This is part 2 in my "Baptists come in 32,234 flavors series." For part 1, click here. Fear not, there will probably only be a total of three parts.

Wednesday: Southwide Baptist Fellowship and Independent Fundamental Baptists

Yesterday, I was supposed to be in Pensacola speaking at Southwide Baptist Fellowship. You can see the whole program here. In fact, I was supposed to be the entire morning program and they graciously sent a plane so I could make it from Nevada to Pensacola, but we hit severe weather and were forced to land in Albuquerque. (And, yes, it was as scary as it sounds.)

Southwide is part of a whole different stream of Baptist from the SBC-related state conventions I discussed yesterday. There are not three types of partnership (association, state, national) as in the SBC world. Southwide is part of the Independent Baptist movement. Wikiepedia explains:

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Baptist churches were awakened to the advancement of modernism and liberalism into national Baptist denominations and conventions in both the United States and the U.K.. Many local Baptist churches began to feel that the core elements and doctrines of the Christian faith, such as the nature of God, the infallibility of the Bible, the literal person of Jesus Christ as both God and man, the nature of the Trinity, the literal resurrection of Christ, and the need for Christians to be separate from worldliness were being watered down and abandoned. Although during the same time period mainline denominations were struggling with the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy, many within these local Baptist churches felt that any association with Liberalism/Modernism even in the forum of debate was tantamount to compromise and was therefore unscriptural. As a result, many of these local Baptist churches separated from their former denominations and conventions and reestablished themselves as independent churches. Often within these Denominational churches more conservative elements would set about establishing new Independent Baptist churches instead of remaining within the denominational churches.

The movement is probably larger than you think-- around 14,000 churches. If it were a denomination, it would be about the size of the Assemblies of God.

Southwide is one of several "orbits" in the movement. There is no denominational connection among Independent Baptists, but there are certain "orbits," or points of connection. A friend of mine in the movement described it this way (indicating there was overlap between all the categories):

20% Independent Independents (might attend conferences, but not really connected to anyone)
20% Fellowship Independents (Baptist Bible Fellowship, Southwide, GARB)
30% College Independents (BBC, PCC, Hyles-Anderson, West Coast)
20% Conference Independents (Pastors School Hammond / Leadership Conference-- Paul Chappell)
20% Cause Independents (King James Bible, Conservative Music, Standards, Sunday School)

Southwide is in one of these orbits, but generally considered part of the "fellowship" orbit. The Wikipedia article has some issues, but contains some helpful information:

The Southwide Baptist Fellowship is made up of about a thousand churches. It is a member of the International Baptist Network.

Southwide is in a unique space in the Independent Baptist movement. Again, from Wikipedia:

Considered a conservative and "Fundamentalist" association of Baptist churches, the Southwide Baptist Fellowship is not as staunchly devoted as other Baptist Fundamentalist Fellowships to the concept of absolute autonomy (local church independence) or the essential requirement of the King James Version (KJV). Certainly, most member churches of the Southwide Baptist Fellowship are Independent Baptist and remain "KJV-only".

When it originated, the Southwide Baptist Fellowship was almost identical in teaching and outlook as the core of Independent Baptist Fundamentalism. It was heavily influenced by Lee Roberson and John R. Rice. Its hallmark code of behaviors (short hair on men, dresses on women, no mixed bathing, no movies, no contemporary music) and its theology of Dispensationalism were standard for Baptist Fundamentalism. Many of its members were openly antagonistic towards the Southern Baptist Convention and were outposken critics of SBC policies which, two decades ago, permitted a certain degree of liberal theology.

The Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) movement is, as you can tell from the article, in a bit of flux. Some are more open to working with different groups, but they still tend to be very conservative. It is highly unlikely that an IFB would have had me to speak at their meeting just twenty years ago. However, recently, I have spoken at Baptist Bible College and Seminary in Springfield and at Tennessee Temple. So, there is an increasing openness to different voices while still maintaining a conservative Baptist stance.

Most observers in and out of the movement would acknowledge that the IFB movement was much more influential in the 1970s than it is today. As an outside observer, I have been intrigued about how some are still thriving while maintaining traditional IFB beliefs and practices while others believe change is needed to engage contemporary culture more intentionally. In the next couple of weeks, I will interview a leader of the IFB movement and talk more about the its future.

