By: Danny Akin & Ken Keathley

The Great Commission Resurgence Task Force report cites some disturbing statistics (p. 4 of the report). It observes that the average Southern Baptist gives only 2.5% of his income to his local church. In turn, that local church on average gives only 6% to the Cooperative Program. And then as the CP monies pass through the state conventions, the typical state convention keeps 63% of the amount received, and this does not include the $50 million sent back by NAMB to the state convention through the various cooperative agreements (one-third of NAMB's annual budget).  Only a tiny sliver of a typical Southern Baptist's income is used to send the Gospel beyond US borders.  To determine whether or not this reflects a passion for the Great Commission one merely needs to remember the words of our Savior: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matt 6:21).

 Southern Baptists find themselves at a crossroads.  The IMB has more qualified candidates for the mission field than it can currently fund.  Scores of young Southern Baptist men and women have answered the call of God to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ to the nations.  Wehave the privilege, as seminary professors, of interacting with these future missionaries on an almost daily basis.  They are the cream of the crop; God has called the best and the brightest for this task.  In terms of access to the unreached portions of the world and laborers willing to work in the harvest, this is a time of unprecedented opportunity.  Southern Baptists must rise to the challenge of this situation by responding with a radical commitment to sacrificial giving and biblical stewardship. 

Component Six of the GCRTF Report calls upon the state conventions to take the leadership responsibility for promotion of the Cooperative Program and encouragement of stewardship in general.  The report affirms the continuing role of the Southern Baptist Convention in these tasks, and calls upon the Executive Committee to work closely in concert with the state conventions.  But the Task Force argues that the state conventions should be assigned the leading role.  The logic for this move is straightforward.  The state conventions are the entities that receive cooperative program funds from the local churches, and are strategically positioned to promote the CP.  

Roger Oldham wrote a white paper in response to Component Six.  (He wrote his response to the GCRTF's initial Feb 27 progress report.  In that report, Component Six was listed as Component Four).  Oldham argues that the SBC has always taken the primary role in promoting the CP, and that generally that role has been fulfilled by the Executive Committee.  His article provides a great deal of historical information concerning the development of the Cooperative Program and how it has been promoted through the years.  But the thesis of his paper misses the point being made by the Task Force: from the very beginning it was understood that the state conventions are in a unique position to promote the CP, and therefore they should take the lead role.  

In fact, the disagreement about which entity should take the lead in promoting the CP highlights once again that the Executive Committee is probably misnamed.  Perhaps it should have been called the Disbursement Committee, or something similar, because its primary function is to disperse the funds collected by the Cooperative Program.  It is certainly not the executive branch of the SBC, and its director should never have been viewed as a CEO.  It is unfortunate that this is currently the case.

Stewardship involves seeing one's life, dreams, and ambitions through the lens of the Great Commission.  It means understanding that everything about us belongs to Christ and that we are His possession.  He has entrusted us with certain gifts, abilities, resources, and opportunities in life which we are to utilize and exercise for the Gospel and God's glory.  Stewardship is about expressing our love and devotion to the Savior with a steady, consistent commitment to His Kingdom.  It means operating with the keen awareness that a day of reckoning is coming at which we will all give an account for how we managed that with which He entrusted us.

Southern Baptists have never hesitated to emphasize stewardship, and historically we are known for our commitment to honoring the Lord and advancing His Kingdom through the giving of our tithes and offerings.  But the statistics cited in the opening paragraph indicate that something has gone awry.  Component Six of the GCRTF calls for Southern Baptists to greater faithfulness in the area of stewardship.This is a call we are obligated to answer for the glory of King Jesus and the good of the nations. 
 
 
This year’s Southern Baptist Convention convening in Orlando promises to be one of the most significant meetings in Southern Baptist life. Messengers will vote on receiving a report presented by the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force.  The report can be found here, and it presents a blueprint for seeing to it that every person on earth has an opportunity to hear the Gospel.  Unfortunately, Morris Chapman has expressed concerns about the report and has come out in opposition.  Danny Akin and Nathan Finn have written an excellent response, which can be downloaded and read below.  I urge all Southern Baptists to support the GCRTF report with their prayers and their ballots next month in Orlando.
Funding Great Commission Faithfulness
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One must know about the good news of Jesus Christ in order to trust in him.  As Paul asks, “How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?” (Rom 10:14).  In order for faith to be informed or have knowledge, it must have two things: content and an object.  The content of assenting faith is the gospel and the object of that faith is Jesus Christ.  Paul states that salvation comes through “belief in the truth” (2 Thess 2:18), so we must know the truth in order for it to set us free.  The Bible sometimes refers to this saving body of truth as “the faith” (e.g., Gal 1:23, Eph 4:5 and Jude 3).  

