LIVE BLOG from GCR Task Force Listening Session in Northwest Arkansas

Editor's note: Florida Baptist Witness managing editor Joni B. Hannigan is live-blogging onsite duri

Aug 27, 2009

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Editor’s note (8:45 p.m. EDT): The live blog has been updated with minor corrections to the content. Specifically, SBC President Johnny Hunt’s comment at the 1:02 p.m. entry, “Baptist Press was poor journalism and they have been challenged with that,” has been corrected to, “Baptist Press said it was poor journalism and they have been challenged with that.” The Witness apologizes for the errors.

1:35 p.m. CDT

Ronnie Floyd dismissed the luncheon with prayer.

1:30 p.m. CDT

PATRICK PAYTON, pastor of Stonegate Fellowship, Midland, Texas

"We are dead," he said. "If this were business you would fire everyone. ...I'm pleading with you to have no sacred cows. ... I'm asking you to bring it to town in Orlando. There was a crisis that caused a Conservative Resurgence ...."

In Orlando, "Absolutely blow it up so the next generation may have to die on the bridge" Payton said.

1:29 p.m. CDT

SAM MOORE, evangelist, Eagle Heights Baptist Church, Bentonville, Ark.

Why are there not smaller churches represented on the task force?

HUNT: He said he wanted to make sure there was great representation and many served different size churches after seminary and previously.

1:02 p.m. CDT

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STEVE JORDAN, pastor, Hickory Creek Baptist Church, Lowell, Ark.

Are you going to focus on what would be helpful to us out in the field; for us to overcome this culture shift or barrier we are running into?

MOHLER: "God bless you for being concerned." He said the world has changed and things that worked before don't necessarily work now. He said numbers used to reflect SB reaching their own children. He said SB are going to have to reach those people "who don't look like us, or speak like us, or sound like us, and believe like us."

SCOTT GORDON, Claycomo Baptist Church, Kansas City, MO

Hunt spoke again on CP giving.

GILBERT: When you see a listing of state conventions. You see a listing of churches that give directly to the entities. You need to recognize that our state conventions are not the same across the board. Every SB church has to exercise its autonomy. For instance, I served in VA at a time I could not in good conscience give to the state convention (during the Conservative Resurgence). ... We must understand that and address that challenge.

MOHLER: "The issue is not how to do less, it's how to do more." He said the report should be focused on getting more people on the field. "Regardless of how painful it is to rethink everything." Said the Lord is going to take care of every other good thing we are called to do.

JIM WILSON, pastor, FBC in Seneca, MO

He said he believes the SBC is sick, but he is hearing "mixed signals" coming from articles in Baptist Press and other sources are saying IMB and NAMB may be combined and associational missionaries and state conventions are bloated. He said many of the task force members may have "upped their giving to CP" after being appointed to the task force.

"Men keep your giving up. It's not the dollar amount. The Bible teaches that he gives the same. So I am really offended" when you talk about how much you give. Wilson addressed Johnny Hunt personally at that point and Hunt and Floyd both spoke to him and said he was incorrect.

HUNT, "there's been stuff circulating but we can't push it back to the" task force. "Baptist Press said it was poor journalism and they have been challenged with that."

MOHLER: "I have never met Mark Driscoll and I think I would be embarrassed to meet him now." He said he would send faculty members to go teach, but he has serious questions about some of the approaches he takes to culture.

"Brothers, we have got to elevate this discussion or we are not going to get anywhere."

12:52 p.m. CDT

T.O. SPICER, pastor, Sang Avenue Baptist Church, Fayetteville,

We are still a denomination of small churches and your task force has a lot of large church pastors on it.

HUNT: The IMB is there to assist us, Hunt said. He said "it's the heart where we are" and small churches will have a role. He mentioned there are board members who are from small churches. "It will play a major role. Always will and always have."

MOHLER: "There are no little places. Every place is great in the eyes of God." He said we need to start looking at the heart.

12:44 p.m. CDT

BUDDY HUNT, FBC Tahlequah, Okla.

Task force may come back with recommendation we do away with NAMB or combine with IMB; and why are members of the task force giving so little to CP.

HUNT: "Whose addressing the poor journalism that's allowing the poor reporting that may be disassembling the NAMB, there's absolutely no quote to go with that. It is ludicrous."

On CP, there are many ways to report commitment to the Great Commission.

AL GILBERT: Our church cares about "heaven counting" our giving the Great Commission. The crowd applauded.

FLOYD: "Why doesn't someone write an article about how many that church baptizes?" He asks why people don't write about how many churches they plant. "We need to create a new culture and it needs to be a biblical culture. Not pointing fingers and throwing each other under the bus and saying things that don't need to be said. Jesus has called us to love."

12:41 p.m. CDT

JEFF THOMPSON, DOM, Concord Baptist Association, Fort Smith, Ark.

Many churches are uncertain. "What are you hoping to bring to us in Orlando?"

FLOYD: "We can create actions regarding the national body, but we cannot mandate or create actions toward state conventions or associations."

12:37 a.m. CDT

QUESTION (unknown presenter): What part will local associations have in the work of the GCR and once we have determined in 2010 and what part will the association help in get that formatted in our churches.

FLOYD: Pastors can be very aggressive in enlisting their churches to pray, Floyd said. Not just praying for these people, but for their churches and SBC entities. And they should be involved in getting people to Orlando. Following that, over 1100 associations in the country, and regional conventions, we hear a lot about the autonomy of the local church. "We have autonomous state conventions and autonomous associations, and the tensions are we are all supposed to cooperate together. Therein lies the complexity of our assignment."

MOHLER: "That is yet an untold story. Many even vary in our Southern Baptist world from place to place. Time will tell where that commitment is."

