Leaders, activists offer hopes for Greensboro

Editor’s note: This article was published before Jerry Sutton, pastor of Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, announced his intention to run for SBC president.

JACKSONVILLE (FBW) — Florida Baptist Witness contacted via e-mail notable Southern Baptist Convention leaders and activists seeking their response to one question: “What do you hope will be the single, greatest outcome of the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Greensboro?”

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Compiled here, with only minor editing for style and grammar, are the 13 responses received. Only two persons who were contacted declined to participate. John Sullivan, executive director-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention, declined because he will be a parliamentarian during the annual meeting. In the absence of a permanent president, the North American Mission Board also declined.

Bobby Welch, pastor of First Baptist Church of Daytona Beach and out-going president of the Southern Baptist Convention: “The single greatest outcome of the SBC: Unity of purpose throughout the convention for witnessing, winning, and baptizing. Creating an unparallel spiritual synergy for the sake of the Kingdom and lost souls!!”

Ronnie Floyd, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Springdale, Ark., and candidate for president of the Southern Baptist Convention: “I am praying for God to move in such a supernatural way among us that He will bring spiritual unity in these unique times, resulting in Southern Baptists joining together to champion the cause of the evangelization of our regions, our nation, and the world. I am praying the Lord will endow the spiritual leaders of our churches in our convention with a spiritual movement of God that is biblically-based, Jesus-centered, and Holy Spirit-empowered. This is the only answer for us in this hour. I hope you will join me to pray about and position ourselves toward this movement of God.”

Frank Page, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Taylors, S.C., and candidate for president of the Southern Baptist Convention: “It is my earnest hope that Southern Baptists will make a decision regarding leadership that will send a strong message that the Great Commission will be carried out to a far greater way when we work together cooperatively and expand the base of involvement in our great convention work. This expanded involvement and cooperative effort must strongly seek the transformation of hurting churches, the focus of evangelism with integrity, ministry to the downtrodden and hurting, as well as a balanced, aggressive mission thrust in North America and in the world.”

Hayes Wicker, senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Naples and president of the Florida Baptist State Convention: “My sincere prayer and desire is that there will be a new sense of unity, particularly resulting from brokenness, repentance, and a hunger for revival on the part of all of the messengers. May I be the first person to seek God in holiness, intimacy, and in unity with my fellow messengers.”

Wade Burleson, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, Okla., and trustee of the International Mission Board: “I would like for Southern Baptists to be able to point back to Greensboro and say, ‘That is the Convention where people began to understand that we cannot exclude conservative, Bible-believing Southern Baptists from participating in our efforts to evangelize the world or even withdraw from partnerships with other Great Commission evangelicals in taking the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth or we will eventually become a narrow, isolated sect within Christendom.’”

Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board: “I am anticipating that Southern Baptists will realize we have allowed many distractions and peripheral issues to divert our attention and the convention will characterize a new resolve to focus on evangelism and cooperating to fulfill the Great Commission.”

Benjamin Cole, pastor of Parkview Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, and organizer of activists who are signatories of the “Memphis Declaration,” (for more on the “Memphis Declaration,” see the May 18 Witness): “If Southern Baptists walk away from Greensboro having deflated our triumphal pride about convention work, yet with a renewed commitment to charitable, open cooperation within the parameters of our confessional statement, then we will be stronger and healthier to face the missionary task before us. If, however, dissent is further silenced, advocates of narrowing trends in cooperation are invigorated, and tired convention messengers witness politics as usual, the Southern Baptist Convention could enter her darkest days yet. I pray for the former, but I fear for the latter.”

Tom Ascol, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, executive director of the Southern Baptist Founders Ministries, and signer of the “Memphis Declaration”: “I hope that all of us attending will be struck with an overwhelming conviction that we need to repent for our denominational pride and will seek the Lord for mercy and spiritual power. There are many important issues that need to be addressed on the formal agenda for the convention and we certainly need wisdom as we consider them. But unless and until we come to terms with the systemic pride that not only allows but encourages us to boast about inflated statistics and ignore the disastrous results that come from so much of our modern, superficial evangelism, I fear that we will continue to make the disastrous mistake of believing that the Kingdom of Jesus Christ will be advanced through winning elections and passing motions. Our desperate need is for a heaven-sent, Spirit-empowered reformation and revival. An outbreak of humility and repentance could become the first stirrings of that divine work.”

Morris Chapman, president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Executive Committee: “My hope for the single, greatest outcome of the Greensboro convention is that the messengers leave the convention with a renewed determination to engage in personal witnessing, a reinvigorated energy for and support of cooperative missions, and a resolve to regain traction in church planting at home and abroad; in other words, a revitalization of the basics in fulfilling the Great Commission while at the same time resisting any attempt to continue polarizing our churches. We must resolve to lay aside self interests and count for the Kingdom. The question of biblical authority has been settled for this generation of Southern Baptists and hopefully for all time to come. Now is the time to preach it and live it.”

Marty Duren, owner of SBC Outpost Weblog, lead pastor of New Bethany Baptist Church in Buford, Ga., and signer of the “Memphis Declaration”: “That Southern Baptists will realize that we need to ask ourselves some very important questions and be prepared to realistically face some undoubtedly difficult answers.

Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention: “My hope and prayer to God for the meeting of the SBC in Greensboro, is that the Spirit of Almighty God will so descend upon us that all our human failures and personal agendas will be awash in the glory of God and sweet submission to His perfect will so that a watching, often critical world will be astonished that our God can take a remnant so inept as we and unify us without compromise around our assigned task of reaching our entire world with the message of salvation. I pray that this will be so obvious that He will astonish even us.”

R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky.: “My hope is that Southern Baptists will leave Greensboro with a united heart for our cooperative work together and a great sense of urgency to see that work expanded and strengthened. At the same time, I think this meeting of the convention may also show us something of the challenge we face in terms of reaching out to younger Southern Baptists and in dealing with some of the crucial issues of this transitional age — a time that should find Southern Baptists at their best.

Steve McCoy, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ill., and owner of Missional Baptist Weblog: “My greatest hope for Greensboro is that I will continue to build a personal network of missional pastors and thinkers, and encourage others to do the same. My second greatest hope is that the shofar won’t work.”