“The time has come to stand for what we believe in”
Hillsong United
April 27. This date hardly connects one’s thoughts with a key event compared to those more obvious, such as December 25 or July 4.
On April 27 some notable events did occur, including:
Historian Edward Gibbon was born (1737), as was Ulysses S. Grant (1822)
Beethoven composed Fur Elise (1810)
The steamboat Sultana exploded and sank in the Mississippi, killing 1,700 people
(1865)
Xerox PARC introduced the computer mouse (1981)
You can add another event to the list for April 27, Wikipedia fans.
This day may not rank with the signing of the Magna Carta or the nailing of the 95 Theses. But I have been around long enough to sense that today will be a day worth remembering. Why?
Today the document “Toward a Great Commission Resurgence in the Southern Baptist Convention: A Declaration” is up and available for you to view and sign at a new website, greatcommissionresurgence.com. What is the significance of the website and the document? This document, based largely on the Axioms presented recently by SEBTS president Danny Akin, calls for change that is both biblical and necessary. It builds unequivocally on the Conservative Resurgence. It boldly declares the time has come for substantive, broad, lasting change. Johnny Hunt, SBC President and longtime leader both by example and conviction, has given us the leadership we need for such a time as this.
Jonathan Edwards said one should judge a movement to be from God a posteriori, not a priori. That is, we should judge it by its fruits. Time will tell whether or not this brings the corrective we need. But for me, who has studied spiritual movements my entire adult life, things seem to be coming together in a Christ-honoring way that could bring us to the place we all want–a renewed vigor for and effectiveness in global evangelization!
Change is coming. We desperately need it. We have been poor stewards of the resources God has given us, from the numbers of believers involved in our convention, the vast material resources at our disposal, to the utilization of wisdom from young and old for the glory of God and the sake of the gospel. Like a middle-aged man who has experienced a level of success, we have rested too much on our past and focused too little on the great need and opportunity before us and the concomitant discipline required to meet the challenges of our time.
I am ready. People I talk to, from state executive directors to college freshman, from youth pastors to senior pastors, from church planters to agency heads, and from laity to veteran ministers, almost without exception resound with the same refrain: we must change, we can change without departing from biblical convictions, and it is time. Certainly I have met a tiny percentage of younger men who have given up on the possibility of change and an even smaller number of older men who tend to resist the idea of rocking the boat.
But the tipping point has been reached. We will not be the same from this day forward.
The time has come. I took these words from a song by Hillsong of that name. The chorus has a couple of phrases I love in particular:
“Today, today it’s ALL OR NOTHING”
Today is a time for bold commitment and vision.
“Today, today I LIVE FOR ONE THING”
Today we must set aside personal agendas and renew our passion to live for Jesus alone.
All or nothing.
Live for one thing.
It is time for a declaration. It is time for the SBC, which has too long been in a malaise, to experience some momentum. It is time to refocus. It is time for a movement.
I could hardly wait to sign my name on this declaration. I hope you will as well, but not to be part of a bandwagon. Sign it only if you are willing to do more than just type in your name, but if you are willing to give all of who you are to Jesus.
The time has come.
A movement is stirring.
Join the movement. See what God can do.
Doc,
I agree with you. Today is going to be an important day! It’s a long overdue day, but glad it’s here. With men like you leading the way, we can see the trend of declining reverse and see more people trust Jesus. But we all have to pull together and do the work of the evangelist!
I’ve never been a charter member of anything. But I can always say I signed this statement on the first day it was out!