To address “a moral, ethical and spiritual crisis”
gripping the nation, a Southern Baptist leader announced the launch of an
Internet prayer room and a concerted effort to strengthen families.
Southern Baptist Convention President Morris Chapman announced
the initiatives during his report to messengers at last weeks annual meeting
in Orlando, Fla.
To address “a moral, ethical and spiritual crisis”
gripping the nation, a Southern Baptist leader announced the launch of an
Internet prayer room and a concerted effort to strengthen families.
Southern Baptist Convention President Morris Chapman
announced the initiatives during his report to messengers at last weeks
annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.
“If Americans continue to neglect the inner
man, then this country is on a road to irreparable ruin,” he warned.
In response, Chapman cited the importance of prayer
and repentance. “Revival is nothing else but a new beginning of a new obedience
to God,” he said, quoting 19th-century evangelist Charles Finney. “My
heart is burdened with the knowledge that no real revival has ever occurred
in history except that it was preceded by prayer.”
In an effort to foster such prayer for a spiritual
awakening in America, Chapman announced the start of an Internet prayer room
to accommodate all Southern Baptists.
The prayer room may be accessed via www.sbc.net
or at www.sbcpray.net. Persons
without Internet access also may sign up for the prayer effort by calling the
SBC Executive Committee at (615) 244-2355.
The invitation to pray is serious, Chapman said.
Those who sign up will pledge to God to pray for 30 minutes each week at the
same time for a year.
“Dear Southern Baptists, we preach well about
praying, and we believe in praying, but we must pray with … urgency and with
persistence,” Chapman said. “We must stay on our knees till God sends
a revival on this nation. God send the fire.”
In addition, Chapman also announced the formation
of a Save-A-Family Council, to be headed by pastor and former convention President
Tom Elliff of Oklahoma.
At one time, Southern Baptists agonized they were
baptizing only their children, Chapman noted. Now, they might not reach even
them with the gospel, he warned.
Indeed, some research indicated 88 percent of teens
attending evangelical churches will forsake their church, if not their faith,
by the time they are 18, Chapman said.
“They might be the most lied-to generation in
history. They have freedom without responsibility, success without work and
sin without consequences.”
Indeed, youth and families face a host of problems,
Chapman said, decrying the nations unsafe streets and public places; its
mediocre and failing schools; its vulgar, violent and mindless popular culture;
and its depressed political participation.
Families need help, Chapman indicated. In response,
the Save-A-Family Council, which will seek to build a heightened awareness of
the needs of families throughout the convention and will work with other agencies
to provide needed family-related resources and materials for local churches.
Chapman offered a personal testimony of the need
for such a focus, noting that the divorce rate among evangelicals has increased
and recounting the impact of his parents divorce the summer after he graduated
from high school.
“Dont ever let anyone tell you divorce
isnt disillusioning and damaging to every member of the family,”
he said. “Jesus heals the wounds, but the scar remains for … life
regardless of how tranquil the divorce may have seemed outside the family.”
Chapman said it is time for Southern Baptists to
determine if all is well with their souls. “(We) cannot sit by and let
our families disintegrate and do nothing.”
Chapman reminded men they are the gatekeepers responsible
for guarding their families. He urged them to focus and to stay focused on the
Word of God.
Southern Baptists must not allow their children to
be turned over to the culture of the world, Chapman insisted.
“Is it well with our Southern Baptist soul?”
he asked convention messengers. “Are we serious about the Lords business?
… Does our spouse and our children see Jesus in us? … Will we be a body
of believers whose families place other members of the family above self and
serve God? …
“I pray that we shall save the families of the
Southern Baptist Convention.”