Tomorrow, we look at Converge Worldwide / The Baptist General Conference / the old Swedish Baptists.

Last week, I posted video from the Assemblies of God on church revitalization. Today, I have some video from the Kentucky Baptist Convention on the same subject (but with a different format).

In this case, my friend of many years, Alan Witham, asked if I would present our findings in several short videos to be used in their state convention. They created a "Comeback Process" described as follows:

Based on the book, Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can Too by Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson, the Kentucky Baptist Convention has developed a Comeback Church Process to give direction to weakened churches seeking to make a comeback.

Is your church in need of a comeback?

Process Goals

• To provide good information to church leaders


• To help them with application of the principles


• To see transformation in that results in church health and growth.

Process Details
Leaders of churches who commit to the Comeback Church process will be guided in growth in five key areas:

1. Leadership

2. Vibrant faith (renewed beliefs in Jesus Christ and the mission of the church, servanthood and strategic prayer)

3. Meaningful and active ministries for laypeople

4. Intentional evangelistic efforts

5. "Celebrative" and "orderly" mood of worship

Opportunities for growth include individual consultations, seminars, evaluations, networking, coaching and strategic planning.

For More Information
If your church is interested in the Comeback Church Process, please contact our Church Development Team Office at 502-489-3571 or 866-489-3571 (toll free in KY), or e-mail us at churchdevelopment@kybaptist.org.

Each of the five areas above included the video segments I recorded on each topic. They are included below.

We shot the videos in the library at LifeWay, but somehow copies of my books were mistakenly placed in the background. ;-)

Part A: Introduction

Comeback Church part A- Introduction from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Part 1: Visional Leadership

Comeback Church part 2- Visional Leadership from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Part 2: Intentional Evangelism

Comeback Church part 2- Intentional Evangelism from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Part 3: Lay Mobilization

Comeback Church part 3- Lay Mobilization from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Part 4: Celebrative Worship

Comeback Church part 4- Celebrative Worship from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Part 5: Renewed Focus on Jesus and His Mission

Comeback Church part 5- Renewed Focus on Jesus and His Mission from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Thanks to the KBC for making these available.

Here is a sermon I preached a couple of weeks ago at my church on living a "God-imitating life."

I just wrote an article for Catalyst on the dangerous trend of gaining converts to our causes without gaining converts to Christ. Here are a few paragraphs.

I continue to see movements gaining traction among Christians that do not seem to have many converts. In other words, they have recruits to their cause, but few converts to Christ. And, I am concerned. I am concerned that in the name of "fixing the Church" we are not proclaiming the Church's gospel.

...

So, my Reformed friends, let's not only read 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John (that is, John Calvin, John MacArthur, and John Piper), let's go plant some more churches. My emerging church friends, let's take a pause from the theological rethink and head into the neighborhood and to tell someone about Jesus. My missional friends, let's speak of justice, but always tell others how God can be both "just and justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." My house church friends, let's have community, but let's be sure it is one focused on redemption. My Baptist friends, let's focus more on convincing pagans than Presbyterians. And, my charismatic friends, let's focus less on getting existing believers to speak in tongues and more on using our tongue to tell others about Jesus

...

If you want to convince me (and the body of Christ) to your cause, you must show me it is a better way. You must tell and show something different. You must not just protest what is, but you must show me what should be.

You need to go an read the whole article to see these excerpts in context at Catalystspace.com, but come back here and let's talk about it. Agree, diasgree? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Next week, I will be doing a half day seminar at Brentwood Baptist Church. This is a church that wants to think and act in missional ways, but is also seeking to do so in its own cultural setting.

Brentwood is a big church (thousands on a Sunday), in an affluent area, and has a long history. That makes for some challenges and some opportunities. They have to recast language carefully and slowly.

So, in order to make a sharper focus they sought to cast their language in a way that was helpful for their context. They sent their "lexicon" to me to prep for my time with their church. I found it interesting and I thought I should share it with you.

