BFM3000 #1: Winning Time
It’s winning time.
We are late in the 4th quarter, we’ve made some mistakes, and our opponent has drained a few big threes. But the game is still close, and we’re huddled up. It’s time to look at coach and say, “give me the rock.”
Then, go hit the shot.
BFM3000 is about Southern Baptist faithfulness and fruitfulness for the next thousand years, starting with the year ahead of us. It’s about winning in our generation so our great-grandchildren can win in theirs.
BFM3000 is about setting a forward agenda for Southern Baptist churches. It is a call to action for the cause of Christ.
Yes, the Southern Baptist Convention is in trouble. We face threats from within and without. Our leaders have failed us. And we are stuck in a cycle of distrust and accusation.
But now is not the time for pessimism. It is not the time for complaining or sulking. And it is certainly not the time to get bogged down in perpetual reaction to our ideological opponents.
Now is the time to vanquish them.
But while tit-for-tats on social media can be fun, and the decentralization of information dissemination has done much to discredit our foes, a purely negative and adversarial approach is not sufficient. It makes for good defense, and keeps our opponents on their toes, but it’s our ball now.
It’s time to say, “give me the rock!”
We have to lead. We have to rally the troops.
Our convention is stuck.
However, it’s not because the Convention is lost. It’s not because our churches have gone liberal. The recent lopsided Saddleback vote demonstrates that we are still a conservative convention at heart.
But we have been poorly led and poorly taught, and in the end, I believe, manipulated.
Some good men have gone along. Other good men have fought back. And the back-and-forth has gone on long enough to produce sides and tribes and factions. And while this development has accelerated some massive changes within the Convention, it has impeded our mission.
Again, we are stuck.
In A Failure of Nerve, Edwin Friedman argues families, organizations, and institutions get stuck for lack of well-differentiated leadership that leaves the organization subject to unhealthy emotional systems and chronic anxiety.
Bob Thune summarizes some of Friedman’s thought like this:
Unhealthy emotional systems are marked by reactivity. A well-differentiated leader doesn’t react to other people’s reactions; he or she is a calm, steady presence.
Unhealthy emotional systems are marked by a herding instinct. A well-differentiated leader has a strong sense of self and can effectively separate while remaining connected.
Unhealthy emotional systems are marked by blame displacement. A well-differentiated leader takes responsibility for himself and leads others to do the same.
Unhealthy emotional systems are marked by a quick-fix mentality; relief from pain is more important than lasting change. A well-differentiated leader realizes that true long-term change requires discomfort, and he or she is willing to lead others through discomfort toward change.
Unhealthy emotional systems are marked by poorly defined leadership. A well-differentiated leader takes decisive stands at the risk of displeasing others.
Over the course of the next year, leading up to #SBC24 in Indianapolis, I intend to do my small part in helping us get unstuck.
I want to chart a better course for Southern Baptists by promoting a positive, forward vision for Baptist action.
I do not mean “positive” in the sense of a surface-level happy-clappy-ness. I won’t be taking notes from the local “uplifting positive family radio station.”
Rather, I mean “positive” in the sense of setting an agenda of what we are for, not only what we are against. I want to point clearly to where we ought to go.
Nor do I promise to be uncontroversial, for some of our most needed solutions will not be popular. But chasing popularity is part of what got us stuck in the first place.
What Southern Baptists need today is a call back to our roots. We are not a denomination proper, but a missions partnership. We come together to fund the Great Commission and take the world for King Jesus. We need to remember this. We exist to bring the world into conformity to Jesus, not to bring the church into conformity with the world.
Southern Baptists also need a call toward the future. Yes, we face all sorts of challenges, obstacles, and enemies—welcome to Negative World! But we are not helpless.
Maybe you’ve seen the meme:
Now is the time for strong men to create good times.
Now is the time for strong men, full of grit and the Holy Ghost, to go out preaching and proclaiming the Kingdom.
The Southern Baptist Convention has been a force for great Kingdom advance over the last 175+ years. It will be again.
We will win.
Give us the rock.
If you are interested in the longterm health of the SBC, please subscribe and pass this along your SBC friends.
If you are receiving this newsletter and you’re not sure why… I sent an email earlier this week explaining that I was transitioning my old Get Your House In Order newsletter into BFM3000. If you’re not SBC or not interested, please feel free to unsubscribe. No hurt feelings.