John 3:16 for Everyone
A couple of days ago Tom Ascol shared the news of a conference hosted by Jerry Vines Ministries called a “John 3:16 Conference” which is going to be held at First Baptist Woodstock on November 6-7, 2008. Here are the guest speakers and what they will be addressing:
* John 3:16 – Dr. Jerry Vines
* John 3:16 to the entire world – Dr. Charles Stanley
* Total Depravity – Dr. Paige Patterson
* Unconditional Election – Dr. Richard Land
* Limited Atonement – Dr. David Allen
* Irresistible Grace – Dr. Steve Lemke
* Perseverance of the Saints – Dr. Ken Keathley
As Tom noted, “no explanation or elaboration is given about the rationale for the conference,” so before those of us who have been on the receiving end of caricatures and gross misrepresentation, I think would be prudent to give this conference a chance of being a profitable and perhaps constructive venue to address the doctrines of grace and where we would agree or disagree.
One of the things I have been considering is not only attending this conference but also live-blogging it as well (that is, if they have wi-fi available). If indeed more caricatures and straw men are on the agenda, it is much harder to do so look face to face with those whom you are misrepresenting. After all, a John 3:16 conference is for whosoever wants to come, right? 
That leads me to my second point. I have attended numerous anti-Calvinist conferences in the past (several at FBC Woodstock) where it was presumed that only Arminians bibliclists can really believe and preach that verse (John 3:16). Of course, this could not be farther from the truth. The weeks and months leading up to this conference could provide a good opportunity for dialogue and discussion regarding God’s love and its relation to God’s sovereignty, justice, wrath, and other attributes. Allow me to lay out some reasons why this conference could turn out to be worth attending:
1. This conference could be a turning point where anti-Reformed Southern Baptists approach the issues with substance and exegesis rather than rhetoric and emotional appeals.
2. This conference could be the place where we finally understand the soteriological framework and positions of “biblicists” and non-Calvinists.
3. This conference could be the place where other verses in the gospel of John, such as John 1:12; 3:8; 5:21; 6:37, 44, 66; 8:47; 10:26-27; 11:52; 13:18; 15:16; 17:2, 9, 24 are also considered. Surely they would want to place John 3:16 in context.
4. This conference could be the place where non-Calvinists decide whether they are either semi-Pelagian or Arminian. In recent years, it certainly has sounded more semi-Pelagian than anything else, and that is not a good thing.
5. This conference could be the place where Molinism, prevenient grace, and libertarian free will are considered in light of, and attempted to be reconciled with, Scripture.
6. This conference could be the place where the love of God is handled in a more exegetically faithful and biblically responsible manner, in contrast with Ergun Caner, Dave Hunt, and Fisher Humphreys in the past.
7. This conference could be the place where Southern Baptists handle difficult issues with gracious spirits and truthful lips, honoring Christ in the way we approach issues and love those with whom we have disagreements.
Now I know that is a bunch of could‘s, but a conference like this affords non-Calvinists to clear up a lot of the confusion that has arisen by defining themselves as either a non-___________ or a “biblicist” (or Baptist) which has no referent. In any case, as a Southern Baptist who wholeheartedly believes in John 3:16 (as I do the rest of the Bible), I am encouraged to see a conference like this take place and look forward to making plans to attend. If you are a Southern Baptist and a Calvinist, one who does not care for theological one-upmanship but wants to learn and understand the doctrinal differences of other Southern Baptists, and desires to exhibit the humble Calvinism of a gospel-centered, grace-based life, then I would encourage you to attend as well.
After all, John 3:16 is for everyone.
Tags: Calvinism, Jerry Vines Ministries, John 3:16, love of God, SBC
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March 5, 2008 at 4:27 pm
I wonder if there is any possibility that they will “live stream” this conference.
You should definitely offer to live blog.
March 5, 2008 at 5:03 pm
“This conference could be a turning point where anti-Reformed Southern Baptists approach the issues with substance and exegesis rather than rhetoric and emotional appeals.”
Don’t hold your breath (sigh). It would be great though if you live-blog it.