I am one who believes that new language can be helpful, hence I started using the "missional" word back in the 1990s. However, it is essential to note that people have been being missional long before Francis Dubose started using it in the way we use it today. So, the language matters less than the emphasis. And, I find that Brentwood is doing some important thinking about how to use language in a way that communicates truth in meaningful ways.

Also, they DEFINE terms, something that I think you will need to do if you choose to call your church missional. For example, "missional" means different things to different people (see my Meanings of Missional series) so it is important that you clarify what you mean if you use the term.

The actual files are linked below, but here are a few highlights of Brentwood's new vocabulary related to evangelism and outreach.

connectors: people who are already connected to Christ.

You are a Connector if you have a personal, life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ - if you are grounded in worship, growing in discipleship and going in service.

And this raises the first question: Are you sure you are connected to Christ? Are you still firmly grounded/growing? Have you checked your own connection?

You cannot be a Connector if you're not connected to Christ.

unconnected: people who do not have this personal, life-transforming relationship to Christ.

Old vocabulary: "nonbeliever" or "unchurched"

Our goal is not to "church" them. And while our ultimate goal is that they become believers, our immediate goal is to get them engaged with Christ in some way - as seeker, questioner, hearer.

Keep in mind: Some people may be church attendees or church members, but are not connected to Christ.

Some people may be disenfranchised from organized religion, so they are not connected to Christ.

Some people may know nothing about Christ, or what they know is inaccurate, so they are not connected to Christ.

story: There are three parts to story:

my story: my personal experience with Christ.
their story: their personal experience/lack of experience w/Christ.
God's big story of redemption.

Old vocabulary: "testimony."

This is what I have seen and heard. This is what I know about Jesus. This is what I want you to know. This is where I am. Our stories are not complete. At certain times, our stories are not neat or resolved...

We want to have Christ-followers:

who have first-hand experience of Jesus and can talk about it authentically
who know how to ask good questions of others who are not connected to Christ
who know how to listen to the other person's story
who know how to tell God's big story in a simple way.

To tell God's story, we will be using the four principles and diagrams from James Choung's book, "True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In."

Here are links to their relevant documents: Connecting (PDF), and Connecting Vocabulary (Word doc).

This is an important subject to me. Their terms deal with evangelism and outreach, though we also hear discussions around the term missional. Some say the word has become to diluted or is often misunderstood.

But, language matters. Its use changes over time. And, words that once pointed to new ideas eventually lose their usefulness because of the baggage they carry.

So, I would love to get your thoughts:

1. What do you think of their lexicon?

2. Do you use the term "missional"? Why or why not?

3. Do you use an alternative term(s)? If so, why? And, if so, what terms do you use?

4. Have you opted for less traditional language when attempting to communicate biblical truth with the world? If so, why? Please give examples.

Dan Kimball

I spent several hours this morning with Dan Kimball and his hair. I like Dan. He has a great heart for those far from Christ.

We talked theology, missiology, and the future of the emerging church. (Dan wrote the first major book on the subject, called, not suprisingly, The Emerging Church.)

His new book is called, They Like Jesus, but Not the Church. He shared some video interviews from the unchurched that I thought were powerful and telling-- how the church is alienating a generation that desperately needs Christ.

Ronnie Floyd

A few weeks ago I participated in a "Night of Worship" at First Baptist of Springdale Arkansas. The pastor there is Ronnie Floyd. I had never had a chance to spend some time with Ronnie so I was glad to catch some time at a local Mexican restaurant and learn more about him, his vision, and his church.

It was quite a day in Pensacola.

I was leading a "Breaking the Missional Code" seminar for the Florida Baptist Convention and the Pensacola Bay Baptist Association. I snapped a quick picture during the singing.

Tonight, I will be preaching that Saint Louis Metro Baptist Association and, I think, hanging out with the StlBaptist church planters afterward. St. Louis is a great city and the Association has a great vision... it should be a good night...

Updated: and it was:

I am at First Baptist Norfolk today.

It seems that there are two "First" Baptist megachurches in Norfolk, one here and the one I am at here. Interestingly, according to pastor Eric Thomas, it was the predominantly African-American "First" Baptist that birthed the predominantly Anglo "First" Baptist.