 |
 |
||
|
July - October 1997 Editorial of Dr. Ralph Winter
|
MF Behind the Scenes by Rick Wood Managing Editor for Mission Frontiers The Southern Baptists: A Glorious Transformation in Process
Loaded with a new attitude of openness and a commitment to work with other evangelical believers, they have taken a leadership role in the AD2000 and Beyond Movement, giving of their time and talents in numerous ways. They have even made their research database available to any evangelical mission organization upon request. They were also a major force in organizing the Mission Executives Consultation in July at GCOWE ’97 with Avery Willis, their Senior V.P. for Overseas Operations, acting as co-chairman. (See page 10 for a report.) They considered this meeting of such importance that Jerry Rankin, president of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, came as a featured speaker. Because of this wonderful attitude of humility, the Southern Baptists and the World Christian Movement have both been immeasurably blessed. We look excitedly to the future to see the marvelous things that God will do as a result of this new heart of humility and service that they are living out in our midst. But the Holy Spirit is continuing to work. They are now implementing the largest reorganization of their mission board in their history. The goal of this restructuring is to more effectively reach the unreached peoples and mobilize their churches. For more information on the Southern Baptist reorganization, see the interview with Jerry Rankin and Avery Willis starting on page 15. The Southern Baptists are also aggressively trying out new strategies to reach Muslim peoples. See the articles on pages 19-21. We praise God for the Southern Baptist commitment to reaching the unreached peoples and for their desire to work with other believers to complete the missionary task. They are an example that others could and should follow along with many other ministries which have already embraced these same wonderful attitudes. But we need to ask the question, “How many of our own churches, denominations, and interdenominational mission agencies have subtly or not so subtly thought and acted like they don’t need others to complete world evangelization? This is the disease of pride and self-promotion that we are all prone to, but which has splintered the Body of Christ and kept us from reaching all of the unreached peoples. There was much talk at GCOWE ’97 about partnership and “unity in diversity,” but it will all be just talk unless we humble ourselves before one another and be willing to serve each other. Even when we sincerely feel our way is better, we must honor and appreciate those good things that others have done and are doing. The Southern Baptists have written into their overall mission statement a commitment to work together with other Great Commission Christians to reach all peoples. In order to make this commitment, they had to recognize that other evangelical believers were doing valuable mission work with which they should cooperate. We must all likewise humble ourselves to see the missionary task completed. If all mission organizations were to include this commitment in their mission statement, it would be a good start. For His Glory, Rick Wood
[ FRONT PAGE ] [ MEET OUR STAFF ] [ USCWM ] |
|
|
They are the largest Protestant denomination in the world with over 15 million members. Their missionaries cover the globe with an historic record of missionary outreach spanning over 150 years. Certainly with enough resources and effort they could do anything, perhaps even complete world evangelization —or so they thought. At GCOWE ’95 in Seoul, Korea, the Southern Baptists publicly confessed and repented of the belief that they did not need the wider Body of Christ in world evangelization. The results of this simple act of repentance have been astounding.
