Sexual abuse, doctrinal fidelity, transparency, highlight Rice’s first EC address

NASHVILLE (BP) — Southern Baptists must continue securing their churches against the “grievous wickedness of sexual abuse,” stand firm in an “age of apostasy,” address issues of denominational trust and surge toward unity as the time approaches to recognize 2,000 years since Jesus issued the Great Commission, Southern Baptist Convention President Willy Rice told SBC Executive Committee members and guests Monday night, Sept. 21.

Rice, senior pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater, Fla., gave his remarks at the BNA Hilton Nashville Airport. He also announced his intentions to call for a new article in the Baptist Faith and Message addressing human sexuality and a vision to be cast at next summer’s annual meeting in Indianapolis to a renewed evangelism effort.

After some introductory comments, Rice spent approximately one-third of his 35-minute address talking about Southern Baptists’ response to sexual abuse.

“[It] has been one of those chapters that has sorely tested us, and none of it would have happened were it not for sin and the rebellion against God’s holy design,” Rice said. “Let us state clearly here again what we have stated before: that the tragic reality of sexual abuse was, is and will remain a grievous wickedness, and a threat that requires constant vigilance.”

Those acts committed by “wolves … dressed not just as sheep, but as shepherds” are particularly egregious, he added. Rice encouraged churches to continue with training through groups such as MinistrySafe to identify and prevent abuse. He lauded such training required through the International Mission Board for those on short-term projects as well as all IMB personnel.

Rice also announced that in January his church would be hosting a Fortify Initiative training conference offered through SBC Abuse and Prevention.

“I’ve spoken with Jeff [Dalrymple] since I was elected president … and am encouraged by the work they are doing, by the resources they are providing and the help they offer,” said Rice. Dalrymple is the director of abuse prevention and response for the EC.

Truth and Unity Amendment

The Truth and Unity Amendment, dealing with women serving in the office or function of pastor and set to receive a second vote for affirmation next June in Indianapolis, stands as a marker for Southern Baptists in “an age of apostasy and idolatry,” he said.

“The way forward … is not a mushy evangelical middle where we ‘almost’ believe something,” Rice noted. “Our convention will remain vibrant and strong only to the degree that we remain biblically faithful. The lesson of our evangelical and Reformation history is clear. The threat of doctrinal drift is real, and it never drifts anywhere worth going.”

The subject of what defines a pastor shouldn’t be looked at as a “tertiary debate” or a matter of “a glass ceiling to be broken,” he added, pointing to the “inflationary” use of the title of pastor as a contributor to the discussion.

“We have used the term as shorthand for any vocational ministry position. But this is more than a sideshow debate about words,” he said. “The improper use of biblically defined terms is confusing at best, and at worst, it represents, purposeful or not, an erosion of doctrinal fidelity. Errant practice leads to errant doctrine. And errant doctrine leads to errant practice.”

Churches that “innocently or unwittingly” use the title “pastor” in violation of the Baptist Faith and Message (BFM) are encouraged toward a correction, said Rice.

New BFM article

Rice also called on a new article to be included in the BFM addressing human sexuality.

Southern Baptists’ definitive statement was most previously revised on a large scale 26 years ago. Today’s culture has changed, Rice said.

“We have seen marriage redefined in ways unprecedented in human history. We have seen the very nature of humanity expressed in God’s created order rejected, as if by a stroke of a pen, one can reorder realities,” he said.

Rice went on to ask the Executive Committee to consider recommending at the annual meeting an amendment to the BFM that clarifies marriage as between one man and one woman, and the fact that God created only two genders — male and female.

“In an age when mainline churches are hanging flags outside their building with rainbow stripes,” he said, “we should send a statement that in this age of apostasy, Southern Baptists intend to stand firm.”

Trust, and a calling unfinished

An ongoing lack of trust across the convention lies at the heart of the need for “organizational transparency,” Rice said, as evidenced by a downward trend in Cooperative Program giving.

The solution, he said, is for a trustee system “to work as designed.”

“[It’s] not perfect. I suspect none is. But it’s a system that has worked, can work and must work even better,” said Rice, who previously served as a trustee for the North American Mission Board.

It is “vital” for trustees to understand their role and responsibilities, he added. This is particularly important with regard to the potential influence of outside funding. Rice went on to call for trustee boards to resist organizing in ways that limit vital information to a select few with minimal oversight. Entity leaders must welcome a “robust” amount of oversight, which trustees should insist on having.

In his closing remarks, Rice noted the recognition of 2,000 years since Jesus issued the Great Commission.

It came with a challenge that Rice admitted wasn’t new – a “clarion call” for Southern Baptists to make a “generational effort” in fulfilling the Great Commission. That will include a proposal for next year’s annual meeting, with goals to tell every man, woman and child in the United States about Jesus by 2033 alongside reaching every unengaged, unreached people group in the world.

“I know that such a vision sounds grandiose and impossible. Because, of course, it is,” he said. “But with God, nothing is impossible.

“If it sounds impossible to us, I ask you, what must it have sounded like to that band of believers 2,000 years ago? Most had never traveled far. Their resources were limited and they could not have imagined the technology that we possess. Yet to them that call was given, and 2,000 years later, the task remains unfinished.”