What Should We Do About Liberalism in the SBC? Return to the Sufficiency of Scripture in the Life of the Church
It has been slightly over two months since the 2024 Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting concluded in Indianapolis, Indiana. For many of us, the dust is still settling. In the aftermath of the Law Amendment (something the SBC sorely needed to adopt) failing by a mere 4% of the necessary 66% threshold needed to pass, thousands of frustrated SBC conservatives are asking, “What now? What is next?”
One can easily sit back and throw theological darts or assign blame. However, one narrative that will continue to build in light of the Law Amendment’s failure is that the SBC has become totally liberal and is beyond saving. Many of these accusations undoubtedly come from individuals who were not present at the 2024 Annual Meeting or are not members of a Southern Baptist church.
But some who are tempted to leave the SBC “to the goats” are those who are still in the fold. Some who are concerned that the SBC’s “big tent” has become a circus are those who are still pastoring in their local SBC church. Their concerns and fears are legitimate and should not be brushed aside.
What should faithful, conservative, and complementarian (actually complementarian, not “complementarian, but”) SBC pastors think about the future of our Convention? What, if any, actions should we begin to take?
One nugget of wisdom worth reflecting on and applying to our situation today can be found in the time-tested and timelessly applicable book Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen. Machen exhorts his readers that “It is usually considered good practice to examine a thing for one’s self before echoing the vulgar ridicule of it.” If your church is genuinely considering leaving the SBC, I’d encourage you to only do so after careful prayer and consideration with your local church in view and not what others say.
To be clear, I believe something must be done. Action must be taken. But I don’t think that action should be pulling out of the SBC—not yet, at least. More importantly, I believe that our collective action to reform and revitalize the SBC and bring it back to its theologically faithful and theologically conservative foundations begins not at the national convention level but at your local church.
Why? Because problems, drift, and compromises first set in at the local church level.
Liberalism in the SBC is an Outworking of Liberalism in the Local Church
There is an age-old theological cancer that continues to infect local churches, inviting compromise into the body that metastasizes rapidly. If left unchecked and untreated, it will grow until it consumes the entire churches, denominations, and conventions. The end state of this terminal theological cancer was seen recently when the United Methodist Church removed over 50 years of denominational bans on gay clergy and same-sex marriages.
But how does a denomination get to that point of utter apostasy, and could the SBC also come to the same fate? Such theological drift does not occur overnight, and it is not fought and won in a single battle. Rather, it grows over time through local churches compromising, which leads to the demise of an entire denomination.
This cancer, which will ultimately spread to the entire denominational body, first sets in when local churches replace doctrinal clarity with cultural relevancy. Stage One is when the need for cultural acceptance overtakes the authority of Scripture in the life of a pastor or a local church. Stage Four is when they hang an LGBTQIA+ Pride Flag outside of the sanctuary.
Want to save the SBC? Here’s how we do it: Local SBC churches must revive the authority and sufficiency of Scripture as their foundation for the preaching and application of the faith.
The Primacy of Scripture is the Starting Point for Renewal
In the contemporary evangelical world, those who deny the authority and sufficiency of Scripture in practice promote the mantra of unity. Under the banner of pursuing unity, one can amass a large following by bridging gaps and social divides across denominational and doctrinal lines and boundaries. This cancer destroys churches, seminaries, and Christians equally and is accomplished at the expense of biblical truth. Nothing is incorrect with the concept of unity; however, distinctions are required to define precisely what unites us. Is it a biblical truth? Or is it a form of social cohesion?
In No Place for Truth, David Wells explains:
“Those who marched gladly under the banner of evangelicalism and had affirmed the truths of historic Protestant orthodoxy now began to look sideways. As the theological centre began to give way, there arose a multitude of evangelical amalgams with, among other things, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, special interests such as feminism, the pieties of the World Council of Churches, and radical politics.”
Wells emphasizes that the problems faced in the 1960s and 1970s remain the same today. The authority of Scripture is diminished by theological negation and cultural assimilation. Gregory of Nyssa’s warning, “Let the inspired Scripture, then, be our umpire, and the vote of truth will surely be given to those whose dogmas are found to agree with the Divine words,” appears to have been woefully forgotten.
As pragmatism sets in, the Bible is no longer the standard of the church’s spiritual welfare; the size of the congregation is. Similar to Luther’s time, pragmatism and numerical success have usurped scriptural authority; views such as Sola Scriptura are derided, and those who hold them are called dogmatic and divisive for holding such a view. Nevertheless, the people will fall when scriptural authority loses its rightful position in the church, and this is precisely what is happening in the modern church today.
Where Scripture’s authority is downplayed and minimized, theological liberalism prevails, and subjective opinions, emotions, and desires replace the objective truth of what the Bible outlines. If the church grows numerically, it is impolite to query its success, as “numbers don’t lie.”
However, the measure of a church’s health is not its numerical expansion but its spiritual vitality as shown in its submission to the Word of God.
Unity Without Compromise
As churches seem to succumb one after another to a “woke” culture, gender confusion, and the need to define what the word “pastor” means, it is evident that Scripture is no longer the compass and guiding force for churches but rather the self. Mankind is no longer the image bearer of God; instead, God is made in our image to conform to our likeness, making him more “accommodating” and “inviting” so that those outside the church feel “welcomed” and “invited” to join.