The fact that knowledge is an essential component of faith brings up an important question: how much knowledge is required for a biblical faith?  In other words, what is the minimum amount of knowledge necessary for a person to exercise saving faith?  This question takes on particular importance in matters such as the evangelization of children and the fate of unreached people groups.

A quick answer to the above question would be that, according to the apostle Paul, one must at least know about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in order to believe on him and what he has done (cf., 1 Cor 15:1–4).  But the gospel account is based on additional truths that seem to be equally essential for an informed faith.  Surely one also needs an adequate understanding of why Jesus came and who he is.  The sacrificial death of Christ makes sense only in the context of understanding the sinful state of humanity and the uniqueness of his person.

The book of Acts provides insights to this question, for it recounts a number of occasions in which the gospel is proclaimed to those who are hearing it for the very first time (e.g., Acts 8:26–37; 10:34–44; 13:16–41; 14:14–17; 17:22–31).  A survey of the messages preached reveals three recurring themes.  First, the apostles explain why the gospel is necessary: God exists, he is holy, and we are sinful (Acts 14:14–17).  Second, they proclaim Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ and unique Son of God who came to address the guilt of our sin (Acts 8:26–37).  And third, the apostles present the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as the means by which he obtained our salvation (Acts 17:22–31).  The hearers are then called upon to respond to the message with repentance and faith.  The apostolic model indicates that the minimal information necessary for a saving faith is twofold: knowledge of the gospel and sufficient prerequisite information to understand its significance. 


(From Dr Keathley’s “Salvation: the Work of God,” in A Theology for the Church, pp. 735-36) 
 
 
People sometimes ask, “Can’t I be a Christian by myself? Just pray to God out on the lake or under a tree?” Yes, you can pray to God anywhere, anytime. But, NO, you cannot be a Christian “by yourself.” There is no such thing as a Lone Ranger Christian! The Bible teaches that we need the community of faith. We need the house of God. We need to encourage one another, bless one another, and edify one another. We need the church to be blessed and to be a blessing. 

People sometimes say they do not go to church because they don’t get much from it. I would ask then, what are you giving to it? People who give greatly are the ones who also receive greatly. 

The house of God is not a spiritual McDonalds where we walk up to the counter and put in our order, “Lord, I'll take three blessings, two encouragements, and a frosty.”

Should we simply sit in church, get our spiritual food and then walk out?  The prevailing attitude seems to be, if the McChurch has something for me I’ll come back, otherwise I’m going down to Chick-Fil-A Church.  This is an unscriptural, consumerist attitude towards the church!

I challenge you to find the house of God, get in the house of God, and sacrifice for the house of God. Come back to the place of promise. That is what Abraham does in Genesis 13:1-4. “Then Abram went up…to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been, to the site where he had built the altar. And Abram worshiped the Lord there.” 

Our God is very gracious and patient.  When we stray from the walk of faith and disobey, we can come back to Bethel, back to the house of God, back to the place of blessing and God will restore. But that restoration will not cancel out the consequences of our sin.  We will still reap what we have sown. So let us serve God with a zeal that recognizes the consequences of our actions.

An excerpt from Dr. Keathley’s sermon series entitled: “One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: Lessons from the life of Abraham”
 
 
How does one know when he or she is no longer walking by faith?

1)       When we are guided by fear rather than by faith.
When a man truly fears God, he fears no one else. But when a man does not fear God, he fears everyone and everything else.
Psalm 27 “The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? The Lord is my strength and my life, in whom shall I be afraid?”
 

2)       When we are no longer operate with integrity.
Abraham urges Sarai, “Please say you are my sister…” (Gen 13:12).  Indeed, Sarai was Abraham’s half sister – but it was still a half-truth, because she was also his wife. If one tells just enough of the truth for the purpose of misleading and deceiving – then the half-truth is a whole lie.  
 

3)       When we are the center of our world.
Why does Abraham lie about Sarai?  Gen 13:12  in its entirety tells us. “Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.” Abraham is looking out for number one. He is taking care of himself. Self-centeredness is the characteristic of many professing Christians. This is their universe and we're just living in it. Whenever you are the center of your world, God isn't; you are no longer walking by faith.  Remember this. When you take control of your life - when you grab the steering wheel from God’s hands - you are headed for a spiritual wreck.
 
