The other day Evangelical Dark Web commented on Mike Stone’s campaign for SBC president and his Mitt Romney approach to campaigning for the Southern Baptist Convention. A day later, Tom Buck would host an interview with Mike Stone on Twitter. Tom Buck has been trying to rally Southern Baptists to the cause of Mike Stone, and therefore this was as friendly an interview as Mike Stone could land. However, Mike Stone demonstrate no interests in the causes of conservative Southern Baptists. Instead his interview focused on how he could do the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force slightly better than Bart Barber did. Essentially he stuck to the issues he mentioned in his announcement video.
— Tom Buck (Five Point Buck) (@TomBuck) May 12, 2023
In the 80 minute interview, Mike Stone made it abundantly clear that Bart Barber is not a bad leader or a liberal. In fact he defends Bart Barber’s record stating that his campaign is not about “a liberal drift that Bart Barber is a part of.”
Mike Stone insisted that he didn’t know anything that would insinuate that Bart Barber was in any way “moderate” or otherwise unfit for his position. Mike Stone makes it quite clear that his campaign is not about doctrinal issues facing the SBC (see 25-29 minute mark for context.)
It’s worth noting that Bart Barber’s crowning achievement is appointing a woke ARITF committee that was full of liberals. One of them, Todd Benkert had to resign in disgrace. The appointment of Todd Benkert appears to be one of the few issues Mike Stone has with Bart Barber, along with continuing to rely on Rachael Denhollander, whose faith he also affirms.
Additionally, Bart Barber continually defends women as victims of abortion. It’s also worth pointing out that Bart Barber is currently being sued for defamation in multiple cases and has testified under deposition that the Guidepost Report did not find anything despite singing a different tune publicly. But now that it’s come out that the SBC is arguing that the report is nothing but hearsay, Mike Stone has taken a moderate position against the Guidepost Report.
Mike Stone denies that there is a liberal drift, not only but arguing in favor of Bart Barber but by refusing to make doctrine a campaign issue. This is ultimately because while Mike Stone is not liberal, he is moderate himself. In this interview, Mike Stone makes it exceedingly clear, that if you are a Southern Baptist who knows what time it is, find a different candidate to represent you.
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That’s the SBC for you. First commandment: “thou shalt be nice”. Scared to death they’re going to hurt somebody’s feelings. Wet noodles sharpening wet noodles.
They should sit down and read Rev 21:8, and pay close attention to what the fate of faithless cowards will be.Those are sins, most often sins of omission, and one who is born of God will not continue in sin (1 Jn. 3:9)
A born again, spirit-filled Christian, is a vessel through which God does His work, through the Holy Spirit. And one significant task of the Holy Spirit is to convict of sin, righteousness, and judgement (Jn. 16:8).
In other words, a spirit-filled, truly born again Christian is not going to be a spineless, faithless, coward. He will be a bit combative, but in the right way, careful to abide by God’s standards. Civil but also not backing down. Kind but immovable. Neither offensive nor defensive, but standing firm and immovable on the solid rock. Speaking the truth, though some will be angered and others will rejoice. Fighting but fighting for the Lord by the Lord’s standards. Wielding the sword of God’s word. This describes Jesus. It describes the Apostles. If you read the epistles with this in mind, paying attention to the tactics, you’ll be amazed at how perfectly skilled they were at fulfilling that task, setting a perfect example for all to follow, which was perfect because it was the work of the perfect Holy Spirit.
As far as doctrinal differences are concerned, once refinement of doctrine according to God’s word is shoved aside, you can’t legitimately call it a church. That is wayward drift in and of itself. Label the particular form of waywardness what you will, but it’s unquestionably wayward. And I can tell Pastor Stone, with reasonable certainty, if he were to actually start letting his doctrinal positions be known, which he should do as a candidate, he’ll find out very quickly that there are very significant and very serious disagreements.
We study. We learn. We are convicted. We repent. And nobody is exempt.
As I type, I’m under conviction for sin committed, and have been for the past couple of weeks. I used to make signs. I essentially quit around the time that Jack Phillips was sued, and the courts began ruling that business owners could no longer refuse work on moral grounds. Now since the courts haven’t definitely addressed the issue to any significant degree, and apparently have no intentions of ever doing so, I no longer do that sort of work.
But around the time that SCOTUS created so-called “gay marriage” out of baseless whole cloth, my pastor at the time approached me to make a sign for the church, under which other signs could be hanged. One of the signs purposed to hang under the main sign said “All are Welcome”
I’d always heard this phrase and didn’t think much about it, but I didn’t know the relevant scripture well enough at the time. If I’d ever read 1 Cor. 5, I’d long forgotten it.
