For those readers who may be unaware, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) voted by a large majority to appoint a “Great Commission Task Force” at its latest session this past June. The task force is to evaluate the convention model and structures and report back to the convention at next year’s meeting. The source of these events is a document entitled “Toward a Great Commission Resurgence,” which was crafted by Dr. Danny Akin, President of Southeastern Seminary, and endorsed by Dr. Johnny Hunt, current President of the SBC. A website was launched, www.greatcommissionresurgence.com, where the document can be read and adherents and supporters can sign their name. This led to much discussion and excitement. The convention turned out an increased attendance, especially among the younger generations, and the overwhelming vote for the task force was certainly an indication that this “Resurgence” is highly favorable across the convention.

I encourage the reader to visit the web address above and read the entire document. But for informational sake, the document calls for 10 Commitments from every Southern Baptist. They are commitments to (1) Christ-Lordship, (2) Gospel-centeredness, (3) the Great Commandments, (4) Biblical Inerrancy and Sufficiency, (5) Confessional Center, (6) Healthy Churches, (7) Biblical Preaching, (8) Biblically Informed Diversity, (9) More Effective Convention Structure, and (10) Christian Families.

I first heard that Southern Baptist leaders were calling for a Great Commission Resurgence in the Convention several months ago. My initial thoughts were, “Great, another bandwagon idea which will result in a lot of hoopla, tons of money spent on advertising/promotional/study materials, a number of selected conferences to rally the troops, and a continued “push” in all of these areas until finally something else comes along! That’s usually how it goes around the SBC.

I did, however, at least give the document a careful read. To my surprising pleasure, I really appreciated the direction and focus of the document. I found myself in complete agreement with all 10 Commitments. However, I still withheld my signature from the list of supporters. Here were my reasons why.

1. As alluded to above, I strongly resist fads and bandwagons. From my perspective, elements within the SBC tend to hop on the latest program or thought that comes around. That particular item gets “rode to death” and then a new fad or church model or program or evangelism strategy is introduced!It all gets tiring! And in the long run, those bandwagons seem futile, but we never seem to learn and so here we go on the next one that comes along. A prime example of this is the “Purpose Driven” craze of a few years back. This was the solution for every church, just like Willow Creek before, until we discovered a few holes and that California church models are not to be duplicated in every context! This is why I hold off on jumping into these boats that float by ever so often. You need to see how permanent they are before you hop in the big, beautiful boat only to discover that its bottom is scattered with many little holes!
2. From my observation, most of what the document calls for is already happening. Because the seminaries have become conservative, well-grounded professors have been hired, who also have a heart for the pastorate and for the church. These instructors are passing along their wisdom, experience, theology, and Bible knowledge to the students who pass through our seminaries. In turn, the pastors leaving our seminaries and entering pulpits, mission fields, and ministries are bringing with them this thoroughly biblical philosophy. As a result, 9 out of the 10 Commitments of this document are already being put to practice in the local churches! (#9 has to do with convention evaluation and restructuring) I believe this trend is exactly why at this hour such as document like this can be drafted and overwhelmingly accepted! It is not so much a call for action as it is a mirror of the younger generation of pastors who are taking biblical mandates and church life serious, and they are doing so in part because of their training. So I say to the convention in these matters, “Just keep doing what you are doing. Keep hiring conservative, Gospel-loving, Bible-believing, Church-loving professors, who will train the laborers, who will then enter the fields and implement these things through biblical conviction!”
3. Signing a “Great Commission” document is not going to make me, as a pastor, or anyone in my congregation more “Great Commission.” Either you hold to these things, or you don’t. I already dearly hold to these. The church I pastor holds to these things. And by God’s grace, we will grow in our application and appreciation of them. This work will be achieved by the teaching of the Word and the help of the Holy Spirit, not the signing of a document.
4. Is this how revivals were historically experienced? Did Jonathan Edwards and his contemporaries meet together and decide, “Hey, we need a revival. Let’s give it a name like ‘The Great Awakening’ and then ask all pastors to sign a document. Once everyone is on board, then we will see a genuine revival.” Of course, this is not what happened! Jonathan Edwards and other great ministers simply preached the Word of God with integrity, sound doctrine, and application. God chose to move in might and power and sent His Spirit. Thus a great move of God ensued that we later called “The Great Awakening.” That is why I say to the convention, “Just keep doing what you are doing in keeping the seminaries conservative and training students to love Christ, love the Word, and love the Gospel!” In God’s time, He will send a mighty move of the Spirit. We can decide what to call it later!

For these reasons, I hesitated to sign my name. They are strong reasons. They are convictions. However, I chose to sign my name to the document yesterday, and for my next blog I will share why!