Halfway through my year as president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, two learnings bubble to the top of many. One, we are an incredibly diverse lot. Two, we are more resistant to change than I ever imagined.
HolmesSo, maybe I was a little na?ve when a handful of Baptists elected me to represent them this year. Still, after 30 years you’d think I was a little more alert to the unique character of our churches and the factors that influence our variety. I suppose, however, we tend to think our church is like all the others and that essentially, we’re more alike than not, which is blatantly wrong. We are 2,103 churches with regional, stylistic, methodological, and a whole catalog of other unique traits that give each and every one a distinctive platform for mission.
This is an asset for the kingdom, that we are not exact duplicates. Our kinship is submission to Jesus, the only head of his church, and the doctrinal marks preserved and impressed on the early church by Jesus and the apostles. The Epistles make clear the singular profile of each of the earliest congregations, the particular circumstances and character that occasioned them. Moreover, expanding the body of Christ metaphor, where mutual dependence links the various parts of the body, we can appreciate the contribution of every congregation, as dissimilar as we may actually be.
We must resist any effort to standardize the local church. Every congregation should represent the kingdom in their own community, reflecting the character of Christ in that unique setting. Context is the word, the way churches engage their immediate world. Authentic mission by nature makes us different. It’s a blessing.
There’s no room for contest here, either, the competition of which one of us is the most Baptist. About the only standard any of us share is that we are sinners saved by grace attempting to appropriate the mind of Christ into our understanding of mission. All the positioning is just prideful arrogance. Diversity is an attribute. We should rejoice in it!
The “change” thing is a surprise. It’s well-known that religious organizations and institutions, including the local church, are among the most entrenched corporate enterprises. Thirty years ago, our church administration professor told us the seven last words of the church. They are still operative and true today. At every level of Baptist life, the system and structure have become more sacred than the mission assignment of Christ. Preserving the template seems to be the raison d’?tre for much of our vast hierarchy. Then there is loss of mission, while the definition of insanity screams at us to join the new thing God is constantly doing.
So, these have been instructive months. I’m praying God will give us wisdom to make value of these lessons.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)