SBC resolution could shrink church membership rolls further

We should be more concerned with representing ourselves accurately and honestly than being the biggest denomination around.

 

What does Calvinism have to do with church discipline?

 

The ABP article is not suggesting that non-Calvinists don't practice church discipline. It is saying that those emerging Calvinist leaders have made a return to church discipline one of their priorities, in order to be faithful to the Baptist doctrine of a regenerate membership.

On the other side of the coin, the huge majority of SBC churches, which are overwhelmingly non-Calvinist, abandoned any semblance of church discipline 50 or 60 years ago.

But that may be changing, witness the strong passage of the resolution by the messengers (likely mostly non-Calvinist).

Finally, it's beocming widely evident that something is very wrong when on any given Sunday, only 30-40 per cent of our members show up for church services. It has become evident that the huge majority of the people on our roles give little or no evidence of being regenerate. What kind of gospel did they respond to?

The mindset has been to consign the absentees to an "inactive" list, rather than deal with the problem directly.

Closing the back door won't completely solve the problem if churches don't guard the front door as well.

I wish I could remember who said, Baptist churches are the easiest things to get into and the hardest things to get out of. Oh, now I remember. I said it.

 

This resolution will do absolutely nothing. It's not binding, and it's not going to change the mind of Betty Sue who had her daughter on the church rolls from the 3rd grade and will not stand to have her removed, even though she's been gone for thirty years.

 

You pretty much have to directly request that your membership be transferred or revoked to get out. Even dying doesn't help unless you're active at the time of your death.

 

I love resolution in the SBC. When we met in Orlando and passed the resolution to boycott Disney, we celebrated it by going to Disney the next day.

Resolution mean nothing because they have no binding effect on local churches.

My brother with the excellent first name :laugh: is correct and this is exactly the point of the resolution we voted on. Southern Baptist Churches need to protect who becomes a member. It can start with a resolution but unless local churches begin to act, there will continue to be terrible consequences.

A practical purpose of living up to the spirit of this resolution is to protect pastors who in times of trouble are astounded by the members who show up for a business meeting who have never been in the church for years.

 

Resolutions may have no binding effect (after all, each Baptist church is autonomous), but I agree that the roll follow-up and purging needs to happen. Is it possible that because no discipleship or follow-up took place after their "conversion" that we have millions of lost people walking around our churches 1) thinking they've gotten their fire insurance and 2) making decisions for the church? At the very least, it needs to be evaluated so that the churches can minister to and disciple those who need within our own walls.

 

So true. Churches should be primarily concerned with the people they already have instead of filling the empty space.

My pastor decided that we would not create multiple services UNTIL the members we have were all connected in a small group. We are a small group driven church, and we didn't want any of our members to be pew warmers. We are bursting at the seams with our one service....but until 100% are connected with, and in a small group environment, we aren't going to create another service to fill more seats. I thought that conviction of his spoke volumes...and more churches should do something similar to put the priority on the members they have.

The good news is, with well over 40 small groups, I believe we are just about at 100%, in the upper 90's.

 

Where does a denomination get off so to speak telling members that kids cannot go to public school? As for the defund planned parenthood thats not right either. My sister is a teacher and as long as I am walking upright my children will be in public school. I did the private school thing and I loved my public school so much better. The more we shelter our children the more the word of God is going to get hidden at least I know when my kids attend school they are being lights of Christ into the world.

 

I support public schooling also, my children went to public school. But I can tell you this, children are like sponges, they soak up everything, even the ungodlynesss taught in public schools. I've heard and seen many public school kids question the faith of their parents and churches because of what they have learned in public school. Don't believe it, look at church youth, drugs, sex, yep, public school worked real well for them.
And the SBC can not tell anyone they can not use public school, and did not intend too, they can only make a resolution, whether or not a church or individual goes by it is up to them. I think it is probably based on the fact of the junk they teach in public schools, evolution, islam, I've seen witchcraft taught in school, pro homosexuality, tolerance and acceptance of other religions, the anti christian attutude of the public school system.
As for planned parenthood, no way I could ever support or want my taxes to support the murder of babies.

 

Well, I wouldn't say they are telling their members to pull their kids. It is more of a "this is where we stand", and hope members would follow. It is nothing mandatory.

As for defunding planned parenthood....don't you think that if people believe abortion is wrong, or any other disagreements with planned parenthood, that they have a right to not want their tax money used to support it?

 

Amen. Did Christ command us to band together and never go into the world or did he say, "Go ye therefore into all the world ................?

There are political reasons that both liberals and conservatives like to bash public education ... and yet our education is the envy of the world. Why? Because we try to educate everyone, not just the rich, or just the smart, or just the politically correct, but everyone. So when international test scores are compared it is not a comparison of equal systems. For instance in China only the top percentage of students get into high school. I do not know the exact percentage, but it is not high. If we compared the top students with that group I believe the results would be quite similiar.

And I always take reports on test scores with a grain of salt. I have a friend who is a middle school teacher in China. She told me how they are forced to help their students cheat on tests.

There is much right with our schools and there are problems. Most of the problems in schools are a refelction of much that is wrong in our society.

Finally, to say that kids should not go to a public school is to greatly insult the Christians who are teachers working in public schools and also it is a great insult to the Christian kids who are letting their lights shine in that world.

 

And heres the thing planned parenthood isnt just about abortion. Yeah you may not agree with teens getting birth control but I operate along the lines rather be safe than sorry and yeah abstinence is nice but I didnt listen to my parents about it and I am sure my kids arent going to listen to me so I am glad there is a group out there a teen can go for contraception.

 

I agree. :applause:

 

And you have the right to that opinion. But don't you think those who disagree should have the right for THEIR tax money not to be used to support something against their convictions?

 

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:CdkjTt35BRMJ:www.guttmacher.org/pubs/gpr/10/1/gpr100112.html+planned+parenthood+public+funding&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

Planned Parenthood cannot be defunded as they are not funded by the Federal government.

 

In that case...I don't get the resolution.

Thank you for correcting me....let me read this stuff...

 

These are anti biblical, and planned parenthood is ungldly murdering babies, giving teens permission for sex by giiving birth control.