A resolution that has value: ON SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN

My friend and fellow Georgian, Peter Lumpkins, submitted this resolution and I confess that my prediction was that it would fail to be reported out of the Resolutions Committee and any attempt to bring it to the floor would likewise fail. Peter would then go home and drown his disappointment, rather expensively, in Starbucks coffee which he never seems to be without (ABP photo).

I was wrong and the SBC did pass an amended resolution but one that Peter favored.

The original resolution had this paragraph:

RESOLVED that we strongly urge denominational servants, entity leaders and our trustee boards to sever all ties, whether official or unofficial, with any evangelical organization, fellowship of ministers, and/or celebrity leader who, presently or in the past, is facing criminal and/or civil litigation for neglecting moral or legal obligations to protect the little children whom Jesus said suffer to follow Him, ties including but not limited to speaking engagements at conferences, entities, and/or agencies supported, whether full or in part, by Cooperative Program monies; and 

The target for this paragraph was C. J. Mahaney who has been loudly praised and touted by some of our SBC leaders, not the least of which is Albert Mohler.

The case of Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries, and sexual abuse of children is long and somewhat complicated. There are horrible allegations of abuse, some while Mahaney was pastor and in his church, though he is not accused of any such behavior. A high profile civil suit has been filed against a number of SGM leaders. The lawsuit alleges that when abuse was reported to the church, church leaders did an in-house investigation and tried to handle it privately.

Background can be found in numerous articles by Bob Allen of Associated Baptist Press (you will not find much from Baptist Press which avoids such unpleasant subjects). The article here is from this week. Also, two blog queens (their own self-description) and their blog The Wartburg Watch 2013 are tireless victim advocates and keenly focused on the SGM scandal. Their research is stellar.

The Resolution Committee quickly deep-sixed that paragraph before they reported the resolution to the floor. An amendment was added from the floor that said:

RESOLVED: that we encourage all denominational leaders and employees of the Southern Baptist Convention to utilize the highest sense of discernment in affiliating with groups and/or individuals that possess questionable policies and practices in protecting our children from criminal abuse; 

You can still read "C. J. Mahaney" between the lines of the above paragraph.

Here's the deal: Even though Southern Baptists have said a lot about clergy sex abuse and have numerous programs to educate churches and pastors of the issue and how to handle such things at the local church level, we have not been very effective in handling cases that touch on our churches or our leaders.

This resolution helps somewhat, but let's be candid here, no one who should have been paying attention to this matter, Executive Committee, Resolutions Committee, high profile leaders like Mohler, thought it important to address it with a resolution at the annual meeting. The matter was left for a small church pastor and blogger. I give Mohler et al credit for realizing that they needed to get on board here.

One of my boasts is that I have never spend a dime on Starbucks coffee. It is one of my life principles not to pay $5 or so for a cup of drugged and flavored water.

But the next time I meet Peter at the Starbucks halfway between us, I'll buy. Good work.
______________________________________

If you are a pastor or church staff and haven't given this a lot of thought, I recommend your state convention who most certainly has a staff member with responsibility for child safety. But start with a couple of my articles:
Pick up the phone, call the cops.

They did not call the cops...and have been arrested.

Also, get Christa Brown's book (available on her website) and read what she has to say. It is ugly but may save your ministry down the road. She started talking about sexual abuse in the SBC before anyone else.

Aside from the oppressive Houston humility, er humidity, the SBC should be a good one

While I doubt anyone would confuse the humidity at an SBC meeting in Houston with humility, the former obvious from one's first morning breath, the latter always in short supply amongst our struttin', backslappin', gregarious brethren, I am optimistic that the annual meeting will be good.

Here are a few things I read in the tea leaves from afar, no benefactor having offered to pay my expenses to attend the meeting (second consecutive year this has happened).

