Baptist21 held an event entitled “Men on Mission” this past May. This event featured panel discussion and talksfrom Darrin Patrick, Alvin Reid, Bruce Ashford, and Kenny Qualls. Check out the Videos of the panel and each speaker below.
Baptist21 is indebted to First Baptist Church Arnold for hosting the event and their extravagant kindness to us in providing lunch and a first rate experience. Thank you to Pastor Qualls and all the FBC Arnold volunteers.
Panel Discussion – SBC and Its Future - sorry there is audio in the first five minutes or so, the video is delayed and kicks in about the 5 minute mark.
Alvin Reid – “Passion and Power: Marks of Men Who Lead Movements”
Bruce Ashford – Luke 14:25-33 “Men and Idolatry”
Darrin Patrick – “Gospel, Men and Marriage”
Kenny Qualls – 1 Corinthians 16:8-9 “Living a Life on Mission for Jesus”
What is “B21 Men on Mission” A one-day event covering the topics of men in the Church and men on mission.
Why this topic? There seems to be a tendency for men in our culture to be complacent and take the path of ease, or to be grown children who are consumers and those who are limited on commitment. However, God’s mission calls them instead to something radically different, courage, commitment, and action. Come hear godly, experienced ministers lay out God’s mission for men, especially young men, in the world and in service to His Church.
When is this event? Monday MAY 10 (Noon to 5pm)
Where is this event? First Baptist Church Arnold, Missouri (about 30 minutes from St. Louis, MO)
Who is speaking at this event?
In addition lunch and free books will be made available for those who register
Also don’t forget the “B21 Lunch Panel @ SBC2010″ with Matt Chandler, Ed Stetzer, Albert Mohler, Danny Akin, David Platt, and Jimmy Scroggins – for more information about this event click here and to register for this event click here
Baptist21 is excited to announce the final speaker for our event (Men on Mission) in Missouri: Dr. Bruce Ashford, Dean of the College at Southeastern.
Ashford is also the associate professor of philosophy and intercultural studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. In addition, he is a research fellow for the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture at Southeastern. Before coming to teach at Southeastern, Bruce lived and worked in the former Soviet Union. He has published articles with a number of academic journals including Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society and Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. He has also contributed a chapter to The Great Commission Resurgence: Fulfilling God’s Mandate in Our Time. Bruce is married to Lauren. The Ashfords are members of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.
What is this? A one-day event covering the topics of men in the Church and men on mission.
Why this topic? There seems to be a tendency for men in our culture to be complacent and take the path of ease, or to be grown children who are consumers and those who are limited on commitment. However, God’s mission calls them instead to something radically different, courage, commitment, and action. Come hear godly, experienced ministers lay out God’s mission for men, especially young men, in the world and in service to His Church.
When is this event? Monday MAY 10 (Noon to 4pm)
Where is this event? First Baptist Church Arnold, Missouri (about 30 minutes from St. Louis, MO)
Who is speaking at this event?
There may be a small fee for lunch (we will update you in a future blog)
Check out some of the recent blogging @ “Between the Times.”
The most recent series is entitled “The 21st Century SBC: Seven Crucial Aspects of our Mission.” Another series to check out is Danny Akin’s “Dispelling Myths Related to the Great Commission Resurgence.” These blogs are a must read for those concerned about the future of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Below, Between the Time’s Bruce Ashford has provided baptist21 with a short description of each post in the “The 21st Century SBC” series and a link to those that have already been posted. Head to Between the Times and join the conversation.
