“It is critical for our churches to not just get people in the door, but to also train them and disciple them in how to share their faith.”
Maybe that’s why we had Rick Warren, head clown, headlining at the SBC circus this year.
My prediction is that as they become less conservative they will decline even more..
SBC probably losing to non-denominational groups.
Well it’s not like Catholics, the SBC only baptizes adults, and they have to be “true believers” and profess a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ” and all that before they’re allowed to be baptized, so I don’t see how assume less baptisms mean less members? What do they consider households where they have 8 kids under 18 coming with them to church, are the kids not considered “members” of the church? Confusing.
Doesn’t your bible say something like a time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine? Maybe their doctrine is too sound. Look on the bright side.
I walked out of a Baptist church last week because the service was more like Disneyland than church!
Southern Baptists aren’t conservative, imo.
Ping.
(Just want to keep abreast of other opinions on this slide)
Haven’t the SBs been pushing amnesty ?
I’d leave a church over that, in a heartbeat.
And I’m Baptist (just not SB).
Where are they going if they are not attending SB churches?
“It is critical for our churches to not just get people in the door, but to also train them and disciple them in how to share their faith.”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yeah! Their kids will really learn how to do that while attending godless government schools, learning to think and reason godlessly in these schools, and then working on godless homework after school.
So?. Why are so many Baptist kids sitting in godless schools? ( Just wondering.)
My SBC church baptized 129 people last Sunday.
.015% decline in these times is not a cause for alarm.
OK, there are several things which really have to be cleared up regarding the SBC. As a life-long Southern Baptist and the daughter of a state convention employee until retirement, I probably know a little more than the average lay person in the local Baptist church about the relationship between the SBC and the local church.
Firstly, unlike any other denomination, the SBC does not have authority over the local church. In fact, a Southern Baptist church can be just that and NOT participate in the SBC — not give money, not send stats about their membership, etc... This is because the local church is autonomous. That’s why it’s so laughable when political pundits go to this “SBC leader” or that one and try to get some type of official statement on where the churches stand. There is no such thing. The SBC can make all the resolutions it wants to on the direction it thinks churches should go. Doesn’t mean anything because authority rests with the local body - the local church. In like fashion, the SBC does not, of itself “baptize” anyone - so the wording on that is laughable. Baptisms occur in the local church.
If you read the article closely it admits that more churches have decided of late to join the SBC, and also admits that state conventions have not always asked these questions in a way which would allow comparisons to be made. In my city there are ample Southern Baptist churches and they are not hurting for “membership” - though I would hope that the emphasis for them all would be where it matters: membership in the body of Christ.
As for Rick Warren, he can call himself a prune pie for all it matters, and yes, his church can “officially” join the SBC. Means nothing in relationship to the other churches and does not reflect in any way on their conservative nature - or lack of it. There is no “one voice” of the SBC except on what Southern Baptists traditionally believe. The SBC has no power to enforce anything upon the local bodies.
They have had the opportunity for more than a decade to affirm the Exodus Mandate — and have instead tried to ignore the elephant in the living room. If the gospel isn’t good enough, or sufficient, for our own kids, no wonder we have trouble exporting it!
I am sorry to hear that.