Elections

• Fred Luter will be reelected as president and will deliver a stem-winding, corn-shucking, rip-roaring sermon.
• Bart Barber will be elected 1st VP. He is a sensible, reasonable, quality pastor.
• Jared Moore, whom I know from SBC Voices, will not be elected 2nd VP but will continue to grow in knowledge and grace as he ages and works toward an advanced degree. He is a serious minded young man. Try again.

 The Calvinist Report

• It will pass easily but there is really nothing controversial in it and it requires no action.
• Various SBC luminaries will offer comments filled with sweetness and light.
• An outlier messenger or two may get to a mic and ask a dumb question, but that's the SBC.

 Peter Lumpkins' resolution on Sex Abuse (look for my article later today on the subject)

• Will be buried in the resolution committee and not reported out to the floor with the reason offered that the SBC has addressed the issue in previous resolutions.
• An attempt to put it on the floor for a vote will fail.
• The SBC will have missed a good opportunity to get ahead of a scandal that will embarrass some of our prominent leaders.

 The statistical report

• There will be hand-wringing, weeping, and gnashing of teeth over the sharply lower baptism total for 2012. 
• God will be blamed for this in that He hasn't sent revival.
• Pastors will be blamed for this for not witnessing.
• Jerry Drace, president of the SBC Evangelists group, will blame pastors for not using vocational evangelists.
• No one but Kevin Ezell will be able to say they are doing something that might change the downward trend.

 Boy Scouts

• Boy Scouts will be beaten up.
• The near defunct and moribund SBC Boy Scout alternative, Royal Ambassadors, will be touted. 

People-watching

• Look for the mega pastors and mega wannabees to be wearing suits or at least dress shirts with cufflinks. See how they strut (you could strut like that with some practice, get a full length mirror).
• Observe carefully how many of the Reverends are embarrassingly rotund. Follow one to lunch and find out why.
• Be sure and not miss the miscellaneous business sessions because that is where you will be entertained by a few oddball messengers offering oddball motions. Hey, it's their right.
• Lament the lack of tonsorial enhancement, toupees. Thirty years ago there were no shaved heads and hundreds of toupees. Now, scarcely a toupee to be spotted and shiny pates everywhere. 

I regret not being able to attend but, Lord willing, I will make Baltimore next year.

Have fun, after all, you are on an expense account.

2012 Annual Meeting Moments

Best moment: Duh. Election of Fred Luter.

Best line: Bryant Wright. "To our Calvinist friends: A bit of humility would be most welcome."  Few people have the ability to say something gravely critical, say it kindly, and have folks walk away reflecting on it rather than reacting to it.

Biggest surprise: The decisive election of Dave Miller as 2nd VP. Unthinkable just a week or so ago. Ditch the lime green suit, bro.

Biggest teaser: Frank Page, having stated that he would announce an "initiative" on the Calvinist/Traditionalist controversy, leaving the matter dangling: Page confirmed again that he plans to assemble a group of advisers to help chart a way through the division surrounding Calvinism.
Whom? What? When? How? We will have to wait.

Silliest moment: Don't know. Wasn't there. Didn't stay glued to the live feed all day. Nominations will be accepted from the hoi polloi in attendance.

Best resolution: Yawn. Doesn't matter but generally does keep people from browsing the exhibit hall for the umpteenth time.

Best hair: Tie between Peter Lumpkins and Eric Hankins.

Smoothest moment: Pick from any number during the sessions when  Bryant Wright was presiding.

Best reporting: SBC Voices did a good job with the twitter feeds.



Houston next year? Don't we ever tire of punishing ourselves by meeting in the heat of June in virtually uninhabitable places.

Georgia Baptist 'insider' blog goes kaput

I didn't think it could happen but after about two months of anonymous blogging on the Georgia Baptist Convention, the possibly spuriously named GBCInsider blog has managed to give even anonymous blogging a bad name.

The blog started badly, stumbled often, and ended up an embarrassment. A few interesting points about GBC matters were offered along with a generous helping of out-of-date information, high minded pontifications, and factually challenged assertions. The blog degenerated into a raft of anonymous, unkind hemorrhages that passed for comments.