March 5, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Timmy,
I know it’s a long way off, but let me know if you come to town. I called Nathan White yesterday (he had just arrived in CA to attend the Shepherd’s Conf-lucky guy) and we thought of attending, but the cost is a little much. He nor I have high hopes for this conference. We’ll see though.
Mark
p.s. I am amazed how much some of these conferences cost when folks like Piper and Sov. Grace Min. can put up their resources for free.
March 5, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Kevin,
I know FBCW live-streams their services, or at least they used to, so I know they have the technology to do it. If I go and they do not have wi-fi, I will reproduce my notes on the blog (although I cannot write as fast as I type!).
Stephen,
I understand your sentiments as I have chronicled all the things said and done in the name of killing Calvinism. There’s a lot of talk these days from the non-Reformed camp about the “new militant Calvinism” (post forthcoming), but history easily reveals that the militant, dogmatic camp has certainly not been the Calvinists but the anti-Calvinists. Years of this has not work or helped their cause, and maybe this could be an opportunity to change game plans for them. Who knows?
johnMark,
I will let you know if I go. I think Tom Ascol and myself will be the ones wearing shin guards and face masks.
March 5, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Oh I do hope you can live Blog this Timmy! I attended a Bible Study Tuesday night from a leader from another Baptist church who holds the same view. It saddened me to hear her words and out of respect to keep from arguing an emotionally geared topic (for her) I kept my mouth shut but then felt convicted for the other young Christians in the study whom I left absorbing misaligned truth.
Can’t wait to see what you will do in regards to this!
March 5, 2008 at 7:52 pm
I just noticed that the GA Baptist Convention Annual Meeting is Nov 9-11, 2008 on the other side of Atlanta (College Park). http://www.gabaptist.org/common/content.asp?PAGE=57
March 5, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Well, the least I could do is be like the guy in the football stadium holding the big “John 3:16″ sign in the end zone. Except in my case it would be in the balcony.
March 5, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Timmy
I noticed Jerry Vine’s website states “**This conference is going to be a biblical and theological assessment of 5-point Calvinism. It will be helpful for preachers as well as lay people.” Do you know if any of the speakers are 5 point Calvinists?
March 5, 2008 at 9:31 pm
This may not be news to anyone around here, but SBC Today posted a sermon on from Dr. David Allen on February 26. In the sermon, he addresses limited atonement. You can find the audio here.
He makes it clear that he does not believe limited atonement is a biblical concept, but a doctrine a man (probably John Owen) has imposed on scripture. He also says it is a “historical, provable fact” that “virtually every Christian from the early church until the Reformation believed in an unlimited atonement.” Needless to say, Diane, at least Dr. Allen is not a 5-point Calvinist.
I think his critique is polite and healthy, even though I disagree with him. I affirm his early points about the importance of expositional preaching and the sad reality of biblical illiteracy in churches.
March 5, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Diane,
Here’s my take on what I know of the speakers. None of them are Calvinists (or as they would put it “five-point Calvinists”). Vines is a one pointer, Patterson advocates Anabaptists, many of whom deny total depravity (semi-Pelagianists), Keathley is a Molinist (see his message at the Building Bridges conference), Allen recently gave a message at the FBCJAX pastor’s conference arguing against limited atonement from the book of Hebrews(audio available via SBCToday), Lemke is from the Arminian stronghold of NOBTS and has targeted Founders, accusing them of being anti-evangelistic (see his white paper “The Heart of a Baptist”), and Land is, well, Land. I don’t know Stanley’s positions, although I think it is safe to say that he is not a Calvinist.
Of the entire group, I don’t know who would agree most with the doctrines of grace. You have a blend of a Baptist politician, Anabaptist, and Molinist, among pastors and scholars, so it will be interesting to see what a diverse camp does with it. All of them have argued against Calvinism, with the exception of perhaps Stanley (I say that from ignorance).
With all that said, I believe these are competent men capable of representing the doctrines of grace as though they were themselves a Calvinist (in other words, being honest and accurate), and from that point expressing their disagreements. Whether they actually do present the doctrines of grace fairly, accurately, and historically is another issue altogether. If they do misrepresent, it won’t be from ignorance.
