A "Great Commission Resurgence"

I've been really busy doing other things and thus haven't blogged anything in a while. I hope you have a Merry Christmas.

Recently I attended the conference, Building Bridges: the SBC and Calvinism, at Ridgecrest in NC. In his closing address Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, said Southern Baptists - Calvinist or not - can work together toward a "Great Commission Resurgence" because they agree on seven issues:

1. A common confession, the Baptist Faith & Message 2000

2. The inerrancy, infallibility and sufficiency of the Bible

3. The necessity of a regenerate church membership

4. The exclusivity of the Gospel

5. The sinfulness and lostness of humanity apart from Christ

6. Salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone

7. The Great Commission as a divinely mandated assignment

Southern Baptists - Calvinist or not - can come together for "Great Commission Resurgence," Akin said, if they focus on five truths:

1. Sound theology is needed, not a soft theology or a straight-jacket theology.

2. Biblical theology must drive and determine systematic theology.

3. Authentic expository preaching will lead Southern Baptists to be a genuine "people of the Book."

4. The balance of a Great Commission theology is needed--recognizing the urgency of missions within the learning of theology

5. Southern Baptists must love each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, even though they are not in complete agreement on every point of theology.

‘We agree on more than enough.’

"The modern missionary movement was birthed out of evangelical Calvinism, both in Great Britain with William Carey and in America with Adoniram Judson," Akin said. "Would it not be a remarkable providence of our sovereign God if a conference on Calvinism was the genesis of a Great Commission Resurgence among Southern Baptists?

"I believe our Baptist fellowship is big enough in all the right ways," Akin added. "We may not agree on everything, but we agree on more than enough to work together for our Lord Jesus in fulfilling the Great Commission.

"Will we come together for life or fracture apart in death? I’d make my choice for life. It is my hope and my prayer that you will join me in doing the same."

I concur. - Terry

(The excerpts above were borrowed from an article written by Mark Kelly that was posted on Baptist Press and subsequently at LifeWay News).