Staunching Baptist Decline

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Baptist, Barton Gingerich, Calvinism, Church, decline, discipleship, ecclesiology, Ed Stetzer, evangelical, evangelism, Jonathan Merritt, Mainline Protestant, membership, Religion News Service, SBC, Southern Baptist, Southern Baptist Convention

(Photo Credit: Baptist Press/Adam Covington)

by Barton Gingerich (@bjgingerich)

Over at Religion News Service, Jonathan Merritt has taken up keyboard and monitor to advise the Southern Baptist Convention on how to avoid a disastrous membership slump. His article is well worth a read. The SBC’s statistics guru, Ed Stetzer, announced that America’s largest Christian denomination is starting to see numbers reminiscent of the old Mainlines before their decline. It is interesting to see the largest Baptist fellowship struggle against dropping baptisms and rising abandonment. This seems unusual (at least for those within the denomination) since the SBC bucked the mainline trend by 1) recovering its seminaries (and thus its denominational leadership) for orthodoxy in the 70s and 80s, 2) holding to an exclusivist (thus inherently evangelical/missionary) view of soteriology, and 3) sacrificial church planting, with great success in reaching the burgeoning Latino community. So what is the problem now?

Merritt offers three suggestions. First, harsh in-fighting over nonessentials needs to end. Misplaced priorities regarding entertainment, political candidates, the Sinner’s Prayer, and—most recently—Calvinism have driven people out of the pews. The latter’s popularity has been fingered for the SBC’s membership plateau; however, as Stetzer’s research shows, the presence of full “5 point” Reformed Baptists makes up only about 16%  of the denomination (an increase from former studies, but a minority nevertheless). Plus, accusing Calvinists for neglecting evangelism is a fairly steep claim considering their impressive missionary track record. Merritt suggests people are leaving the SBC over noisy, stressful quibbles. He concludes, “If the Southern Baptist Convention wants to regain the credibility, interest, and relevance it has lost, the denomination must learn to put first things first. Namely, sharing the gospel through missions and showing the gospel through acts of service, compassion, and justice.”

Second, Merritt calls for an end to political partisanship. He cites several petitions the Convention issued that are clearly regrettable in hindsight. While there is a troubling nationalism to be found in cultural Southern Baptism, some may find the young writer harsh when he worries that “the denomination continues to operate like a Republican lapdog….” Perhaps this springs from the angst of being raised in the Baptist subculture. Speaking from my own experience of being raised in a Mainline church, I would have preferred most of Merritt’s embarrassments to being alienated, harangued, and scandalized for my (and my family’s) support for free markets, just war, self-defense, life, and marriage. While I was mercifully preserved from much ham-handed purity culture, I was never warned about the tremendous danger and wickedness of sexual sin from pastors and Sunday school teachers (a crueler dereliction of duty, I would argue). When looking at the intellectual resources commonly available to most Christians during the Sexual Revolution and following, it is quite surprisingly that Moral Majoritarians made it through as well as they did. Though their approach earned some stinging experiences, they should not be thrown under the bus altogether. At my own alma mater, I knew and befriended many who were burned-out culture warriors. The “take back the nation” controversies are harmful, but so too would be a complete acquiescence to nefarious social currents we see today. Many failed to keep the balance, and I expect will fail again. Nevertheless, I speak as a mellow historian/cradle mainliner, so maybe we should swing on a generational pendulum when it comes to such political issues. After all, Merritt himself has added not only life and marriage, but also immigration and environmentalism to his political dossier.

Third, the SBC needs to listen to people, especially the 18-39 age bracket. Bitter hard-heartedness has alienated the young. I defer to Merritt’s experience and judgment on that front; I was not raised nor am I currently a member of an SBC congregation. I would only warn against the American worship of youth. In the United Methodist Church, declining Westerners fawn over inexperienced young pastors and laymen (more so than the spirit of I Timothy would suggest), while Africans from vibrant conferences show deference to their wizened elders. Truth is the truth, no matter one’s age, but I must confess that I still see gray hair as a mark of honor and authority.

What I think we’re seeing is a continuation of that great American tradition, institutional disloyalty (chronicled so well in Ross Douthat’s book Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics). When Merritt announces, “A new day is dawning in American religious life in which Christians of many stripes seem to be running fast and hard from denominations, particularly those whose behavior mirrors the descriptions listed above,” he is in error—not over the phenomenon, but over the timing. The exodus from “namebrand” Christianity—or rather, ecclesiastical structures—has been a common trend over the past forty years or more. Contemporary Americans, the atomized individualists we are, prefer our own self-defined spirituality. Nondenominational congregations and parachurch organizations fit our idea of discipleship more than “stifling” bodies that worry about orthodoxy and catholicity. Infighting and theological issues heating up during a synod? Better leave before getting too stressed out and while one can save face.

Some evacuate the SBC because of its bad PR. Popular culture—especially the entertainment and news industry—vilifies the SBC. The label is toxic–Southern Baptists have been turned into bogeymen. Some people may abandon the denomination because of its unacceptability in an increasingly liberal society. I think that Merritt would agree that Baptists and other evangelicals should not cater to this kind of preoccupation. It would create a church ready to flake out on unpopular cultural issues.

