Please read the following quote from an article on the Christian Post. In fact, here is the link:

Massive 'Lostness' Prompts So. Baptists to Step Up | Christianpost.com

I am not wanting to stir up anything, but the statement is a little troubling to me:

"This week, NAMB – the domestic mission agency of the Southern Baptist Convention – launched the National Evangelism Initiative, challenging the denomination to share the Gospel to every person in North America by the year 2020.

"Just like a GPS device gets people to their destinations, NAMB’s GPS will help Southern Baptists reach their destination, which is every believer sharing, every person hearing by 2020," Hammond said in his report.

The initiative is called God's Plan for Sharing and can be contextualized to any mission field. It encourages Southern Baptists to pray, engage in witnessing, sow the Gospel, and ultimately see a harvest of people responding to the Gospel. The evangelism effort is also compounded with a media campaign in which television, radio, print and Internet ads will tell millions who Southern Baptists are.

As Rankin stated, Southern Baptists are the people whom God has called to spread the Gospel around the world (Italics mine)."


Sooooo . . . . Southern Baptists are the only ones that God has called to evangelize? Hmmmmm . . . . . . .

I certainly want to be careful to not read too much into the statement, but at obvious glance, that is the message conveyed. Unfortunately, this sort of thing causes unnecessary divisiveness. . . . . . .

__________________
Randy Harris
Heritage Church (Independent)
Oklahoma City, OK

Randy,

Relax. Inartful, but not overly offensive. I would not be surprised if every denomination could say the same: "God has called the XYZ to be his instrument of evangelism to reach our community." But, given the grandiosity of SBC rhetoric, you can expect them to always sound a little over the top.

__________________
Dennis E. McFadden, Ex Mainline Baptist (in Remission)
Atherton Baptist Homes, CEO
First Baptist Church of Alhambra, Member, Transformation Ministries (CA)

Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

Dennis,

Thanks for your reply.

There is some history here, having grown up in a predominant SBC city and state and having been a former member. When stating that I am 'reformed' or 'presbyterian', I have received my share of suspicious looks and discomfort.

My wife's cousin had a fairly high administrative position in the SBC in Nashville a number of years ago. I remember him telling me in 1994 that "in 10 years, Landmarkism will be gone." Well, here it is 2008, and I sadly do not believe that that has happened. I am sure it has improved, but probably not to the extent that it needs to be.

Landmarkism has caused a lot of problems, strife and division over the past 100 years; the quicker it disappears, the better things will be.

__________________
Randy Harris
Heritage Church (Independent)
Oklahoma City, OK