Pastor Willy Rice
A Call For Baptist Renewal
Always Renewing.
Always on Mission.
Pastor Willy Rice
A Call For Baptist Renewal
Always Renewing.
Always on Mission.
A Call To Clarity, Courage, And Mission
We pray for a time of renewal in our Southern Baptist Convention based on these 7 Pillars of Renewal.
Seven Pillars Of Renewal
1. Convictional Clarity
The way forward for Baptists is not to occupy some mushy evangelical middle ground. It is to stand on historic Baptist convictions and timeless Scriptural foundations. We have over the last years stumbled over basic ideas such as pastoral leadership and all too often we’ve had a timid response to some of the great moral questions of our time. We have drifted and it is time to return to our core convictions. Clarity is kindness and in an age of apostasy and idolatry, clarity and courage are what the hour requires.
To that end I propose two specific, immediate steps:
We must address the continuing tension over women pastors.
Recent years have seen a softening of our historic, biblical convictions that were so clearly stated in the Baptist Faith & Message, 2000.
The BF&M states, “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”
Intentional and unintentional confusion has been sown through the misuse of titles and the shifting of definitions. Recent efforts to clarify our convictions and define them as parameters of our fellowship have garnered overwhelming support yet also have fallen short of the super majority needed for bylaws revisions. Inconsistent decisions rendered by Credentials Committees at both the national and state levels have left us in an uneasy state of confusion and inaction.
I propose a task force, to be initiated from the convention floor in Orlando, that would be chosen by the next SBC President and would address this issue. The task force would be composed of convictional leaders who will listen to the grassroots concerns of Southern Baptists. The task force would study the issue of “The Use and Understanding of the Term and Office of Pastor Among Baptist People”.
They would issue a report, based on the teachings of the New Testament, historic practices of Baptist people, and the clear statement in the Baptist Faith & Message 2000. The report would issue specific recommendations for clarity and action that when proposed to the convention and then adopted would serve as a clear road map for defining Baptist fellowship as it pertains to this issue. The convention could adopt the report and make such recommendations by a simple majority vote, hopefully as soon as the SBC meeting in June of 2027. I think a strong report and call to action would receive overwhelming support and help clarify what has become an unnecessarily divisive issue.
I will propose adopting an additional article to our Baptist Faith and Message 2000.
The article I propose may be called the Jacksonville Statement, after an article written and adopted by the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida. The statement addresses the issue of Gender and Sexuality and succinctly states:
I believe that God creates people in his image as either male or female, and that this creation is a fixed matter of human biology, not individual choice. I believe marriage is instituted by God, not government, is between one man and one woman, and is the only context for sexual desire and expression.
Genesis 1:27; 2:24; Matthew 19:5; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
The need for this is clear. The last quarter of a century have brought a social revolution that has attacked the very ideas of biblical truth about gender and sexuality. Few could have imagined in 2000 just how far reaching these attacks would become. The Southern Baptist Convention can send a needed, clear, and courageous signal by adding such a statement to our Baptist Faith and Message.
2. Denominational Accountability
Southern Baptists operate best when we remember that we are ruled by churches not denominational entities, and by pastors not executives.
We are grateful for our cooperative efforts and their institutional expressions, but we are weary of being lectured to instead of listened to. It is time to re-establish the authority of the local church, and the active oversight of trustees who represent those churches not the entities or agencies they serve. The hour calls for transparency, humility, and accountability.
One possible step forward would be for the convention to call for the formation of a Denominational Accountability Task Force to be appointed by the next SBC President. This task force could study and recommend actions calling for increased financial transparency and reporting of our entities. The task force could also study the role of trustees and make recommendations regarding their training and clarify their responsibilities to the convention.
3. Missional Integrity
For too many years our models of ministry have led to disappointment and confusion. We have valued size over substance, growth over health, addition over multiplication, and celebrity over integrity.
