As I have thought about The Great Commission Resurgence and followed all of its happenings since the annual meeting in Louisville this summer, I have to confess the question that has recently been coming to my mind is this: “Does it really matter”? Does it matter whether or not I embrace a Great Commission Resurgence in my personal life as the task force has encouraged? Does it matter whether or not the church I am on staff endorses a Great Commission Resurgence in its local context? Does it matter whether or not the Southern Baptist Convention listens to and takes to heart what the task force will recommend this summer in Orlando?
These questions should not be coming from someone who spoke for the motion to appoint a task force, but I would be less than honest if I did not say this was the case. Allow me to set some background. I owe all that I am to Southern Baptist churches. My great grandfather helped build Society Hill Baptist Church in the small town of Oakvale, Mississippi. He helped raise my father, who led our home spiritually and was a deacon in our home church. My earliest memories of church consist of Vacation Bible Schools, saying the pledge as a Royal Ambassador and spending time at summer camps in Glorieta and Ridgecrest. I trusted Christ at an associational camp and was called to preach at my home church, Bellaire Baptist, in Bossier City, Louisiana. I trained for ministry at Ouachita Baptist University and received my Masters of Divinity at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary while at the same time working in the intern program at Prestonwood, where I currently serve. I owe all that I am to Southern Baptist churches.
That’s why the question, “Does it really matter?” has haunted me this fall. There is little doubt that there are some who feel discouragement and cynicism toward our future as a Convention and they are asking themselves this very question. I know the negativity of past meetings and mounting conflicts from within have taken its toll on many “young pastors”. My fear is that the prevailing thought for some would be to consider themselves better off without the Convention than fighting for it.
This sentiment has caused me to think much about this Great Commission Resurgence, the role I play in this resurgence and the impending meeting this summer. I am very expectant of all the task force will ask us as a Convention to consider and here is what I have concluded from searching my heart to the question, “Does it really matter”?
- It matters, if we want to be faithful to God and his scripture. The essence of the GCR is a call for a renewed emphasis and focus on the Great Commission itself. This matters!
- It matters, if we want to exhibit to the world our greatest asset as Southern Baptists- cooperation for the gospel’s sake. We can still do more together than we can apart and the GCR can show this to the world. This matters!
- It matters, if we want to make a lasting difference that continues into the next generation. Because of its leadership, prayerful research, listening sessions and charge by our Convention, the GCR task force must offer some recommendations that will help us be relevant and thrive as a denomination in the future. This matters!
I have great hopes for our Southern Baptist Convention. I am sure what we will hear from the task force will be both surprising and enlightening and must prepare ourselves to embrace and receive all that they recommend. It matters…it really does matter!