While I think some anonymity in blogging is reasonable, I'm about cured of this type. If you have something to say. If you would like to write about things you don't like about the GBC, do it with a name affixed, like John Waters, one of the GBC presidential candidates.

My friend and fellow non-anonymous blogger, Peter Lumpkins, has noted the demise of the same yesterday and with greater insight and elan than I. He speculates that the whole thing was a political tactic designed for no good purpose other than to scare up a few votes for one of the two GBC political candidates.

For the record, GBCInsider signs off by absolving itself of any blame for untoward comments and by blithely declaring victory.

What a joke.

There is a need for honest discussion of matter of concern in the Georgia Baptist Convention and a dearth of forums for doing so. The impression of not a few GBCers is that leadership would like for the churches to just trust us and give more money. I suggest that GBC leadership and the new president find a way to schedule sessions around the state where the purpose is listening, where honest feedback is solicited, received, and heard.

...either that or start a blog and welcome questions and provide answers.

Some Not-Too-Shabby Baptist Blogs and Bloggers

As a group, bloggers certainly score high on the scale of self-importance. I suppose it probably is so internalized that no blogger ever asks him/herself, “Why wouldn’t the whole galaxy want to know what I think about stuff, seeing that I am such a witty, insightful, and provocative guy?” Bloggers instead presume that the world awaits their next display of brilliance.

Indeed.

Plodder admits to a degree of that, the self-importance part, not the witty, brilliant, insightful part. OK, I own up to the provocative part.

Here are a few blogs that I enjoy reading and have found to be more than the usual tepid blogfare, annotated of course with my witty, brilliant, and provocative thoughts:

FBCJax Watchdog Tom Rich’s story about FBCJax, his banishment, lawsuit, and settlement was a prime example of how a church member, when denied any effective voice through proper church channels, can easily go public. Tom’s case just happened to be one of the more exaggerated examples of church conflict and a pastor and church’s inept response to it. Since then, Rich blogs about his version of abusive, manipulative, and misbehaving men-of-the-cloth. Sure, some may think it is just a pastor-hate site, but I encourage my colleagues to read it. They might learn something. I don’t buy all of his stuff but I read it all.

Spiritual Samurai David Montoya is the little Latino pit bull whose persistent small voice exposed one of the SBC’s largest scandals. Give a little guy with a high level of indignation a big bullhorn and see what might happen. There could be nothing better for the SBC at every level than an understanding that, ‘No, you’re not going to get away with untoward behavior and decisions, even if all the people who “count” busy back slapping, glad handing, and looking the other way.’ I don't get the samurai stuff.

SBC Voices is a group thing (six guys without a life, perhaps? Don’t they know that six is a bad number?) where a bunch of people contribute, including moi, occasionally. The blogs they feature have introduced me to a few interesting subjects and writers. The pieces written for SBCV are a mixed offering. As in the OT, I wave on a few, burn a few, and consume a few, and scratch my head over a few. I am told this is a Calvinist site but am awaiting divine judgment about that. Until then, I don't hold it against them. One of the calvinists there even has a sense of humor. Quite rare.

The Big Daddy Weave/ comes from Aaron Weaver who is a few light years to my left and a few decades below me in age. He writes well, is quite informed on church/state stuff, and hasn’t learned to trash mouth everyone who disagrees with him. He is a Georgia Bulldawg, which always helps. I don't get the Big Daddy stuff.

SBC Tomorrow. I like Peter Lumpkins. He has the finest hair in the SBC for one thing; however, he seems to generate some ire amongst the brethren. I confess to not quite understanding why. He is zeroed in on Calvinism and such things as ACTS29, et al. He writes well and thinks deeply about SBC stuff. I appreciate his stuff.