12:24 a.m. CDT

R. ALBERT MOHLER, a member of the task force, shared with those at the luncheon. He said one of the realities is that Southern Baptists used to enroll "fetuses" in Sunday School. He talked about church being a "full body, full week" experience. When he was 12 he wanted to be a Boy Scout because he thought Boy Scouts had more fun than RA's. He had to join both, his parents said. He didn't know a time he wasn't involved.

"I thank God that SB have been used through the years in so many ways," Mohler said. He said he knows he wouldn't be here today.

"Eliciting, combining and directing," is why the Southern Baptist Convention exists, historically for their churches and should exist today.

1845 established 2 mission boards, Foreign Mission Board and Home Mission Board. He traces history from then until now. Mohler shares a lot of information that he shared in this article: http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/News.asp?ID=10691

In the 1950's Southern Baptists established a committee to look at the programs of the denomination. Mohler shares information about the huge corporation General Motors and how it controls by 1960 and how it controls 60% of all car sales. By 2009 it is the second largest bankruptcy in history. "You can't take big and complex for granted," he said. "We as SB have taken comfort" in bigness he said. "Brothers and sisters we are too comfortable in this denomination," Mohler said.

Mohler said SB need to ask the question if they are "Eliciting, combining and directing."

Deadline is in Orlando, he said, at the SBC.

12:19 a.m. CDT

Johnny Hunt said the Great Commission starts with his own "personal relationship" and what he has done in his life and his personal commitment to personal witnessing and evangelism. "We will see significant changes when the pulpits in America of Southern Baptist preachers make it a priority to win people to Christ."

He challenged others to talk about ways to do that.

Second, Hunt said he is really desirious to help lead the denomination to embrace to the greatest degree ever the lostness of the world. "What is it we have to do to get more money to lostness."

Third, what Southern Baptists need to do to get more churches planted in major cities of America. "I think people will do what they need to do to step up to the task."

"We need to move there in big ways," Hunt said.

Minimum of 18,000 people in Orlando and 10,000 people involved in Orlando. "Get your people there and pray for us.

Editor's note: In a July Florida Baptist Witness exclusive interview , SBC President Johnny Hunt touched at greater length on a number of the items he referenced at the luncheon.

12:06 a.m. CDT

Ronnie Floyd introduced Al Gilbert, Calvary Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, N.C; R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of SBTS; and SBC president Johnny Hunt to the platform.

Floyd said: "Our task is how SBC can more effectively and faithfully work together in serving Christ throughy the Great Commission" He talked about "tremendous excitement in the SBC" that he has seen since the formation of the GCR task force. He said there is a need for "simple and honest statements. ... We are asking for information. We are being bombarded. We want to know where we are. We cannot go where we need to go if we don't know where we are... We probably need to stop believing all we read about ourselves. We know our membership is plateaued and declining. America is getting more lost every day. Speaking of declining baptisms. Baptized less people than we did in the year 1950. Today we have more money and resources but we are doing less to reach the lost. Internationally it is unbelievable what God is doing. (paraphrased).

We want to reveal the true status. "We want to return this denomination to the primacy of the local church." Floyd said the headquarters is not in Nashville. "AMEN" luncheon participants responded. That is the headquarters of the SBC, the local church.

Also, release future generations do the work, Floyd said. It might say more about us and where they are than where we are. We are going to have to create a generation of leaders now where we are.

"We have to have balance and wisdom but we've got to come to some realities and worth with those realities."

As chairman Floyd said he has one basic task: "I am going to try to get the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation, every people group in the world, that's my commitment."

Shared about the Lisu of China and unreached people groups who have no access to the Gospel. "Folks you understand clearly that's what this task force is about." He said that's why Jerry Rankin has come to speak to the task force. He recognized Rankin.

12:01 a.m. CDT

Worship singing How Great God Alone is He.

11:56 a.m. CDT

Ronnie Floyd asked for prayer for Danny Akin facing surgery on his colon and O.S. Hawkins who is battling cancer. This is new news concerning Danny Akin who is president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. and a member of the task force. Jim Richards, SBTC, and a member of the task force is praying. Prays God will bring a "refocus to the convention," and prays for healing and says "we know You can." He asks for strength and blessings for their loved ones. "God help us to have a resurgence in prayer and discipleship ... and in doing so there will be a resurgence in the Great Commission."

11:45 a.m. CDT

Ronnie Floyd welcomes everyone to the luncheon on behalf of the task force. He asks each person to register. Directs participant to website to sign up to pray for GCR. List is growing and growing a lot before the week is over he hopes it will grow even more. "We need to mobilize our lay people to pray," Floyd says.

The worship team leads in "How Great is our God."

11:37 a.m. CDT

Ken Whitten, pastor of Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz and Ted Traylor, pastor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, two members of the GCR task force from Florida are on the move. Johnny Hunt, SBC president, now speaking with Jerry Rankin near the platform.

The media are joined by a full contingent. Mark Kelly from Baptist Press, Bob Nigh from Oklahoma Baptist Messenger, Stella Prather, Arkansas Baptist newsmagazine, Tammi Ledbetter, SBTC Texan (assisting with confirming names for this blog), and Joe Westbury, The Christian Index from Georgia.

11.24 a.m. CDT

The GCR task force luncheon is gearing up to begin in less than ten minutes. Hundreds of Southern Baptist pastors, staff persons and laypersons, as well as trustees of SBC entities are gathering. Just spotted Jerry Rankin, International Mission Board President, speaking with Jim Richards, executive director of the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention. Steve Lempke, NOBTS provost is in the room as well as Jim Wells from Missouri, who is the SBC registration secretary. BBQ for lunch!

Related Coverage:

Great Commission Resurgence Task Force

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