The Southern Baptists recently completed their national gathering in Nashville, and judging from news reports before and after, it was somewhat contentious. Among the issues were how to handle sexual abuse accusations and race relations. Without getting into details of things I know very little about, I just want to comment on why some people were advocating a “just get back to the gospel” approach. One official was quoted as saying:

This whole thing should be seen for what it is. It is a satanic scheme to completely distract us from evangelism. – Augie Boto, former general counsel to the Executive Committee, 2019

No one in the Bible was more mission-oriented than Nehemiah. He went to Jerusalem, mobilized the leaders and the people, and rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem in 52 days! (If you’re not familiar with that story, I recommend you read Nehemiah chapters 1 – 6.) They began construction in chapter 3. There were attempts by enemies to derail the mission in chapter 4 and again in the first part of chapter 6. Nehemiah would have none of it.

HOWEVER, chapter 5 tells a different story:

Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive.” There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.” … Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves,… I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.”And I held a great assembly against them…(Nehemiah 5.1 – 7, ESV)

Nehemiah heard the complaints of the poor against their fellow countrymen who were oppressing them. He did NOT say, “This should be seen for what it is. It is a satanic scheme to completely distract us from building the wall.” No! He heard their cry, and he stopped the wall building. (You can’t build a wall while you are holding a great assembly to deal with an urgent problem.)

I’m glad the Southern Baptists elected a president who is both missional AND is willing to address racism and sexual abuse. Here’s a small snippet of what he said in an interview with World Magazine:

We have an issue we must deal with. Let’s say I’m driving down the highway and my tire blows out. What am I gonna do? Fix the tire. This is a corrective action that has been long due. And I pray it will be handled well, and I ask others to pray for that too. – Ed Litton, newly elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention

When James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. (Galatians 2.9, 10, ESV)

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4.16 – 21, ESV)