Sola Gratia!

Wow, I haven't posted here in quite a while...and all I'm doing now is encouraging you to go to sbctoday.com and read our latest post from Dr. Malcolm Yarnell - "Is Communion for Sinners?" It's a good one!

Sola Gratia!

That quote is most commonly attributed to Yankee great, Yogi Berra. I am choosing to borrow that expression to express my thoughts on the recent GCR Task Force lunch meeting in Rogers, Arkansas, and the status of the GCRTF in general.

Let me begin by saying that Pastor Ronnie Floyd's church, The Church at Pinnacle Hills, was a gracious host to this meeting. The meal was excellent and the fellowship was good. I was able to attend this meeting with good friend and fellow SBC Today-er, Wes Kenney. I also 'ran into' old friends from Missouri and Oklahoma and met new guys with whom I had only previously interacted online.

The highlights, as I saw them...

Pastor Floyd's statement that we need to move the headquarters of our convention from a focus on a central building or a city back to the local churches. AMEN!! We are a convention of local churches which have chosen to cooperate together for the purposes of greater ministry, including discipleship, evangelism, and missions. Our conventions, both national and state, as well as our associations exist to serve the local churches, regardless of size or 'influence,' not vice versa.

Pastor Hunt's statement that the Great Commission Resurgence needs to be a personal GCR. Pastors must take to heart and live out this truth among the people we have been called to disciple and equip for these very ministries. Again...AMEN!! As a pastor, I am called of God to not merely teach but to exemplify the life God commands and commissions us to live.

Dr. Mohler's personal testimony and thankfulness for the impact Southern Baptists have had on his life through the Cooperative Program. He stated that every significant event in his life as a Baptist had been made possible through the cooperative ministries and giving of the people in our churches. And, yes, I once again say... AMEN!! While the CP and our commitment to ongoing cooperation throughout our convention is taking a serious beating (more on that in a moment), I am thankful for the privilege we have as Southern Baptists to support our state convention ministries, seminaries, ERLC, North American missions, and international missions through the Cooperative Program.

The involvement of so many, by task force accounts 400-500 pastors, trustees, and laity, in the question and answer session. The openness of the task force to listen to input from various Southern Baptist voices is a source of hope for me concerning the future recommendations they will bring to our meeting in 2010. I hope that the remaining meetings they have will include further luncheons like the one I attended.

The lowlights, as I saw them...

The vague, general answers given to a number of the questions that were asked. When a gentleman asked about what role local associations would take, the panel replied with 'get churches to get their people to pray for the task force and to get messengers to Orlando in 2010.'

That leads me to this other thought. Maybe the GCRTF was not fully ready to take their show on the road. Maybe they are not fully settled on exactly the scope their work will take. At the point of the luncheon, they had only met one time. Their second set of meetings followed on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday.

This fact may have contributed to the confusion I saw in the panel seemingly being dismissive of the importance of the Cooperative Program as part of our Great Commission identity and then lamenting that seminary students who are in the IMB pipeline are unable to go because our CP and Lottie Moon giving is down. This strange dichotomy prompted me to ask a question seeking clarification of the matter. Is the Cooperative Program still a significant means by which we as Southern Baptists will support our combined ministry efforts (including seminaries, ethical & social issues in our world, LifeWay, and our mission entities) to which our churches should be encouraged to give (even increase giving), or should it be disregarded or seen as passe' in favor of...something else? Unfortunately, I do not believe my question was adequately answered (an opinion not expressed solely by me).

There were a myriad of other questions voiced at the meeting, some of which had no bearing or relevance to the meeting or the task of the task force. When will we as Southern Baptists figure out when and where discussions which need to take place should take place? Too many of us have our pet issue and just can't wait to give voice to it anywhere and everywhere. This crusaderism (is that a word? Must be the Yogi's influence) needs to stop. And so, I will stop on this thought, too.

Yet, here is where I will hearken back to the title of this post... It ain't over 'til it's over. I pray that as the task force continues to work together the questions people ask will have more clearly defined and cogent answers. I pray that the focus of the task force will be laser-like, as Dr. Mohler expressed. I pray that the highlights will remain the highlights and the lowlights will be diminished. Let us all remember to pray for the members of the GCRTF and the future ministry of our local churches in cooperation as the Southern Baptist Convention.

Sola Gratia!

In honor of the recent opening of one of these heavenly establishments less than two miles from my home in Liberty, Missouri, I present to you this bit of comic genius from Tim Hawkins...(with a point to follow)...



So, what's your point, Scott? Here it is: Beyond that absolutely addicting Chick-fil-A sandwich, to which many among us...especially Dr. Russell Moore...can attest our own love for this culinary masterpiece, Tim's song brings out a significant aspect of the identity which marks Chick-fil-A's reputation. Beyond the good food and the cows, Chick-fil-A is closed on SUNDAY!

This unparalleled practice among national fast-food restaurant chains was born out of the conviction of founder Truett Cathy. On his website he states his recipe for success. Included in that recipe is:

5. CLOSED ON SUNDAY
“I was not so committed to financial success that I was willing to abandon my principles and priorities. One of the most visible examples of this is our decision to close on Sunday. Our decision to close on Sunday was our way of honoring God and of directing our attention to things that mattered more than our business.”

Chick-fil-A is the only major fast-food restaurant chain to be closed on Sundays, one of the busiest days of the week in the restaurant business. Despite being closed on Sundays, Truett Cathy has led Chick-fil-A on an unparalleled record of 40 consecutive years of sales increases, with its core free-standing restaurants achieving higher sales per unit in six days (with shorter operating hours) than most major chains in the industry.

Convictional living! That is my goal for my life. That is Christ's requirement for His churches. That is the purpose for SBC Today...that we as Southern Baptists would be readily identifiable, holding forth the word of life! Being distinct does not mean being sequestered or isolated. It does require being convictional and consistent.

May we as Southern Baptist living under the lordship of Jesus Christ have the same kind of courage and consistency from our leadership, our entities, our pastors, and our churches, as we see in men like Truett Cathy.

Sola Gratia!

GOD IS GOOD…

We say this regularly. We especially say this in the good times in our life…in our families…in our church family. Indeed, our hearts leap for joy when we recognize the presence and effectual working of the Spirit of God in our midst. We are drawn to celebrate the greatness, goodness, and glory of God when we see prayers answered, people saved, and spiritual growth in our lives. When God chooses to bless us in these ways, as we seek to faithfully follow Him, the excitement is contagious. I don’t know of any Christian who wouldn’t want to live “on the mountain top.” We all would echo the words of Peter: “Lord, it is good that we are here” (Matthew 17:4).

…ALL THE TIME.

Herein lies our challenge. When we say “all the time;” we are including the valleys in our lives…in our families…in our church family. Nobody seeks out the valleys through which we go. I don’t know of any Christians who would want to continually “walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” The life of faith requires us to be tested. The question of our response to the valley is a big one. I pray that we all will be so solid in our relationship to our Heavenly Father that we would answer like Job: “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).

The beauty of this confession, “God is good. All the time,” is its simple truth. A constant reminder to us that through every circumstance we face in our lives, we have a faithful Lord who is always watching over us, who has definite plans for us (bringing us a future and true hope), and who loves us with a love greater than we deserve.

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10).

What a blessing it would be for us to be able to share this simple and beautiful truth with someone else today! Be looking for that opportunity.

SOLA GRATIA!

"Reading is Fundamental"

Check it out here.

Sola Gratia!