The 21st Century SBC: Seven Crucial Aspects of our Mission
This introductory post states that Southern Baptists are more than merely an indiscriminate collection of congregations who practice believer’s baptism by immersion. We are distinctively Baptist churches who cooperate because we believe that our mission will be more effective if we combine our efforts rather than if we “go it alone, and the success of this cooperation depends, in part, on these seven aspects of our mission. http://betweenthetimes.com/2009/10/29/the-21st-century-sbc-six-crucial-aspects-of-our-mission/
Aspect 1: A Mission Revealed in the Scriptures
This post argues that the doctrines of inspiration and inerrancy are foundational to our missional cooperation. Without a sure word from God, we will soon lose our mission. http://betweenthetimes.com/2009/10/30/aspect-1-a-mission-revealed-in-the-christian-scriptures/
Aspect 2: A Mission Based upon God’s Mission
This post shows the interrelation of three golden biblical threads: (1) God’s mission, (2) the church’s mission, and (3) the church’s cross-cultural and cross-linguistic mission. To ignore any of the three threads is to distort our mission. http://betweenthetimes.com/2009/11/02/aspect-2-a-mission-based-upon-gods-mission/
Aspect 3(a): A Mission Focused on the Nations (An Awkward Tension)
This post speaks to the uneasy tension arising at the intersection of three facts: (1) God’s global and pan-ethnic intentions, (2) God’s declaration that salvation comes through Christ alone, and (3) the reality that there are upwards of 2 billion people who have never heard the gospel, while our network of SBC churches have the resources to reach them. http://betweenthetimes.com/2009/11/03/aspect-3a-a-mission-focused-on-the-nations-an-awkward-tension/
Aspect 3(b): A Mission Focused on the Nations (Five Clear Challenges)
This post offers five clear questions the SBC will need to answer (continually) as we move forward. http://betweenthetimes.com/2009/11/04/aspect-3b-a-mission-focused-on-the-nations-five-clear-challenges/
Aspect 4(a): A Mission Focused on this Nation (Confront the Brutal Facts)
This post argues that the SBC needs to confront the brutal facts: while the USA is increasingly diverse, the SBC remains a mostly middle-class, mostly-white network of mostly-declining churches. We need to change the way we preach and minister if this is ever going to be corrected. http://betweenthetimes.com/2009/11/05/aspect-4a-a-mission-focused-on-this-nation-confront-the-brutal-facts/
Aspect 4(b): A Mission Focused on this Nation (Multi-Faceted, All-Encompassing, Church-Centered
This post argues that we must seek to glorify Christ (1) in every dimension of culture, including the arts, the sciences, and the public square, (2) not only in suburbs and rural areas but also in the big cities, (3) not only in the South but the Northeast and West, (4) not only to the middle class but to the poor and the elite, (5) and that all of these must center on church planting, church renewal, and cooperation. http://betweenthetimes.com/2009/11/06/aspect-4b-a-mission-focused-on-this-nation-multi-faceted-all-encompassing-church-centered/
Aspect 5(a): A Mission Driven by Biblical Theology (Revelation, God)
This argues that we must have a theologically-driven missiology. The post then proceeds to show how the doctrines of God and revelation apply to actual ministry methods. It speaks about knowledge gained from non-biblical sources, and argues that a robust doctrine of God keeps from unbridled pragmatism. http://betweenthetimes.com/2009/11/09/aspect-5a-a-mission-driven-by-biblical-theology-revelation-god/
Aspect 5(b): A Mission Driven by Biblical Theology (Christ, Spirit, Man)
This post shows how (1) the doctrine of Christ teaches us how to preach, (2) the doctrine of the Spirit teaches us about church planting, and (3) the doctrine of man teaches us how to minister to the whole man at all levels of his being, including the spiritual, moral, rational, relational, and creative/imaginative. http://betweenthetimes.com/2009/11/10/aspect-5b-a-mission-driven-by-biblical-theology-christ-spirit-man/
Aspect 5(c): A Mission Driven by Biblical Theology (Salvation, Church, End Times)
This post shows how (1) the doctrine of salvation teaches us how to minister to Muslims and idolaters, and keeps us from magical/mechanical views of salvation (2) the doctrine of the church reminds us not to forsake the primacy of the local church, to be careful about what we count as a church, and who we count as a church member. http://betweenthetimes.com/2009/11/11/aspect-5c-a-mission-driven-by-biblical-theology-salvation-church-end-times/
Aspect 6(a): A Mission Centered on the Gospel (Factionalism, Non-Fellowship, Theological Triage, Liberalism, Fundamentalism, Calvinism, Contextualization) – LINK NOW AVAILABLE
This post speaks about the dangers of liberalism, fundamentalism, and factionalism. It speaks about unnecessary infighting, and about using “theological triage” to help sort out controversies.
Aspect 6(b): A Mission Centered on the Gospel (Spats, Straw Men, Infighting) – LINK NOW AVAILABLE
This post speaks about essentials, non-essentials, and methodological disputes. It is premised upon the belief that our infighting often distracts from, and contradicts, the proclamation of the gospel.
