Generations of Southern Baptists, since the conventions birth in 1845,
have seized the opportunities presented them by history. They have not always been as quick or effective as they should have been, but they
have eventually stepped to the plate of opportunity. In almost every economic,
political, cultural and international development, Southern Baptists, because
of their flexibility and decentralized organization, have been able to affect
their times.
Generations of Southern Baptists, since the conventions birth in 1845,
have seized the opportunities presented them by history. They have not always been as quick or effective as they should have been, but they
have eventually stepped to the plate of opportunity. In almost every economic,
political, cultural and international development, Southern Baptists, because
of their flexibility and decentralized organization, have been able to affect
their times.
And now, William Van Dusen Wishard, president of WorldTrends Research, declared
that our nation “appear(s) to be at some major junction in human affairs.”
To validate his thesis, Wishard points to whom he calls a leading American
psychologist in 1952, Rollo May, who wrote, “The chief problem of people
in the middle decade of the 20th century is emptiness.” May continued,
“our middle of the twentieth century is more anxiety-ridden than any period
since the breakdown of the Middle Ages . . . We live at one of those points
in history when one way of living is in its death throes, and another is being
born.”
In 1957, Peter Drucker noted, “No one born after the turn of the century
has ever known anything but a world uprooting its foundations, overturning its
values and toppling its idols.”
If these gurus are right about how these circumstances set the stage for our
present decade, and multitudes of other gurus think they are, there is a great
emptiness in the hearts and minds of our people, and the people of most of the
earth. If the United States is going through a transformation of life as we
know it, how much more are the people of countries that do not have the stability
and resources of our land?
Opening another vacuum in the hearts and minds of citizens of the world is
a strong challenge to the worlds second largest religion, Islam. “Everything
about an emerging global civilization appears to threaten the identity, social
fabric, and even the existence of Islam, which, we must remember, comprises
a billion people,” Wishard states.
As believers, we are compelled to remember that a crisis is an opportunity
for a clear and certain proclamation in word and deed of the gospel of Jesus
Christ. If the magnitude of the world crisis is as severe as Wishards
and others analysis indicated, the opportunities for missions and evangelism
is incomprehensibly great.
Again, Southern Baptists have for generations seized such moments. The question
that confronts us is this: Will we understand our moment in history, and will
we step boldly forward to meet the challenge history presents us?
While the world stage presents Southern Baptists with enormous challenge and
opportunity, we face deep-seated needs within our own structure. For a decade
now, we have heard predictions that the day of denominationalism is passing.
Church members are not as willing to pass loyalty and support onto some organization
they perceive as distant and even disconnected. While Southern Baptists have
continued to be supportive of their state and national conventions and their
mission endeavors, the support does show some signs of wavering.
Nevertheless, the opportunities persist. The challenges are unique to our moment
in history and no one can meet them but our present generation. The way we will
redemptively impact our moment in history is to know Jesus Christ in a more
personal, powerful way, and to know ourselves in relationship to Jesus Christ,
and to allow Him to use us to show the world that in the midst of the radical
changes we are experiencing, He is the powerful, infinite source of meaning
and direction. He must be presented in bold fashion in all parts of our state,
country and world.
In the midst of this major junction in human affairs is no time to step back
into our fellowship halls and act as though everything is okay, or that we have
nothing more to offer in the midst of this crisis than a good self-help book
would provide. This is our moment in history to make a difference.
Will God be able to mobilize Louisiana and Southern Baptists as He did in previous
days? Or, will we fail in our moment in history?