It has been nearly a year since the release of SBC Calvinism Advisory Committee’s report. Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee president, Frank Page, appointed that committee, despite the fear and consternation of some, in hopes that such a document could be produced and might prove useful to SBC pastors and churches. It seems that the Lord has used Dr. Page’s leadership to do accomplish both of these goals. I have expressed my thoughts on the report elsewhere, but I don’t think I have written (or at least written much) about nature of the ongoing debate within the convention since the report was published last year.
I have been asked quite a bit about it by people both within and outside of the SBC. I also field such questions from believers far removed from the USA. Recently I read David Allen’s “Observations, Clarifications, and Suggestions” on this subject. Dr. Allen, who is Dean of the School of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, takes his cue from the “Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation,” which he signed after it was released in 2012 (I’ve written a critique of it available here). I greatly appreciate the exemplary spirit and tone of what Dr. Allen has written and agree with many of his observations, especially when he points out the common ground shared by most Southern Baptists who line up on opposite sides of the debate. Too often our agreements are overlooked in the rush to focus on our differences. That point needs to be remembered and emphasized as the discussions continue.
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