The fact is that all are not to be welcomed. Not only the unrepentant sexually immoral, as made clear in 1 Cor. 5, but also false prophets (Jude), and so on. Another, I believe though I can’t remember the exact scripture, is those who appeared to be believers, but fell away. There are those listed in 2 Tim. 3. Many that we are to avoid and not associate with at all, much less welcome them into the Lord’s house. Beyond being unwelcome, there are some, as described in 2 Thess. 2:11-12, who are already condemned. Verse 12 says that God is intentionally ensuring they will be condemned, because they remained unrepentant and delighted in wickedness for so long.
I’m sure there are many more scriptures which address the subject that I don’t know. But the point is that, I realize now that it was very sinful to make that sign.
So there you go. There’s one very important point of doctrine, among many, which couldn’t possibly be more front and center right now, given what’s going on in this world, which the church should address. Should all be welcomed? The Bible is clear on that subject. And the answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT.
The question for churches is whether or not they’re going to be a business or social club just trying to fill pews, or are they going to actually be churches.
The question for the SBC is whether or not they’ll continue to truncate off the part of the Great Commission about teaching them to obey the commandments of God, and just stop at baptism. Will they be among those Jude describes who pervert the grace of God into license for immorality. I know from my own experience, this often describes southern baptists up one side and down the other. Walk up to the alter, say a prayer, get baptized, and then keep on sinning as you always did, or even worse than before, no problem, you’re all good. No, that’s not what the Bible says at all. Not even close.
At that time, the local association distributed information for churches on what had to be done legally, in order for the church to avoid being forced to conduct so-called “gay weddings”. Obviously that was the right thing to do. And my church did so.
But they, and many other churches, reacted to their own actions with “thou shalt be nice”, scared to death they were going to hurt somebody’s feelings and draw the ire of the godless satan-serving workers of iniquity – as if they wouldn’t despise the church anyhow, regardless of what the church says or does. Scared to death somebody would point the finger at them and call them “mean” or whatever. So they put up signs that said “all are welcome”, playing right into the hands of the evildoers, when all they had to do, and what they should’ve determined to do, is to have enough courage and faith to hold up the sword of God’s word and say “this is what the Lord says about it, and if you don’t like it, we implore you to repent, but if you refuse, tough cookies, hit the road”
Maybe there isn’t any “drift”. Maybe that’s what southern baptists have believed all along. Drift or not, it is severely wrong nonetheless. If you’re off the straight and narrow, you’re off the straight and narrow. At that point, arguing there is no “drift” is simply to admit you’ve been wayward for far longer than you ever should’ve been.
Walking parallel to the straight and narrow won’t cut the mustard.
Better be drifting yourself over onto it, and then stay on it.
Such efforts to be overly nice and caring can be very sinful. They can essentially boil down to trying to make apologies for God’s word. Such efforts say, “well, I’m sorry, but I can’t do that”
NO, do not apologize for God’s word. Read through the gospels and epistles. You won’t find that sort of cowardly, faithless, spineless tone coming from any of the Apostles. You wont find it in the words of Jesus. You won’t hear them begrudgingly complying, acting like they don’t really want to do so, like a rebellious teenager who begrudging complies with his parents, while bellyaching the entire time. What you read is the truth that the commandments of God are not grievous. What you read is the acknowledgement and understanding that the commandments of God are good, and that a truly born-again Christian will want to honor them – not has to – want’s to. A begrudging, spineless, apologetic, cowardly, faithless sort of attitude, scared to death they world wont like you, bending to the whims of the world, and so on, is indicative of someone who is not truly born again.
You wont find Jesus or the Apostles saying something like “well, we can’t ‘marry’ you, but you’re welcome to remain unrepentant and defile the Lord’s house with your abominable sin” – which is essentially to coerce everyone else there into affirmation, acceptance, and endorsement – by continuing to attend themselves, to give approval of the defilement of the Lord’s house.
We know what Jesus would’ve done – fashioned a whip for any who defiled the Lord’s house, and resolutely shown them the door, with no pity, and with no apology.
It was a terrible sin to make that sign. One for which I am deeply regretful and ashamed. To say “All are welcome” is to teach as doctrines the commandments of men. We hear that “doctrine” all our lives, but that “doctrine” couldn’t be more wrong.
Anyone who says the SBC, or any other denomination or church, can set doctrine on the back burner, as if it is inerrant as it exists, needs to hit their knees and humble themselves in the sight of the Lord. The church is full of doctrines, written and unwritten, that are antithetical to scripture, whether they are like the pharisees making up stuff that God never commanded, or ignoring things that God commanded, or trying to change what God commanded. The list is long. And there is no time when such error shouldn’t be addressed, front and center.
In fairness, it should be noted that is not exactly what Stone said. He essentially said that, to his knowledge, there are no significant doctrinal differences between Bart and himself. Make of that what you will, but he didn’t say that doctrine should be ignored.