From Law to Grace is Howell Scott's blog, former lawyer, something he reminds us of about once a day, so I try and toss in a few ex post factos, certioraris, and a posterioris for him. Howell is far from being a posterior and writes widely on interesting things and I like his stuff.

I'd list other blogs I read but someone might get the idea that I don't have a life.

Surprising giving factoids from Georgia Baptist churches

Here in Georgia The Christian Index prints the giving records of all Georgia Baptist Churches, 3,556 of them, displayed in eight pages of mice type so as to cause those with even the sharpest visual acuity to strain. It makes for some interesting reading, however. The most recent report gives 2010 results and there are some interesting observations to make:

18% of GBC churches did not make a report, presumably, not filing the ACP. I would speculate that this number will rise as pastors and churches find that reporting has less value to them. I give the bigwigs credit for simplifying the ACP.

Almost one in five (19.4%) GBC churches reported no contributions to the GBC, no Cooperative Program, Lottie Moon, World Hunger, nothing. This number is up from last year when 17.6% of churches reported no contributions.

Almost one in four (24.3%) of GBC churches reported no contributions to the Cooperative Program.

Cooperative Program gifts by GBC churches were down 1.54% in 2010, about $700k total. Not too bad, I’d say.

Total giving was up, mainly because of sizable Haiti relief giving (about $1.5mil) and increased Lottie Moon ($721k) giving.

Gifts to NAMB dropped by about 4%.

I suppose that one could find some trends in some of this but I don’t have past years readily available.

I don't have a figure for the number of GBC churches that have elected to designate their CP gifts around one or more SBC agency or institution.

Shall SBC churches defund Southern Seminary and Al Mohler?

Shall Southern Baptist churches defund Southern Seminary and Al Mohler?

Well, no, I don't think that is even remotely called for, but here in Georgia one prominent church answers “yes” and has defunded both SBTS and Southeastern Seminary. The Georgia Baptist Convention allows for such and for continuing to label a church’s giving as Cooperative Program even though the church wants to designate around up to two SBC entities.

Abilene Baptist has informed the GBC that they wish for their CP gifts to not go to SBTS and SEBTS. Their pastor, Bill Harrell is a former SBC Executive Committee chairman.

Why?

Reasons were stated: SBTS is a “breeding ground” for Calvinists; the pastor doesn’t want to help start Acts 29 churches, and he objects to the Great Commission Giving category. Another GA pastor says that this may represent a “seismic shift in SBC life.”

My fellow Georgia Baptist, Peter Lumpkins, sees this as a very significant move and as indicative of the disaffection of a large segment in SBC life. (Link here and one might note the lengthy comment stream generated by that blog article).

Plodder thinks not but understands that when some pastors get something in their own mind they might project it onto the rest of us and consider it “seismic.” We will see. I would speculate that some of the more strident anti-Mohler voices will take Mohler's recent commentary on the SBC and homosexuality and start with the same kind of squawking.

We all know that Southern Baptist conservatives are well steeped in is designated giving and not a few have itchy CP trigger fingers. I don't see anything worth pulling the trigger over here.

[The Christian Index first carried this news on June 2nd. I cannot locate the story on their site or I would link it.]

These are our employees. We ask questions. They should answer.

Some describe the 2011 convention in Phoenix last week as our nadir, as in low numbers. I'd co-opt that word to describe the degeneration of a rather ho hum convention into a silly blogfest and tweetfest over a question Peter Lumpkins asked Al Mohler.

As long as I have been attending these meetings ordinary peons get to ask agency heads questions. Usually they are pablum and milk toast questions but occasionally they are pointed and tendentious questions. Every now and then a questioner will make convention attendees squirm in their seats.

Well, tough. We pay these people well into six figures. They should be able on this one occasion annually to handle these questions from the floor with grace, dignity, and without condescension and an attitude, even if a questioner is difficult. Our way of doing business at these meeting is messy. I see no reason why any of our leaders should not have the wherewithall to handle such things.

