that kind of baptists

One of the most fascinating things about the network of Southern Baptist Convention bloggers is their willingness to criticize abuses of power in the SBC's leadership. Most of the blogs are written by pastors, and most of these pastors are in their mid- to late thirties. Many were in seminary during the fundamentalist takeover of the convention, or arrived shortly thereafter. They are inerrantists and most would probably have called themselves fundamentalists at some point in the past.

The difference between this group and their predecessors, however, is their realization that there are abuses of power by convention leadership. This happened most notably around the Wade Burleson controversy relating to his role as a trustee at the IMB. Bloggers have challenged the SBC leadership on policies relating to the appointment of missionaries and on other issues.

This week, Kevin Bussey actually named the Southwestern Seminary administration his "Pharisees of the Week" award for a scandal involving a chapel speaker who said something the convention doesn't like. (Actually, the speaker let them have it. You can read the sermon here.) Students at Southwestern applauded when the speaker challenged a new IMB policy.

I'm not going to get involved in their debates, because I honestly don't care whether SBC missionaries speak in tongues. And I know that there's a long road to go before anyone in the SBC would accept those of us who are of a more moderate persuasion. Most of them still call us "liberals" and think that we don't believe the right things.

But these bloggers realize that the temptations of power are just as seductive, and maybe more so, in the church as they are in politics. I hope that the next generation of SBC leaders will have the humility to avoid the temptation to make church politics more important than the church itself. They're going to have to blaze that trail on their own.