Faith Unplugged 05/03/2010
 
Let's be honest - the Christian life is a bit tougher than most of us expected, isn’t it? True, the day I was saved was the most magnificent day of my life. The burden was lifted - there was joy in my heart - I knew Jesus - I was back in relationship with God and the world seemed brighter, my steps seemed lighter. I could hardly wait to live the Christian life because the first day was just so glorious! Oh that it were always that way! One of the first things one discovers about the Christian life is that it can be hard. It is much more difficult than I thought it was going to be and then to boot, it can be disappointing at times. In Genesis 12, Abraham arrives in the land and sets up his tent and, for awhile everything is fine. But then, a famine arrives. Abraham has obeyed God. He is in God’s will. He is in the Promised Land. He is worshipping. Yet, trouble still comes! It appears that God has let him down. Abraham is now struggling with disappointment.

Why is God allowing this famine immediately following Abraham’s obedience? Simply put, the famine is a test of Abraham’s faith. A faith that is untested is a faith that is untrusted. How does this world know if our faith is genuine? How do our lost friends know that we are not serving God just because for the comforts and blessings He provides? Until our faith is tested in times of trouble, it is unproven.  God allows trouble and disappointments for this very purpose; so that the lost world has a prima facie example of faith – unplugged and on display. 
1 Pet 1:7 “that the genuineness of your faith…though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

An excerpt from Dr. Keathley’s sermon series entitled “Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Lessons from the life of Abraham”.
 
 
When I was a young boy, there was a little sapling in my parent’s front yard.  One day, I broke off the top of that sapling while hitting my cousin with it. You see, he was chasing me and I saw the sapling so I jumped over it (that's how small it was).  Then I reached back and pulled it as far as I could, and just as he reached me I let go of it, flipping the trunk up and hitting him, breaking off the top of the tree. That was forty years ago and now that tree is about fifty feet tall!  If you could have stood in our yard for a day or a whole week waiting for it to grow, you would have thought, “This tree is not growing one bit!” And yet over the course of 40 years it has grown to be a tall strong tree.  The life of a Christian is like that tree. We may grow very slowly, but “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”  Phil. 1:6 ESV 

Abraham is not an example of sudden spiritual success - he was a real work in progress. He had some rough edges. In fact, Abraham’s story is just a little embarrassing. He does not look like a great giant of the faith when we meet him in Genesis 12. But God was just beginning a work of faith in Abraham. In fact, God uses Abraham’s failures to teach him (and us) what it means to truly trust God and walk by faith. Abraham often takes two steps forward and then one step back, but he does keep moving forward. Conversion or regeneration is just the start of the magnificent, glorious work of salvation. It is not merely a matter of you being dedicated to God. God is dedicated to you!  God is going to do a very thorough work of grace in each and every one of us who are saved by His grace. 

An excerpt from Dr. Keathley’s sermon series entitled “Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Lessons from the Life of Abraham”.
 
 
Let me ask those of you who confess to be followers of Christ a few questions. 
When you accepted Christ as your Savior, did you suddenly become a smarter person?  Did you look in the mirror and find that you are better looking?  Were you suddenly more prone to eat right and exercise every day?  Was it easier to find a parking place at the football game?  If we answer honestly, all of us would have to say “no - of course not!”  Becoming a Christian does not mean our lives are suddenly on easy street, and everything is turning out rosy.  
 So, what does it literally mean to walk with Christ or to walk the walk of faith?  What do John 8, Romans 4, Galatians 3, Hebrews 11 and James 2 all have in common in teaching us about the walk of faith? They all present the quintessential example of the walk of faith through the story of the life of Abraham. What is faith according to Abraham?

Faith is trusting God enough to obey him.

What does God want you to do?  He wants you to believe the gospel enough to trust it; enough to act on it; enough to respond to it. It is not enough to believe about the gospel, my friend. It is time for you to obey the gospel.  Bow the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and faith - receive him as Lord and Savior.  Have you done that? Will you do that?

An excerpt from Dr. Keathley’s sermon series entitled “ Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Lessons from the Life of Abraham”
 
 
Sola Paul--Ok, I’m not endorsing this approach to theological debate….but I confess I enjoyed this blog post much more than I should have. 

"This man was no moderate."  Al Mohler has posted a must read for all Baptists.

William Lane Craig lists five problems with determinism as advocated by many Calvinists.

This is a very cool math teacher.
 
 
On June 28 - July 2, Southeastern Seminary is offering "Contemporary Theological Issues: Molinism." We will survey Freddoso's translation of Book IV of Molina's Concordia; we will look at the objections to Molinism by post-reformation theologians such as Francis Turretin; and we will cover the works of current Molinists such as Alvin Plantinga, William Lane Craig, and Thomas Flint. I hope to see you there!