We need leadership who will elevate biblical values and models that can apply, not just to suburban mega churches, but to ordinary churches as well, including those in rural areas. God has in the past used the weaker things of this world to confound the wise, and it is ordinary people, in ordinary churches, with ordinary means, that God has often used to advance His kingdom in extraordinary ways. I want to see healthy models restored to their rightful place in our midst.
4. Cultural Responsibility
For nearly two decades Baptists were encouraged to step out of the cultural arena and silence our prophetic voice on some of the great moral and doctrinal questions of our time.
We were urged to adopt a type of neutrality in the name of missional effectiveness, but it was a ruse that effectively silenced our voices at a time when the lies of our culture were being shouted the loudest. We traded our prophetic mantle for a porridge of cultural accommodation. At the very moment our culture needed the voices of Southern Baptists the most, we were largely silent. What if this sleeping giant were aroused to challenge again the idols of our age with the courage of our forefathers who long ago preached the gospel and understood that part of that gospel mission was demolishing strongholds and arguments. We should stop apologizing for the truth and camouflaging our convictions beneath pastel colors of compromise. The cultural, moral, and yes political arena needs our voice, and yes that is part of our gospel mission. We should embrace it without apology.
5. Biblical Unity
The most diverse movement, of races, ethnicities, and tribes, in the history of the world is the church of Jesus…nothing else is even close.
But in recent years we’ve turned to social ideologies and political methodologies from a broken world, sometimes in the name of diversity, that have not only failed to bring greater unity, but they have brought more disunity that we have known in generations. We need a vision of unity that is grounded in the gospel. If we run to Jesus, we will run together. If we stand at the cross we will stand together. If we work for our Savior, we will work together. The greatest beauty of a Revelation 7 vision is not the diversity around the throne; it is the majesty of the one who sits on the throne. We don’t need secular, social ideologies to produce some type of artificial unity.
What we need is a unity grounded in gospel realities and biblical convictions. It was Jesus that made Onesimus and Philemon brothers, and those who wish to define us by race, also wish to divide us by race. They do the work of Babel not Pentecost. It isn’t focusing on whiteness, blackness, or brownness that brings the church together or even rights past wrongs, it is a focus on holiness. Jesus can do it. Nothing else can. It’s actually pretty easy. Love God and love each other. Do unto others as you would have them do to you. The gospel heals and unites, whereas worldly methodologies like Critical Race Theory divide and destroy.
6. Global Intentionality
In just a few years, 2033, the Church will celebrate 2000 years since Jesus rose from the dead and gave us the Great Commission to preach the gospel to all creatures and make disciples of all nations.
2000 years. That’s about 7 years away. What if Southern Baptists began to work now, to marshal our energy, our vast resources, and the gifts of our people to pursue the fulfillment of the Great Commission in our lifetime? It is the command our Lord gave to a handful of followers in Judea long ago and it is our Lord who will soon return to redeem His church. He gave them not just the purpose but also the power. How much more should we, these two millennium later, now give every last measure of our devotion to see His wishes fulfilled.
Imagine if Southern Baptists united behind a goal to make sure everyone in our nation heard the gospel clearly proclaimed within 7 years. Imagine every church and every association and every state convention owning the goal to ensure that everyone within their county and their state heard the good news of Jesus preached in their region. And imagine Southern Baptists embracing a historic, generational goal to get the gospel into every tongue, every nation, and every tribe across the globe by the year 2033.
With God nothing is impossible. We have the treasure, the talent, and the technology to see the Great Commission fulfilled in our lifetime. What we have lacked is the vision and will to make it happen. So why not now? Why not in our lifetime? Why not us?
7. Spiritual Vitality
We need spiritual renewal.
The last pillar is the most important of all, for without it nothing else can be accomplished. It comes not from plans and programs, but from brokenness, humility, and extraordinary prayer. Simply put, we need God like never before. As the hymn writer wrote, all is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy one comes down. We don’t need a man; we need a movement.
We don’t need a referendum; we need a resurrection. We don’t need a resolution; we need a revival.