Editor’s note: Jim Austin, executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention since April 2007, will retire on Oct. 7. We asked him to talk about his tenure as the state convention’s chief executive and his thoughts on the future for South Carolina Baptists.

COURIER: What would you consider to be the most important thing to have happened in the South Carolina Baptist Convention during your time as the chief executive?

AUSTIN: Our collective intent to change the understanding and practice of disciple-making from an academic and programmatic structure to a relationship model used and modeled by our Lord has been one of the most important things that has happened. As Christ made disciples of the 12 men He chose, He lived life with them, teaching them how to internalize and apply the Scriptures to everyday living. This New Testament pattern serves as the model we aspire to embrace in all of our convention ministries. Additionally, this emphasis serves as the foundational DNA for our new church revitalization efforts, which plays a huge role in the disciple-making process.

Second, the Great Commission Resurgence report was generally adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention and specifically adapted to our South Carolina Baptist Convention. Our state’s adoption was followed by 10 specific initiatives approved by our convention last year, which have put us on a specific course with biblical imperatives that have measurable outcomes.

Third, we have begun a health initiative for pastors to address why we historically have had the highest forced-termination rate for pastors in the SBC and the highest pastor suicide rate. I am grateful for the Band of Brothers ministry we have created for our pastors. We are also trying to educate our churches in how to treat their pastor in order to address this horrific problem of forced terminations so pervasive in our convention. We do thank the Lord that the rate of forced terminations is now declining in South Carolina.

During your tenure as SCBC executive director-treasurer, South Carolina Baptists adopted the report of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force and ushered in a new dynamic in how we support and talk about missions, church planting and church revitalization. How do you see the GCR principles changing the Baptist landscape in South Carolina over the next quarter-century? 

It is difficult to predict anything that is going to happen one year from now, much less 25 years from now, but I can say that if the South Carolina Baptist Convention remains committed to the GCR initiatives, I believe we will position ourselves to experience significant kingdom growth. This will be a result of us following the Acts 1:8 guideline given by our Lord prior to his ascension and ultimately guiding us in realizing Revelation 5:9, that the gospel is for every tribe, language, people and nation.

For about the last 100 years, South Carolina Baptists were heavily invested in the work of ministry partners — primarily the three colleges, but also Connie Maxwell Children’s Home and The Baptist Courier. In the latter half of the century, South Carolina Baptists also began supporting Ministries for the Aging and the Baptist Foundation. As more resources are channeled toward the GCR mandates of missions support and church planting/revitalization, how do you see the historical relationship between South Carolina Baptists and those ministry partners evolving over the next several years? What role do you see the ministry partners playing in the future of the convention’s mission?

We are blessed to have solid, Bible-based, well-led and financially stable ministry partners in South Carolina. There are many factors that will impact our ministry partners as well as our state conventions and associations. A primary factor impacting our ministry partners will be the radical secular agenda being driven by our government, which in time will more than likely make it increasingly difficult for our ministry partners to access any government funding unless they embrace “politically correct” guidelines. Additionally, the declining trend of Cooperative Program giving that is occurring all across the Southern Baptist Convention, if not reversed, will force not only ministry partners, but even more so the state conventions and local associations, to continually reevaluate and recreate their work. South Carolina Baptists have weathered the recession and denominational realignment better than several other state conventions, but the challenge of adapting to economic realities remains.

As our ministry partners, state conventions, and local associations continue to align themselves with the GCR directives, they will all continue to fill a very vital role in SBC and SCBC life.

Some people, through social media, have suggested that 36-year-old David Platt’s election as CEO of the world’s largest missionary-sending agency signals a change in the way we think about convention leadership. Do you anticipate a growing involvement in SCBC life on the part of younger leaders?

David Platt is uniquely gifted, thoroughly committed to missions, and a passionate gospel preacher whose election will most definitely impact SBC life. I believe that his election accelerates the reinvention of the Southern Baptist Convention that is already ongoing.

We as Southern Baptists have reinvented ourselves before. After inventing ourselves in 1845, we had a reinvention in 1925 when we established the Cooperative Program. An additional reinvention occurred between the late 1970s and the 1990s. As a result of this conservative resurgence, we made a theological shift that aligned us to biblical directives and the embracing of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.

Now, with the breakneck speed of the development of technology, the pervasive influence of secularism, and the resurgence of various forms of Calvinism within the Southern Baptist Convention, we are in yet another reinvention phase, with the ultimate outcome still unknown.

My prayer is that with the election of David Platt (and he needs all of our prayers), younger leaders will become more involved in SBC life. The question is going to be: Will they become more involved through cooperative giving, as has been our pattern since the creation of the Cooperative Program, or will they follow the path followed by David Platt, which is more of a path for designated giving, which would return us to a societal method of fundraising?

Giving through the Cooperative Program has declined across most states, including South Carolina, in recent years. Do you see the trend continuing? If not, what are your reasons for optimism?

We are better together! Cooperative ministries are more important now than ever! It is more imperative now in 2014 that we cooperate than it was back in 1925, yet the SBC continues to become increasingly fragmented over generational and preferential issues. As the rising tide of secularism rapidly advances, it is important that we work together and present a united, committed and loving witness to an increasingly needy and lost world.

I would hope the election of younger men to head our flagship institutions, such as the North America Mission Board and the International Mission Board, will inspire younger leaders to reconsider their involvement with the SBC and have a greater desire for a growing partnership. This partnership will hopefully inspire greater commitment to cooperative giving, which will favorably impact our ministry partners, convention and associations.

What do you intend to do after retiring from your leadership position with the SCBC? Will you remain in South Carolina? Has God called you to a new place of service?

Both Debbie and I love South Carolina. I have developed a deep admiration for our state convention, its history and work. I have great affection for and close relationships with many of our pastors and church leaders, and I thank the Lord for the privilege I have had to serve here since 2007. In the near term, Debbie and I plan to remain in South Carolina. Like most pastors, I have never had a sabbatical — if you are a lay person reading this article, please consider giving your pastor a sabbatical — so when my time ends in October, I plan to take the remainder of the year seeking the Lord and hope by the first of the year to have some specific direction on the next chapter God has for Debbie and me.

What do you see as South Carolina Baptists’ greatest opportunity in the next decade? Conversely, what is the greatest threat or challenge?

The South Carolina Baptist Convention will celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2021. We possess a rich heritage of faith established and passed forward by our forebears. With incredible sacrifice they established our churches and ministry partners, and discipled individuals, enabling them to pass the faith on to succeeding generations, including our own. If we are to continue building on the rich heritage we have, it will be imperative that we return to disciple-making as our driving priority. Almost everyone agrees that the primary reason we have become so fragmented and so easily influenced by predominant secular culture around us stems from [our] not having grounded people in God’s Word. We must also teach believers to apply God’s word to day-to-day living. As we return to the priority of biblical disciple-making, we have cause for great optimism. In spite of the radical secularization of our culture, there should be great hope of a fresh awakening among not only South Carolina Baptists, but also all Southern Baptists as well.

Do you have any other thoughts you wish to share with South Carolina Baptists?

It has been my great privilege to serve here! I have been honored these years to minister in this wonderful state, and my prayer is that, as we South Carolina Baptists move into this next phase of positioning ourselves to experience a fresh touch of God, we will experience Him in a new season of Holy Spirit-led revival.