Aspect 7(a): A Mission Based on Local Church Initiative (National Convention, Seminaries, IMB) – LINK NOW AVAILABLE
This post argues for the primacy of the local church, over entities, institutions, and associations. It raises some questions and makes some suggestions about the future direction of the national convention. the seminaries, and the IMB.
Aspect 7(b): A Mission Based on Local Church Initiative (NAMB, State Conventions, ERLC, Local Associations)
This post raises some questions and makes some suggestions about the future direction of the NAMB, the ERLC, state conventions, and local associations.
It is often times easy to take “swings” at the SBC and in many cases rightly so. A convention of imperfect churches will always be imperfect. Yes, we have many warts, and this causes many to focus attention on the blemishes. Sadly, those imperfections often blind us to the really good things that Southern Baptists are doing. Not only are these negatives leading to criticism, they are also leading many to question whether or not they should remain (or ever become in the first place) Southern Baptist. The logic is that “I have one life to live for Jesus, and I need to make the most of my time in ministering for him, so I’d rather go somewhere that is flourishing and less ‘politically embattled.’” This logic is not without wisdom. We do indeed have one life (a short one) to minister in the tasks assigned by the King. So, the question that we need to ask ourselves is, “Why am I a Southern Baptist (or why should I become a Southern Baptist)?”
Honestly, we became Southern Baptists by birth (not that we were members at birth!). Many generations of Akins have been Southern Baptist, and we were born into the home of a Southern Baptist minister. While this is NOT the main reason that we remain Southern Baptist, it should not be overlooked because it is significant. Obviously the answer to the posed question should never be, “I am Southern Baptist because my momma and daddy were.” BUT, the faithful lives and effective service of believing moms, dads, and grandparents should play a role. The younger generation is quick to dismiss tradition (and many times rightfully so!). But, there is a trail of blood, sweat, and tears of faithful men and women (including especially faithful, lay family members) that led up to where we are. In our past, men and women have taken great pains to get the Gospel to us. There were people faithfully witnessing, discipling, educating, raising families to know Jesus, etc. before we were born. They were trying to be “missional” in culture before we (or they) ever heard that word (not that there were not times of withdrawal and fundamentalist sectarianism). This is significant because we are connected to something. More than that we are connected to “someones,” a people! Why we are Southern Baptist now will be answered differently than the question, “How did you become a Southern Baptist?” But, the answer to the latter question drives the answer to the first. As far as we can trace it back, we became Southern Baptist because our Southern Baptist minister dad led us to faith in Jesus when we started asking questions about the Bible. We started asking questions about the Bible because we were attending a Southern Baptist church where a Southern Baptist Pastor, raised in a Southern Baptist Church by Southern Baptist parents and trained in a Southern Baptist school, preached the Gospel to us. We were at that church because our dad was reared by Southern Baptist parents who led him to Jesus, and our mom was reared and saved in a Baptist Children’s Home because of the faithful giving of Southern Baptist men and women. Before that, we had Southern Baptist grandparents who faithfully shared Jesus with their children because their Southern Baptist parents had done the same with them. That’s why we became Southern Baptist. Tradition may not be everything, but we have been saved by Jesus because we are connected with a people.
We remain committed Baptists because we think that Baptist distinctives above any other denomination’s theological distinctives, are the most biblically faithful. This is a conviction based on reading and studying the New Testament. We are strong advocates of Regenerate Church Membership, which John Hammett, a professor of theology at SEBTS (and others) calls “The” Baptist Mark of the Church. This mark then flows into all the others such as Believer’s Baptism, Congregational Government, Local Church Autonomy, and the Priesthood of the Believers. So we choose to be Baptist because we think Baptist distinctives are the most biblical (and we will point to this in our vision series).
But why do we choose to be Southern Baptist? Given that we believe Baptist distinctives most accurately reflect the New Testament Church we believe the following reasons warrant, with all of the imperfections of the SBC and need for reform, being Southern Baptist. Not only do we think being SBC is warranted, we believe it is the best place to cooperate together to do ALL that King Jesus commands in the world! So, “Why are we and why do we think you should be a part of the SBC?”
a second part to this blog will be posted in the coming days…
Jon and Nathan Akin