Two examples from this year:

Al Mohler’s Response to Peter Lumpkins: The Complete Video

Peter asked, OK, so it was a looooooong question. Mohler launched into an answer. Tough to see the problem here.

Thom Rainer Shows How Not to Answer Questions from Critics

I haven't see the Rainer video.

I think the SBC will survive questions to the leaders. We may not survive the tweeting and blogging absurdities, rancor, and venom that follows.

Remote sensing on the SBC meeting

I missed all the fun in Phoenix, then again, my expenses were quite low, zero.

Observations:

I like the business casual announced by Bryant Wright but from the photos it's obvious that the platform brethren aren't comfortable being comfortable. Come on, Frank...come on Kevin, take the tailored suit jacket off too.

The SBC annual meeting has always been a place where some genuine oddballs can grab a mike and get a little face time. Ordinarily, such is not a problem. We understand the process and procedures. When one of the nutcases gets elected to an official position, uses that position to embarrass us, and whose personal life outside of the office is harmful to the SBC as a whole, then we have a problem. I'm speaking of course of Wiley Drake who was a nutcase before he was elected to a VP position, who is a nutcase now, and, unless he gets a brain transplant, will be a nutcase until he dies. Go away, Wiley. Start your own denomination with the 101 idiots or uninformed people who voted for you.

My friend Peter Lumpkins got sufficient notice for Wade Burleson to blog about him. They have had an acrimonious relationship for years, a factor that should be considered when reading WB's stuff. The matter of the SBC and homosexuality bears scrutiny, although I don't see us going down the welcoming and affirming route that the CBF is going. The CBF is doing a stealth W & A at the moment but they will, I predict, exit the closet later.

I withdraw my label of "Gloom and Doom" on the SBC 2011 and will rechristen it "Ho Hum" which is a decided positive for one of these meetings.



Generally: Ho hum, yawn, and let's get to work.

Since we pay for the SBC Pastor's Conference, how about an accounting of it?

My fellow Georgian, blogger friend Peter Lumpkins of SBCTomorrow blogs about something of which I was not aware - not a difficult thing to do.

SBC Pastors' Conference: Who Pays and How? by Peter Lumpkins

His article (above) of 3/14 is about the funding for the Southern Baptist Pastor’s Conference, the pre-convention affair that showcases people the SBC elite want to be elected to office. Back in the day (I attend the SBC annual meeting about once in every three years or so and haven’t been to a Pastor’s Conference in many years) the PC was helpful in the Conservative Resurgence, Adrian Rogers always having a prominent preaching slot. I enjoyed it then.

I thought that the PC was funded by the offering received from attendees, plus some sponsorships from LifeWay or other businesses that wanted some exposure to a large gathering of SBC pastors.

Peter reports that the PC receives substantial funding from the SBC Executive Committee, $150,000 annually with the PC reimbursing $50,000 of that – net funding of $100,000.

Since ordinary SBCers are paying for a good chunk of the PC through the Cooperative Program, how about a little transparency on it? Frank Page, XComm CEO, thinks the same way and the XComm, according to Peter has “this year…passed a motion which requested the Pastors' Conference reimburse a larger amount of money to the EC including a detailed accounting of the gifts and expenditures for the Pastors' Conference.”

Peter’s understanding is that “no record to date has been given to the EC for monies received/dispersed at the Pastors' Conference.”

Huh? I can think of 100,000 reasons that the Pastor’s Conference treasurer ought to send, post haste, a full accounting of their revenues and expenses, line-by-line.

If Plodder may be presumptuous enough to offer Frank Page some assistance here, how about the following:

Memo to the SBC Pastor’s Conference:

Brethren, please send me a complete accounting of revenues and expenses of the 2010 Pastor's Conference and a proposed budget for the 2011 Pastor's Conference. If I do not receive this within seven days, you get no check from the Executive Committee.

Love in Christ,
Frank Page, President
SBC Executive Committee