But this does point to a broader issue that the SBC needs to tackle—what kind of culture is it creating for its members and what sort of disciples are its congregations forming? To put it roughly, what should Southern Baptists “look” like—how should they act and what should they believe? How is the faith passed on to the next generation? Salvation experiences ring hollow if those involved abandon Christ’s Body; retention and growth are just as important as initial birth. How is the Church preserved? By what vehicle(s) is the person, message, and work of Jesus Christ conveyed to others? Are our individualistic, anti-family, anti-communion, anti-hierarchical sensibilities a liability in such a project? I’ll warrant that Jonathan Merritt and the SBC aren’t the only ones who need to be asking these questions.

Stand Up for Scouting on Firm Ground (Part 1)

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Barton Gingerich, Boy Scouts, BSA, child protection, homosexuality, membership, pedophilia, scouting, Scouts Canada, sex abuse

Boy Scouts AND Anglicanism. Get excited, traditionalists.

by Barton Gingerich (@BJGingerich)

It seems the news cycle is nearing its nadir on the Boy Scouts until the national meeting in May which will determine whether or not the organization will accept openly homosexual members. The controversy provided an opportunity for groups to show their true colors on issues of morality and liberty. For example, Southern Baptists and the Assemblies of God voiced strong criticism against the new changes. The Roman Catholic Church—third largest religious supporter of the BSA—also hoped the policy would remain the same in its official announcement (though there has been some controversy about misinformation that the Catholic Church would support the policy change). However, the bureaucratic leadership of the second largest supporter, the United Methodist Church, voiced acquiescence to the loose membership standards. Although the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is by far the largest Boy Scout supporters, the official Mormon leadership has remained silent on the issue, though many suspect that the LDS would oppose the changes.

Media elites and professional commentators took the opportunity to vilify the backwards/backwoods ethics of the century-old institution. After all, the corporate sponsors that have threatened to pull funding until the sexuality standards have changed would be satisfied with the “local determination” option (which pleased neither the traditional party nor the gay lobbying groups). Of course, as many comments have illustrated, these same critics failed to ask for the opinion of Scouting parents or even researched the current structure, policy, and ethos of the BSA. Nevertheless, their concerns for tolerance deserve an informed answer from defenders of the current membership policy.

The main concern from parents is the most insulting to the LGBT activist groups: pedophilia. Richard Land concluded with this point in his incisive opinion piece. Land summarizes the point well: “Why would you put adult leaders and mentors in places of authority and leadership of a boys’ organization when they have defined themselves as “homosexual,” meaning they are sexually attracted to males? It would be the equivalent of allowing heterosexual men to be scout masters for Girl Scout troops. As one wise youth minister once observed, ‘Sexual attraction happens.’”

On the other hand, pedophilia is not the same as homosexuality, though for most traditionalists, pedophilia between men and boys is a homosexual practice. In truth, someone who is attracted to men could participate in the Scouting program as long as he would not “make a big deal” of it (thus upsetting activists on the charge of “closeting”). Catholic parents I have talked to often mention that, several decades ago, the seminaries became rife with homosexuality. After those priests entered parish ministry, they soon began abusing boys as well. Perversion led to further perversion. I tend to think it was the habit of secrecy and coverage from accountability that aggravated the problem rather than the seminaries, but try telling a parent that.

As a friend of mine contended, Christians misconstruing homosexuality with pedophilia worsens the relationship that LGBT folks already have with the Church. For Christian defenders of Scouting, continued use of the pedophilia charge may hurt rather than help the situation. Men—no matter their self-professed orientation—are at least perceived as more aggressive and predatory. Perhaps this is sexism, but parents want to make sure their children are safe. LGBT activists will see such fearful sentiments as a civil rights issue. Parents now are afraid of gay leaders like 1960s parents might have been scandalized by a Scoutmaster of a different skin color. That comparison draws ire from religious thinkers especially since many faiths see homosexual activity as a choice rather than a non-volitional genetic condition. Perpetuating myths harms rather than helps in a debate. Right now, the pedophilia charge remains murky.

Currently, pedophiles are already in the Scouts. There has been quite a scandal already regarding molestation in the BSA. Sadly, predators have already targeted youth programs as hunting grounds. Although the organization has strict rules for adult leaders to provide child protection, wicked men still find ways to manipulate youth and avoid getting caught.

Many wonder how an openly gay Scoutmaster could be a threat when predators seek to hide their proclivities. Data could be gathered on this matter—for instance, Scouts Canada lifted its ban in 1998 (this was shortly after the institution opened membership to girls). Canada Family Action has raised quite a furor over Scouts Canada’s child protection policies. As of yet, the Scouts have not released their secret sex abuse files, so no one can compare statistics before and after the membership standards change. Although the trends for molestation cannot yet be confirmed, membership numbers certainly can. Since 1998, the Canadian membership has dropped from about 300,000 to 100,000.

In short, well-meaning traditional Scouting supporters cannot decisively oppose the membership changes on the basis of pederasty—the facts remain hidden behind a curtain, and the BSA is already struggling to keep its house in order. Some wonder why LGBT enthusiasts do not join another scouting organization like the Baden-Powell Service Association or Camp Fire. While they certainly lack the prestige of the BSA, such organizations should make rabble-rousers happy. This classical liberal logic is insufficient. Though private institutions can set up membership requirements as they so please, that does not mean that those standards are right. If the BSA is somehow spreading evil and injustice, private donors and Scout leadership should put a stop to it. However, I am convinced that the case for the current Scouting standards are defensible on other firmer grounds. We will look at that issue in my next post.