Nothing is intrinsically wrong with a church being hospitable and inviting, but who or what is being welcomed and invited? Is the welcoming focused on coming as you are and adjusting your needs and desires to Christ’s when you feel like it? Is it possible to feel invited but not to the end state of dying to self, taking up your cross, and following Christ? Or is the focus only on morality, which will ideally lead to a more “fulfilled and productive” life? The problem with the modern church is that the concept of hospitality and invitation has become the driving force for congregations seeking numerical growth and a sense of the success of the Great Commission.
Nevertheless, the spiritual pulse of churches, such as those that adhere to the mantra mentioned above, produces success in attendance, finances, programs, and social recognition but little or no actual spiritual development. Due to the high turnover rate of church membership, church membership is devalued, and every individual is entirely replaceable. Most churches have a church membership basis where the number of members does not correlate with actual church participation.
By this standard, the statistics regarding “success” on paper are undeniable, and the “outcomes” cannot be disputed. If you are unsure whether or not your church needs reform, ask yourself, “What would the church look like if all of its programs disappeared?” For instance, if the student ministry was integrated with the adults, the nursery was converted into a mothers’ area within the sanctuary, and the church did not host exciting concerts, venues, and other “community engagement” activities, would the church still have high attendance?
Furthermore, what is the spiritual welfare of your church as a whole? Are you spiritually maturing, as evidenced by your increasing sanctification? Is there continual purposeful discipleship as described in Scripture? Or does discipleship look like whatever you want it to look like as long as you throw the term “discipleship” on it? There are several areas and items in which Christians can and should disagree; however, we must maintain unity through a Scriptural lens. Unity does not mean uniformity.
True Christian unity must always be grounded in the truth. Unity means we remain united around the cause of Christ and the bond we all share. Yes, we can still disagree on minor theological issues that don’t directly contradict Scripture or our shared confession of faith. But in today’s SBC, unity appears to mean, “Look the other way when you see that the SBC church down the street just installed a woman as a pastor.”
The problem everyone must evaluate is what or who my church is in unity with. Is it in harmony with Scripture, or is it more unified with the cultural milieu? The historical observations of churches abandoning the trustworthy word that was taught (Titus 1:9) and instead making minor concessions to make their church appear to be “tolerant” and “accepting” has become the norm.
Always Reforming
I know that many of my brothers in the SBC do not subscribe to “Reformed Theology.” And, of course, there is space for both Calvinists and non-Calvinists in our Baptist convention. That’s not what I mean by “always reforming” here. What I mean is that the church must constantly return to Scripture as our only infallible rule for faith and practice. When the allure of worldly pragmatism or liberalism begins to “de-form” our churches, we must “re-form” them according to the Word of God.
And the need for reformation isn’t only found within the church and your ecclesiastical body. In evaluating priorities in what you should look for in a local church, you must first identify indicators of a truly healthy church. Ephesians 4:11-13 should be used as a guide in developing a biblical philosophy of what to expect from the church and determining if you should leave. Some questions to ask and consider should include: “Are you growing spiritually? Are you progressing in your sanctification and pursuing after holiness (1 Peter 1:16)?” But in my experience as a pastor, I often hear responses to this question such as:
“I enjoy serving in the church.”
“I am looking for accountability.”
“I am seeking community.”
“I want my kids to have morals.”
Nothing is wrong with these items; however, if that is your primary motivation, you may need to reevaluate your expectations for church. If you are growing spiritually and are empowered by the ministry’s work, the statements above will come naturally. However, if your reason and purpose behind attending church begin with these, then you are approaching church incorrectly.
The expectations you have for the church must come from biblical principles, not traditional expectations. As Tom Ascol and many other solid SBC leaders like to say, “We have a Book!” Go into church with the expectation that you will hear God’s Word taught and expounded and be ushered into glorying God and praising Him. You will be less likely to be disappointed if the other items are not necessarily the most vital points of the church.
However, the question I pose for us all to ponder is, if you are growing, learning, and maturing in the faith because God’s Word is faithfully being taught, are you willing to overlook other minor personal preferences, such as worship styles, that may not be present? The church needs a modern reformation because the exact opposite is what has been steering the wheel for church attendees. There is a higher expectation of programs, facilities, and community than of growing and deepening your knowledge and walking with Christ.
Conclusion
The need for a modern reformation is here, and it must start at the local church. All believers worldwide are responsible for building their life, purpose, and understanding from the only source of truth, Scripture. Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) is now viewed as a “divisive” issue that is not essential for Christian faith and practice. If this drift from Scriptural authority continues, if believers do not hold God’s Word as the only source of life, truth, guidance, and correction, then ambiguity will ravage Christians’ the church, and future generations.
We need men and women to stand up boldly and lovingly to bring those in their spheres of influence back to the source of truth. Reformation begins personally, moves outward to the local church, and finally, on the national level.
To prevent the SBC from drifting further into liberalism and wokeness, we must ensure that our personal theological views and our local churches have not already drifted. Suppose each church admits its faults, removes the pragmatic view of church growth, and submits itself entirely to the authority of Scripture.
If we do that, I am confident we will see a dramatic and lasting reformation within the lives of our local churches and the Southern Baptist Convention as a whole.
