional Gospel? Part 5: The Evangelical Missional Church
What is the Missional Gospel? Part 5: The Evangelical Missional Church
By Keith Whitfield
At a recent conference, Tim Keller addressed the challenges of evangelism in a post-modern context and gave six principles on how to pursue evangelism in this context. The first principle was “Gospel Theologizing,” and what he meant by this is phrase that all theology should articulate the gospel message. He says our theology should be an exposition of the gospel, and our presentation … [Read More]
With Whom Can My Church Cooperate?
In the past few days, I have had several fruitful conversations with seminarians, pastors, and prospective church planters about the nature of interchurch cooperation. One topic that has frequently arisen is that of cooperation with other churches in a given city or county. Specifically, mission-minded Southern Baptists want to know with whom their church can in good conscience cooperate, particularly in church planting. It’s a good and timely question.
Before proceeding much further, I need to … [Read More]
The Future of the Southern Baptist Convention (Pt. 7)
#7) Southern Baptist have a hopeful future if we raise up a generation of pastors who lead their churches to see themselves as a gospel missions agencies equipping and training all their people to see themselves as missionaries for Jesus regardless of location or vocation. (Eph. 4:11-16)
The headquarters of the Southern Baptist Convention is the local church. All associations, conventions and national entities exist to serve them not the reverse. Further, these agencies and entities … [Read More]
The Future of the Southern Baptist Convention (Pt. 6)
#6) Southern Baptists have a hopeful future if we have the courage to rethink our Convention structure at every level, clarify our mission so that we maximize our energy and resources for the fulfilling of the Great Commission, and provide a compelling vision that inspires our people to do something great for God.
Are Southern Baptist a Great Commission people? If you listen to our rhetoric then the answer is yes. And yet, though Southern Baptist … [Read More]
Aspect 3(b): A Mission Focused on the Nations (Five Clear Challenges)
(By: Danny Akin & Bruce Ashford)
Five Clear Challenges:
As we fulfill our mission to the nations, we face many decisions, including the five following challenges. With a limited number of missionaries, to which parts of the globe do we send missionaries? It is our conviction that the majority of international missionaries should be sent to unreached and unengaged people groups, those who have little or no access to the gospel. As we mentioned above, there are … [Read More]
Fifteen Factors That Have Changed the SBC Since 1979, Part 3
This is the third article in a four-part series on fifteen factors that have changed the SBC since 1979. As I noted in my previous article, this list is not exhaustive, overlap exists between some factors, and I list them in no particular order of importance. You can read the previous articles in this series here and here.
10. The Americanization of the South
OK, I admit that this one began long before 1979, though it reached … [Read More]
