I want to thank Timmy Brister for this opportunity. He has been incredibly gracious to me and I am most grateful to God for him.

I have learned a little more about the “blogosphere” in recent days. I pray that God can use what is often seen as a sphere for the expression of dissent as a tool for good and renewal in the churches, and in Baptist life-at-large, as well as the broader evangelical world.

The forum is a good one to discuss important issues. I trust that it can be a positive forum for the building up of others. I have grown in my appreciation for such opportunities.

I appreciate the questions and the many kind comments that have been expressed tonight and over the past week. I especially want to thank so many of you for your words of support for our work at Union Univeristy. We hope to see many of you at the Baptist Identity Conference on Feb 15-17.

May God’s grace, blessing, and enablement be yours in coming days.

faithfully,
DSD

Yes sir, I was born in Tuscaloosa, AL. My father still lives there. My mother passed away about 8 years ago. I have numerous uncles, aunts, and cousins who still live in Tuscaloosa.

DSD

Your question is a good one. I believe that even though Southern Baptists are the largest evangelical denomination in this county, we are often the most misunderstood denomination in America. The SBC has tended to exist separately from the rest of American Christianity because of its sectionalism, its inability to separate itself from Southern culture, its parochialism, and its self-sufficiency. I am grateful that these things are beginning to show signs of change.

I am hopeful that the influence of Southern Baptists among the broader evangelical world will continue to expand. Many evangelicals who greatly appreciate our biblical convictions and zeal for missions and evangelism are often confused by what seems to be ongoing controversy in Baptist life.

We have a kingdom responsibility to work hard to build alliances with other evangelicals when and where we can for the sake of the Gospel. In many ways, as goes the Southern Baptist Convention, so goes the rest of evangelicalism.

About 50 years ago, there was a famous quote uttered at one of the annual conventions, which said that Southern Baptists are “God’s last and only hope.” Certainly I would not go that far. That kind of triumphalistic spirit does no one any good. Nevertheless the opportunities that Southern Baptists have for good in terms of missions, publishing, and theological education are unmatched by any other denomination in this country. God has been gracious to Southern Baptists. We must be ever thankful and at the same time pray that we can be faithful stewards of what has been given to us.

I don’t know if I have answered your question appropriately, but I trust that my response has been helpful in some way. Let us all pray that God’s hand of blessing and guidance would continue to rest upon the SBC and that we could have a positive influence on the rest of the evangelical world, while learning from and working with others as opportunities arise.

Blessings,
DSD

I don’t know that I can point to a hyper-Calvinist in Southern Baptist life, but I hardly know everyone . I think that Charles Spurgeon was concerned about hyper-Calvinism in his day (so the book by Iain Murray). Many would say that John Gill was a hyper-Calvinist. Andrew Fuller was alert to such concerns in his day. While I do not think we need to be invovled in any kind of “witch hunt,” we, likewise, need to recognize that the danger of hyper-Calvinism exists, just like various other threats to the Gospel, including inclusivism, Pelagianism, and varied forms of universalism.

I appreciate your question.

Blessings,
DSD

Your question is very complex. I have attempted to address some of these matters in a recent booklet called “One Gospel: Toward a Southern Baptist Consensus.” I also addressed these matters in a chapel message last semester. I will be happy to send you a booklet and/or a CD if you wish. The question, otherwise, is too complicated to address in the short amount of time I have this evening. One of the reasons for Union sponsoring the Baptist Identity Conference on our campus on Feb 15-17 is so that these kinds of questions can be discussed. I don’t think I would use the term “clash of ideologies,” but I do think we have diverse sectors across the convention with differing emphases. I think we must regroup around a renewed “center” and then find ways to worship, work, and serve together. I personally think that the ultimate danger to the gospel or to Baptist identity lies not in the nuances of our differences, but in the rising tides of liberalism, postmodernism, and neo-paganism that threaten to swamp the Gospel in cultural accomodation.

Thanks for your question. May God help us as Baptists to seek renewal by God’s Spirit in our worship, in our outreach and discipleship, in our theology, and in our shared efforts of education and benevolence.

faithfully,
DSD

Thank you so much for your contributions, to date, to the kingdom of our Christ. May they continue.

I was not raised in the Southern Baptist tradition, but I am now happily attending, and fully committed to the kingdom principles and truths communicated at one of the Southern Baptist Convention’s seminaries. I also have the opportunity to interact with many others from other traditions who, too, are desirous of the preparation for vocational ministry that they can receive at (some) Southern Baptist institutions. Acknowledging that the SBC is not monolithic, would you comment (as broadly or specifically as you see fit) on the role of the SBC among evangelicalism at large?

Grace to you,
Toby Jennings
Louisville, Kentucky

It is always good to hear from a fellow Unionite. I think it is helpful to read widely and learn from several theologians. That way your thinking will be challenged and you will be forced to go back again and again to Scripture to form your foundational convictions. That being said, as I respond to your questions I am looking at pictures that hang on my wall: Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Edwards, Whitefield, Boyce, Broadus, Manly, Robertson, Mullins, Carroll, Conner, Henry, Erickson, and Garrett, among others. All of these have shaped my thinking. I suppose that Carl Henry stands at the front of the line for me among all of these. Thus, Henry often serves as a window for me as I read other important thinkers.

faithfully,
DSD

You didn’t wear this shirt on gameday, did you?

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