SIMPLE TRUTH: Missional optimism

By Shawn Parker

Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention met last week in Indianapolis and had a great time of worship and fellowship. While the secular media tended to focus on a couple of issues that are hot topics culturally, the simple truth is the primary focus of the meeting was squarely on working together to fulfill the Great Commission.

We began on Tuesday with a celebration of over 80 missionaries being sent by Southern Baptists through the IMB to points around the world. As always, this was a highlight of the meeting, and it served as a sterling reminder that this is the work we cooperate to accomplish. Thankfully, Mississippi Baptists were represented among those missionaries, and I want to encourage you to be praying for them as they go.

Another highlight of the meeting was the gathering of Mississippians and friends for our Mississippi Reception on Monday evening. We had around 300 people join us for the fellowship, and the spirit of joy was palpable in the room. There’s nothing like being in a relatively strange place and seeing family, and that’s exactly what the evening entailed.

As for the business, messengers dealt with the highly debated Law Amendment and eventually decided not to add the amended statement to our Constitution. Though some have suggested this implies that Southern Baptists have opened the door to female pastors, I would argue that isn’t the truth. The current edition of the Baptist Faith and Message offers a robust statement affirming the biblical standards regarding pastoral leadership. Furthermore, messengers demonstrated the courage to address this issue by deeming a Virginia church not in friendly cooperation because of their practice related to female pastoral leadership. 

In addition, we passed a healthy measure of resolutions addressing a variety of topics. The one resolution that has garnered the most attention is focused on In Vetro Fertilization. Once again, some have misunderstood this resolution to be a condemnation of IVF, but a close reading of the statement clearly indicates that it is simply a caution about the use of the practice to insure consistency with our belief in the sanctity of human life. It’s difficult to reconcile the destruction of fertilized embryos with our belief that life begins at conception. I suspect this issue will be further discussed in the days ahead, but this resolution is a starting point for Southern Baptists and hopefully the larger culture.

Several have asked whether this convention was good or not. I’ve said it was a good meeting, and I’ll offer my reason for this conclusion. I think most people left satisfied with a good bit of what happened, but I doubt that anybody left completely satisfied. When 10,000 people are involved in making decisions, this is a very understandable and acceptable result. When the stakes are high (and they are for those of us trying to reach the world), emotions will be strong. We may not agree on every detail, but we can all find a healthy measure of satisfaction that provides a platform for cooperation. 

All this to say, I’m still thankful for the cooperative work we do, and I’m optimistic that the days ahead are bright for the mission we pursue!

Parker is executive director-treasurer of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board. He may be contacted at simpletruth@mbcb.org.