It’s my understanding that when someone says to a denomination executive, “I don’t believe you,” it points to a serious credibility problem…not a good thing for someone in that position. Perhaps we all need to remember how things are supposed to work in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).
The entire history of the SBC—from the earliest days to the conservative resurgence that began in 1979 to the upcoming convention in San Antonio—demonstrates that the secret behind this massive denomination is an inverted pyramid of 43,000 autonomous churches. It’s a grass roots organization. The people who attend these local churches are in charge, under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, of course!
Their congregationally-chosen pastors, deacons, and officers are expected to faithfully represent their constituents to their local association, the state convention, and the national gatherings. Every level of cooperation is strictly voluntary, in order to preserve the autonomy of each independent church.
And technically speaking, the lowest man on the SBC totem pole is the annually-elected president of the world’s largest non-Catholic Christian denomination. Just a small click from the bottom are agency directors, seminary presidents, mission board presidents; and then comes all state convention staff, followed upwards to the staff of SBC associations in all fifty states; and then the pastors and church leaders. But make no mistakes: God’s people are standing squarely at the helm, voluntarily contributing their time, talents, and money to the cause of global missions.
But denominational executives sometimes forget who’s really in charge and they get a little too big for their britches. Now this short-sightedness is not always fatal, unless the person is so completely arrogant and gruff and self-righteous that he/she is unwilling to admit their mistake and seek forgiveness from their up-line supervisors—God’s people—who are generally known for their grace and love toward one another.
