Are The Southern Baptists Becoming Extinct?
Posted: Tuesday, June 23, 2009
by Abigail Richards
I realize up front I am going to take a lot of flack for this article. There is something about saying anything bad about the Southern Baptists that brings a brigade of old seniors, canes and all, out to give me a whipping.
I am honestly not trying to offend anyone with this article. I have just come to some sad realizations over the last week.
Just today there have been motions to boycott Pepsi because of their alliance with the Gay and Lesbian groups. There have been motions to ban books by Mark Driscoll from Lifeway. That one really blows me away. They have read motions banning abortion, cussing and drinking.
Then when the younger generation asks for resurgence in missionaries and church plants, the SBC tells them they are not wanted.
I have noticed a trend with the Southern Baptists over the years that I believe is a dangerous trend to continue forward with during our time on Earth. I do not see the SBC lasting throughout my lifetime for the following reasons.
Judgmental
I encourage you to watch some of the SBC for yourself. Take count on how many times a certain group or type of people is asked to not be included in the church. It is a shame actually. The Bible is very clear on who the judge is and for individuals to take that into their own hands is a sad situation.
Isolation
Because of the judgment, they are locking out the community and failing to reach non-Christians. I like to play a game when people tell me about bad church experiences. I am always curious how much of that experience was done by a Baptist or a Baptist church. Baptists are so scared of the world and their beliefs, that they lock them out of their church. The people who truly do need help like those who had an abortion or one in a gay lifestyle, are not welcome in the church.
Classism
Let's be honest. The SBC is mostly made up of upper middle class white people. If you don't fit that profile, then most times you are not let in. Hence the shutting out of the younger generation. It is becoming a giant clique that only those of certain upbringings and circumstances can belong to the church.
Lets look at an example. I grew up Southern Baptist. When I was eight, my parents quit attending church because the gossip and accusations were just so bad. My parents house was not destroyed in a local tornado that had gone through our town and left devastation. Church members began talking that we were Satanic because our house was not destroyed. The tornado was the work of the devil after all and he spared our house. There was also dispute because my parents gave too little to the church-this from a pastor that was later found to be embezzling and having an affair.
I am not saying all SBC churches are like that. I did go on to attend several SBC churches. I have spent the last ten years until recently as a member of a local SBC church.
Even that church continues to be isolated. It is no longer a house of God, instead members have to be buzzed into the church during the week and gates surround the property. They don't want the community at large coming in because you never know what kind of person could walk in off the street.
I think a lot of this has to do with age. As people get older, they become less trusting because of their own experiences. I think members of the SBC are getting older and wanting to preserve the church they grew up in.
I am not saying it is wrong, it just discriminates and leaves out a lot of those that really do need help in the community at large.
It makes me cringe hearing the motions going forth at the SBC. I do not think for a moment Jesus would ever act like this or demand Christians to act a certain way as this.
SBC has lost the fundamentals. They have lost the love and celebration of life. This morning, I attended a function at a non-denominational church that I am now a member. I told my husband upon arriving home that we owe our kids an apology for raising them in a church that had drained the life out of God.
I know that sounds horrible, but Jesus should be a celebration and celebrating him should be done among all types of people out in His world. Not at a place that locks people out literally and figuratively. I felt more alive today at a preschool worship time than I have in years. I began to ponder why and the reason I came up is that the way the SBC does church is not the way God intends.
The SBC president admitted the church is growing stagnant and changes need to be made in order to continue to grow, citing that the church is expected to lose half of its membership over the next forty years.
Of course, that was followed with motions to ban and boycott society. Wake up SBC and get back into society. Jesus never instructed you to hide in your overpriced, non-paid-for buildings.
Get out in the community and celebrate God's creation. All people, all colors and all classes were created by a loving God.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)I don't think they are becoming extinct, but I do think they are becoming less relevant. Buzz me out, please.Yeah, I see that. Maybe I should change the title to less relevant! I just wonder why they even have conventions-they never change anything and it just gives more publicity to how irrelevant they are becoming. thanks for commenting!
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