Book titles are important. Smart titles tell you about the book's contents in a memorable way. Brilliant titles make a statement in and of themselves.
Crossway has recently published a collection of essays from a variety of Southern Baptist leaders. David Dockery is the editor of the new book, whose title says more in nine words than some books say in hundreds of pages. Southern Baptist Identity: An Evangelical Denomination Faces the Future (Crossway, 2009) implicitly makes the case that Southern Baptists are indeed evangelicals.
Thirty years ago, Southern Baptists were debating amongst themselves as to their identity. Moderates rejected the evangelical label because they wanted to see us belonging to the tradition of the mainline Protestant denominations. More recently, some conservatives have been reticent to adopt the evangelical label because of the fear we might water down our Baptist distinctives.
The title of Dockery's book demonstrates a willingness to be both evangelical (hence the "evangelical denomination" in the subtitle) and distinctively Baptist (hence the "Baptist Identity" in the title). Ecumenical evangelicalism and distinctive Baptist identity come together wonderfully in this collection of essays.
Before getting into the specifics of this book, let me first point out the curious fact that this very Baptist book has been published by an evangelical, non-denominational publisher - Crossway. One might have expected Broadman and Holman (the Southern Baptist publisher) to put out this book. The very fact that Crossway saw a need for these essays to be published is an indication that other evangelical groups are looking to the Southern Baptist Convention as an example. The future of the American evangelical movement may be tied somehow to the future of Southern Baptists.
The essays in Southern Baptist Identity come primarily from lectures delivered at Union University's recent "Baptist Identity" conferences. Since this book is a collection of essays from a variety of Southern Baptist leaders, the reader can discern some areas of disagreement between the contributors.
For example, Greg Wills comes down very strongly against the idea of open communion, arguing for the practice of close communion (which has been the most widely held historic Baptist position on the Lord's Supper). Yet Nathan Finn (though he agrees with Wills on close communion) believes that the Baptist Faith and Message should leave that question open-ended enough for churches to disagree on the matter.
The book is divided into two main sections. First come the essays that contain theological and historical perspectives on the Southern Baptist Convention. Then, there are essays that focus on specific ministries and convention matters.
David Dockery begins the book by describing the current state of Southern Baptists in the 21st century. He expounds on some of the points in his book Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal.
Dr. Albert Mohler writes about the future of Southern Baptist identity.
Greg Wills, a historian and professor at Southern Seminary, writes about the distinctive identity of Southern Baptists in the past.
Timothy George has a chapter in which he gives his personal testimony and also asks the thought provoking question, `Is Jesus a Baptist?'. He writes:
"We will not meet tomorrow's challenge by forgetting yesterday's dilemma, but neither will we win tomorrow's struggles by fighting yesterday's battles." (92)
He also points out the inherent narcissism of focusing so intently on the identy of Baptists (101), which provides a helpful corrective to some insular tendencies within the SBC.
Russ Moore gives a fascinating glimpse into 19th century Baptist life, particularly the influence of Baptist printed materials in the Whitsett controversy and the pastoral role of T. T. Eaton. (He also has some good words on blogging.)
I particularly enjoyed Paige Patterson's chapter on the Anabaptists. Patterson demonstrates a willingness to learn from these uncles of ours, and he even recommends we look to our independent Baptist brothers and sisters.
"Independent Baptists of a former generation may have been guilty of emphasizing `separation' to the point of legalism, but the trajectory of the contemporary church seems destined to miss the goal of holiness of life and thought." (133)
In the second section of the book, the contributors focus on specific Convention matters that involve our cooperation in common mission.
I thoroughly enjoyed Morris Chapman's chapter on cooperation. Chapman wisely lists ways in which cooperation is undermined, and yet offers helpful suggestions for fostering an attitude of cooperation. Suprisingly, Chapman appears to favor a restructuring of the SBC:
"The SBC needs fine-tuning. In fact, the Convention may require an overhaul, not in its polity, but in its programming and the processes by which it functions daily. A major overhaul by the national Convention and the state conventions appears to be an absolute necessity, letting the facts speak for themselves lest the conventions discover too late they were blind and deaf to a delivery system that better serves the churches." (171)
Such a bold statement makes me wonder why Chapman opposed the Great Commission Task Force, which hopes to analyze the structure of the SBC and recommend improvements. I wonder if Chapman is not so much opposed to the idea of restructuring, but instead is uncomfortable with the people leading the Task Force.
Ed Stetzer has a good chapter on Missional Churches. He writes:
"Our churches need to be biblically faithful, culturally relevant, counter-cultural communities." (193)
Jim Shaddix writes about the future of the traditional church. He makes the case that relevance is not just about form. It's about substance.
The last two chapters in the book are by Danny Akin and Nathan Finn. They set forth a vision for the future for the SBC. These are thought provoking essays that will foster good conversation.
Southern Baptist Identity is brimming with insights that shine light on possible directions for the future of the SBC. The book's recommendations deserve to be read, discussed, debated upon, and in most cases, put into action.