March 5, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Timmy,
I really hope that you do live blog. So let me go on record as encouraging you to go! Also, Stanley is not a calvinist and I have heard him preach on tv before against monergistic predestination. He also advocates a rather strange understanding of eternal security. I understand that he thinks that you can fall away and yet still be saved, even if you no longer care about Christ.
Stephen
March 6, 2008 at 12:29 am
I wonder if any of the speakers intend to set John 3:16 in its immediate context- Jesus’ dialog with Nicodemus.
March 6, 2008 at 4:33 am
A quick correction: In my last comment, I stated that Lemke’s paper was “The Heart of a Baptist.” I was wrong (that is Yarnell’s white paper referring to hyper-Calvinism in the SBC). Instead, Lemke’s paper is entitled “The Future of Southern Baptists as Evangelicals” and can be viewed here:
http://www.nobts.edu/Faculty/ItoR/LemkeSW/Personal/SBCfuture.pdf
Stephen,
That is the kind of eternal security I was brought up hearing–the kind where asking Jesus into your heart made you eternally secure with your free ticket to heaven. Whether or not you actually persevere in the faith does not matter. That is why I have argued that there is real difference between the kind of eternal security some SBCers advocate and the historical position of perseverance of the saints. I’ve got a friend who is writing their dissertation on perseverance on the saints, and we recently had this discussion.
Guillaume,
That is a good question. I am wondering if they are going to go the Fisher Humphreys route and argue for “traditional baptists” contra particular baptists. In other words, traditional baptists are the biblicists.
March 6, 2008 at 11:20 am
Timmy,
I love your optimism, but pigs could fly at this conference.
March 6, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Wow, there are some really good comments on this post…
When Tom posted this the other day, one of the comments was from a blogger named “gunny.” He had a great comment…
“I’m a bit curious and nervous.
I wonder if it would come off like a John 6:37 Conference:
Moral Ability – Dr. Tom Ascol
Conditional Election – Dr. Al Mohler
Universal Atonement – Dr. Mark Dever
Inefficacious Grace – Dr. Tom Nettles
Eternal Security – Dr. James White”
I’m not sure that I have ever cut and pasted someone else’s comments to another comments page… but I thought this was down right funny!!!!!
Yogi
March 6, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Timmy,
I think that that view of eternal security is somewhat more consistent with their theology of mans autonomy. God is not soveriegn enough to secure our continual sanctification. However it is still inconsistent, becuase on one hand they want to say that God will give us what we want and choose with our libertarian Free Will, then they in fact deny this when someone who made a choice at an evangelism rally later makes another choice to throw off God and become an atheist. They cannot have it both ways.
Stephen
March 6, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Lets hope that this conference will be some of the things that this could be as you have listed them. Much prayer is needed.
BTW, while listening to the live stream of the Shepherd’s Conference, MacArthur just described himself as a biblicist rather than a calvinist!!! I think there were a few Southern Baptist chuckle that could be heard.
March 7, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Who is Charles Stanley? Former Prez SBC, Senior Pastor of Mega 1st B Atlanta. He is also mega-bucks, mega-communications giant, mega-political SBC clout, mega-secular clout (he’s called America’s Pastor), mega international reach. Theologically, if you can’t nail the jell-o emergents you find him only slightly more solid. A supporter of inerrancy which is his only true currency, he falls in that nowhere land of Billy Graham ecumenism, a liberal with conservative credentials, contacts and cohorts. He is a more traditionalistic SBC, motivationalist, a strange combination of Robert Schuler’s positivism purpose driven life principles that Schuler’s clone Rick Warren adopted for his ministry model. He has fame, but not much substance. But, his theology is the almighty freedom of the will for securing, prospering and making yourself a Christian. As a motivational speaker, he has made himself a name and a lot of money. As a Christian treacher, he has made himself a name and a lot of money. As far as preaching the Gospel, if you look real hard, you might find it, but it surely won’t be the Gospel according to Paul/Spurgeon.
A closer look.
I have heard Stanley say that he likes to remain neutral concerning the DoG, but also, like Warren and Schuler, claims the label reformed. Maybe something has moved him from his neutral stance?
September 30, 2008 at 9:13 am
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