Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing

Let me be very clear. I am a former Southern Baptist who attended Southwestern Seminary. When I was a young minister, fellow alum Rick Warren was a role model for pastors. He was not only a challenging teacher and preacher, but he was emerging as a successful church planter with Saddleback Community Church. It is now one of the largest congregations affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

My respect for Warren as a pastor continues. I have a couple of his books on my bookshelf. Due to some family experiences, Warren has been a strong champion for Christians to address mental health issues. He championed evangelicals fighting AIDS overseas. In recent years, he led the Saddleback church to ordain three women as staff pastors. His successors in pastoring Saddleback will be a married couple with the wife recognized as “teaching pastor.”

Even so, Warren misses the boat on some key issues. As the recent meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention mulled over whether to withdraw fellowship from Saddleback because of its ordination of women, the veteran pastor showed up and took a microphone on the floor to exhort his fellow messengers in this way (as reported in press accounts): “Are we to keep bickering over secondary issues?” he said. “Or are we going to keep the main thing the main thing?”

Brother Warren, diversity, equity, and inclusion ARE the main things. Affirming the giftedness of all people, working for racial reconciliation, and protecting the vulnerable are at the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These are not peripheral concerns. The fact that Southern Baptists have not kept these at the forefront has contributed to its current problems.

Warren is a strong proponent of personal evangelism, but he has emphasized disciple development at Saddleback as well. The confession that “Jesus is Lord” is in the first step in the Christian life. There is a reason that early believers referred to the Jesus movement as “The Way.” The Christian life is a journey of walking with God, seeking God’s guidance, and sharing God’s love. This is the main thing—becoming the type of person who loves everyone as Christ did.

As I write these words, I remind myself of the danger of tunnel vision, failing to comprehend the full impact of following Christ. We are called not only to personal transformation but to share the coming Reign of God will all people by modeling His Way.

Comments

Check these out

Confessions of a Recovering Southern Baptist

I am grateful for my heritage as a Southern Baptist. I was exposed to the Bible and worship from a very young age. I grew up in a church in south Alabama that supported the Cooperative Program of missions giving. This meant that our church had the benefit of being part of a supportive group of local churches and the educational opportunities that afforded. Our state convention provided varied and effective ministries with groups like orphans, ethnic groups, and college students. We supported missionaries at home and abroad. We had good Bible study and training literature (which we paid for, of course). I went to an accredited seminary and paid a remarkably low tuition. Wherever you went on a Sunday morning (in the Southeast and Southwest, at least), you could find a church that sang the familiar hymns and studied the same Bible lesson. In hindsight, I realize that this Southern Baptist utopia was imperfect. There were significant theological differences, often geograp

The Bible Tells Me So

As I read the story of the Good Samaritan during my devotional today, I was reminded of the times that I have heard the story in the Christian education setting of the local church--as a youngster in primary and intermediate classes (old terminology), as a young adult in college classes, and then as an adult, often teaching the passage myself. The characters and story line are very familiar due to these experiences of Christian education. These are challenging times for Christian education in the church. Like so much of what is happening in the church today, the old forms do not seem to support present needs. What once worked no longer seems to be effective. Christian education or the formation of believers is in a state of flux. In an article on ethicsdaily.com , retired professor Colin Harris addresses this issue. He points out that the period of the 60’s and 70’s “saw the beginnings of a loss of vitality within the educational dimension of church ministry, as the

Metaphors of the Kingdom of God

In a recent blog , consultant Seth Godin addresses the power of metaphor. He points out, “The best way to learn a complex idea is to find it living inside something else you already understand.” In other words, “this” is like “that.” “When you see a story, an example, a wonderment,” says Godin, “take a moment to look for the metaphor inside.” Jesus turned this around. In the use of parables, he told a story or provided a metaphor and challenged his hearers to see the truth within. For example, in his teaching on the Kingdom (or Reign) of God in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom to such things as a mustard seed, yeast, a hidden treasure, a net, a king, and a landowner. His hearers are encouraged to use their imaginations to understand something that they had never experienced. He also attempted to shift their perspective so that they might see signs of the Kingdom breaking into their present reality. These are metaphors for the Kingdom. Where do w

The Tragedy of Willow Creek Community Church

File photo of Steve Carter, Heather Larson, and Bill Hybels As Christian brothers and sisters, we need to pray for Willow Creek Community Church. On the eve of the Global Leadership Summit, a worldwide conference sponsored by the church in cooperation with the Willow Creek Association, church leadership imploded as a result of further allegations against former pastor Bill Hybels. Last year, Hybels introduced the team who would assume church leadership upon his retirement--lead pastor Heather Larson and teaching pastor Steve Carter. Although the founding pastor planned to stay on to assist in a time of transition, reports of sexual impropriety involving Hybels surfaced early this year. He accelerated his departure from the church and left the board of the Willow Creek Association. When other charges emerged last week, teaching pastor Carter resigned. On Wednesday evening, Larson and the entire elder board--lay leaders who provide accountability on behalf of the congreg

A Future for the Global Leadership Summit?

Craig Groeschel, the founder and senior pastor of Life.Church. The Global Leadership Summit which began as a project of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, and its founding pastor, Bill Hybels, over 25 years ago was held this week without Hybels. For several years, the GLS has been now produced by the Willow Creek Association, a spin-off organization and a loose network of churches but Hybels has been its driving force. Attended by thousands at the church facility in South Barrington and broadcast to thousands more at satellite locations, the annual meeting brings together not only evangelical leaders but outstanding speakers from business, charitable organizations, politics, and business. For the first time, Hybels did not appear due to allegations of sexual impropriety brought against him over the past year by former employees, staff members, and business associates. He has already left the church and resigned from the board of the association.

Barnabas File

Search This Blog