At least two monumental changes are coming to the SBC

One church in the SBC has had more influence in the last 10 years than any other. Is it First Baptist Jacksonville where thousands of pastors and layman attend a conference each year, hear great preaching, and attend dozens of breakout sessions? I don’t think so. Is it Bellevue in Memphis and the continuing legacy of Adrian Rogers through his sermon ministry? I don’t think so? Which church is it?

How about this? This church has provided material for literally thousands of churches around the world. Many pastors receive a regular pastor’s newsletter from this church. Thousands have attended workshops and leadership conferences led by the staff of this church. Which church is it? You are right – it is Saddleback Church. The purpose driven model is having huge impact on SBC life. Some like it, some love it, some resent it, but make no mistake about it, many are being influenced by it. This is a stream of Baptist life that will make a difference in the convention for decades to come. Some who resent it could find favor in the encouragement Rick gives to purge rolls every so many years.

There is another stream in Baptist life that will be felt for decades to come. It is not as well organized as purpose driven because it does not have a central figure or church, but it will have an impact. It is complete with new methodologies and bright energetic leadership. On one fringe it is the missional church movement within Baptist life and on the end other of the same stream closest to tradition, stand churches like Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas. It has grown tremendously and consistently baptizes close to a thousand or more each year. Several networks are developing in this stream that will have a great impact on the SBC in years to come. At the present, these streams are not involved in convention politics. Their influence will be felt at a convention level one day, sooner or later.

If the purpose driven stream teamed up with the Fellowship stream and the missional stream – bingo. That my friends is influence in a convention. This group is not interested in the institution and in many ways the institution is not interested in them. Many of them do not care if the institution is interested or not. The purpose driven stream has infiltrated the traditional stream effectively enough to divide the camp.

Old methods of convention politics are giving way to loose knit networks that will one day grow up and we do not yet know how they will behave.

This is my look into the future. I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet. If these looks do not come true, I am not a false prophet. The do raise some questions.

Could these networks and the meetings they sponsor be one reason why the SBC meeting attendance has dropped along with state convention meeting attendance?

Will one or more of these networks rise up and enter SBC political life at some point in the future?