today's scheduled discussion on discipleship has been pre-empted by the following rant...

with all due respect to the southern baptists whom i am honored to serve with and deeply love, i am finding it harder and harder to stomach the reactionary conservatism of the national convention. yesterday we heard that the convention voted down a proposal that would have encouraged southern baptist churchgoers to remove their children from public schools. today, they announced that they are withdrawing from the largely evangelical baptist world alliance (bwa) because the bwa has "taken anti-american stances, has become tolerant of liberal theology and wrongly accepted the cooperative baptist fellowship" a group that has had the gall to critique the supposedly inerrant faith and practice of the sbc.

to be honest, i found yesterday's news appalling. i couldn't believe that such a recommendation would even move out of committee, much less make it to the convention floor. christ did not call us to come out of the world, or the public schools for that matter, but to faithfully incarnate his gospel within the world. it is our passionate commitment to christ and his subversive gospel, not our disdain and condemnation of the structures and the individuals of this world, that will make us strangers and aliens in this place. brothers and sisters, let's focus on incarnating the gospel and extending the overwhelming compassion of Christ in our public schools, the hallways of corporate america, the projects of the inner-cities and anywhere that might be referred to as 'the public square.' my prayer is that our legacy will be one of incarnation and compassion, not the creation and conservation of evangelical culture.

today's news that the sbc is pulling out of the bwa just added insult to injury. i would not argue that schism is necessarily sinful, after all st. francis' gentle distinction of his mendicant order from the rank and file clergy of the late medieval period, luther's separation from rome and bonhoeffer and the confessing church's distinction from the national church of germany all seemed necessary and appropriate. however, schism, much like war, has grave consequences and, as such should be considered a 'last resort' and, if necessary, should be performed with a heavy heart. based on these assumptions, I think that the sbc's decisions are arrogant and unwise.

the first reason they cited for separation, that the bwa has "taken anti-american stances," was undoubtedly the most ridiculous. unbiblical doctrine and gross conduct that is unbecoming the gospel are reasons to separate. questionable patriotism is not. it seems like the sbc's unflinching denominational support (they were the only major denomination to officially support it) of the unjust (anyone who wants to challenge this contention better be ready to explain how this war squares with Augustine's conception) Iraq war the and their willingness to let president bush turn their convention into a campaign rally has truly skewed their perspective. at some point we need to ask ourselves whether we are AMERICAN christians or CHRISTIAN americans. the kingdom we serve is not of this world. thus, any attempt to equate america with God's reign is utterly ridiculous. brothers and sisters, let us put aside our trust in chariots and horses in order to have a deeper, more abiding faith in God as well a more passionate, unrelenting commitment to Christ's church.

i am tempted to continue with a rebuttal of their next two reasons, especially their anger at the acceptance of the CBF (what was the bwa to do, stick their head in the sand and act like this group didn't exist? My good friend told me that one of the 'knockout questions' the "International Missions Board" asks candidates is whether they have ever been a member of or associated with the CBF in any way. Bloody hell, what are they afraid of, double agents?!), but every bit of discernment I have (i readily admit that supplies are limited) suggests that it is time to stop ranting and get back to work.

Lord God, enable me to be as gracious with the missteps and sin of my brothers and sisters as you are with me. in the midst of my anger, help me to refrain from reflecting the SBC's error by impulsively pushing City on a Hill to sever all ties with the national SBC. i confess that far too often my criticism is virulent and vengeful. teach me how to express criticism in constructive and loving ways.

if you want to read more about the SBC's decision, visit CT's Weblog.

if this post left you in need of comic relief, feel free to read CT's interview with w.