Posted by Eric Reed
While most media attention here at the annual meeting is on the coming election of Fred Luter as the SBC’s first African American president, insiders are waiting for developments on two fronts: the SBC name change and the debate over salvation and Reformed theology.
Scheduled for Tuesday afternoon is the report on the adoption of “Great Commission Baptists” as an informal name for use by churches skittish to identify themselves as Southern Baptist. But the theological debate is the one drawing more discussion in the hallways.
Emerging as the flashpoint in the discussion is a statement drafted largely by Eric Hankins, pastor of First Baptist Church of Oxford, Mississippi. Hankins sought to clarify the ground he says is held by “traditional” Southern Baptists on salvation and to stanch inroads by what he called “New Calvinists.” Instead, the statement has fired off more argument over the role of choice in salvation because of a small reference that critics have called “semi-Pelagian,” an ancient doctrine viewed as heretical. More than 650 SBC pastors and leaders have signed the document so far, refuting the Pelagian accusation.
Christianity Today online cites this issue as one that could boil over during the annual meeting:
“There are no plans for an official salvation dialogue to take place at the conference this week, but (Boyce College professor Owen Strachan) said the meeting’s democratic nature makes it ripe for an unpredictable agenda.
“ ‘I don’t necessarily think the floor of the convention would be the best place for the cool-headed, rational debate that this issue deserves,’ (Strachan) said. ‘Even if doesn’t come up, this has already created a sense of unease in the SBC.’”
Read the CT article at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/juneweb-only/baptists-calvinism-heresy.html
In the meantime, we wait for this year’s big floor debate: will it be name change or salvation?
iB2 News 