The SBC’s 60 Year Decline! Beyond the Blame Game

SBC

“At the most peaceful and drama-free SBC in recent memory, there was one bit of news that had things stirred up – a fresh set of evidence that the SBC’s statistical decline was not just a blip.” SBC Voices

Discussion

Excerpt

But let me boil it down to a nutshell.
We must learn to live as a counter-cultural movement, standing by gospel truth and biblical essentials, regardless of how popular we are in our culture. We are now a counter-cultural minority and we must learn to live faithfully under the new reality.

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.

I do see many applicable points to the IFB movement within this article. Thanks for posting it!

I am convinced that numerical growth is still a possibility for churches faithful to the Gospel. The Father still seeks those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. The Gospel of Christ is still the power of God to salvation. The Holy Spirit still woes sinners with the sweet message of Christ’s cross and resurrection.

I did find it interesting to read that the SBC has their own unique blame game going on.

Boil down to Know what the Gospel is, Preach the Gospel, Live the Gospel.

“Know the Gospel” is something that I have really been trying to get myself and church family to get a good grasp on. It really boils down to if you don’t know what it is you won’t preach and you certainly cannot live it.

As I read this article I was reminded of Dever’s book “9 Marks of a Healthy Church” and it’s first 3 chapters:

Expositional preaching where Scripture is treated as the highest authority; the Gospel is affirmed, preached, and lived out…

Though I’m not a Baptist, this article gives us much to think about. It’s healthy that some in the nation’s largest evangelical denomination realize they are now outside of the culture and looking in. That goes for my fellowship as well, which has been very slow to adapt to the changing culture.