As the choosing of a new SBC executive approaches, I have been pondering what the future holds for the milieu of the convention. That said, I must state that I love all that can be done for missions and charity with the cooperative program and various arms of the SBC. These organs are the whole point of the convention, as it is made up of autonomous churches.
Now, I have felt great cultural drift at my old southern baptist church in Winter Park, FL. I attended that church for 13 years, since leaving atheism.
Since then it seems Charismatic influence, the seeker-friendly movement, twelve step programs, therapeutic teaching, ecumenism, feminism, interfaith relations, further de-emphasis on doctrine, "moderate" (i.e. liberal) evangelicalism, the fear of talking about hell when 13 years ago "fire and brimstone" pastors abounded; have all made their way into my old church, as well as into the convention by the articles I read online.
Now, fortunately the autonomy of the local church in the SBC means that if I find the right church I can be "old fashioned." To me this means biblical.
However, it feels, from my perspective, that the winds are blowing in the face of "old fashioned" people like myself. I may be wrong on this though, and I may be in a box of sorts. I would love for people to prove me wrong, but for now it seems the Milieu of the SBC is getting more liberal.
This forces me to ask a hard question: With missionaries now allowed to speak in a prayer language, glossolalia, how long before all of these things I mentioned above make their way into evangelism, seminaries, missions, charity, and executive oversight of these programs? Also, how important is the choosing of a new executive?
What is your two cents?
Now, I have felt great cultural drift at my old southern baptist church in Winter Park, FL. I attended that church for 13 years, since leaving atheism.
Since then it seems Charismatic influence, the seeker-friendly movement, twelve step programs, therapeutic teaching, ecumenism, feminism, interfaith relations, further de-emphasis on doctrine, "moderate" (i.e. liberal) evangelicalism, the fear of talking about hell when 13 years ago "fire and brimstone" pastors abounded; have all made their way into my old church, as well as into the convention by the articles I read online.
Now, fortunately the autonomy of the local church in the SBC means that if I find the right church I can be "old fashioned." To me this means biblical.
However, it feels, from my perspective, that the winds are blowing in the face of "old fashioned" people like myself. I may be wrong on this though, and I may be in a box of sorts. I would love for people to prove me wrong, but for now it seems the Milieu of the SBC is getting more liberal.
This forces me to ask a hard question: With missionaries now allowed to speak in a prayer language, glossolalia, how long before all of these things I mentioned above make their way into evangelism, seminaries, missions, charity, and executive oversight of these programs? Also, how important is the choosing of a new executive?
What is your two cents?