I recently became aware of an initiative led by two former presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention. It is called the “Unify Project”.
What is the purpose of this project? It is putatively to further racial reconciliation.
The question then arises as to how this program works. The website gives the details.
In a nutshell, pastors and leaders from different backgrounds get together to pray and to talk about race. They will “share meals together…, spend time with one another…, build relationships… break down barriers… and learn each other’s stories.” They will also hold joint services. Then when racial strife occurs in the community, they will speak out. And they will engage in acts of service alongside each other.
Some of this sounds very nice. But I think there is ample reason to be skeptical. Why? Let’s list the reasons.
- This initiative is nothing new or innovative. Such attempts have been made for many decades by various parties. The liberal mainline churches and denominations, for instance, have been doing this for many years.
- It is a recipe for surrender on important cultural or political questions.
- Evangelism and discipleship are much better approaches.
- Those exploiting racial conflict– i.e., the political and cultural left, and certain self-dealing leaders from the black church tradition– have no intention of displaying humility or of seeking peace. Simply put, they have too much to gain by nursing and inflaming various grievances.
This is another example of Southern Baptist leaders leaning leftward. There is no plan outlined to express God’s truth with this program. Instead, it reeks of an empathetic, therapeutic approach through which wrongful grievances are affirmed.
Here is another interesting tidbit. The pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC is the executive director of this program. His name is Josh Wester. He has previously been affiliated with the convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission which has taken a sharp left turn over the last decade also.
TC: I have been a Baptist, Lutheran and a Methodist. All of these denominations have been infiltrated by race hustlers and anti-biblical doctrines on human sexuality . The Methodists recently had a schism . Isn’t it about time for the SBC to have a serious discussion about race, sex and the word of God and if differences can’t be resolved , think about another home.
Unfortunately, Fred, there are significant institutional barriers to such discussions taking place in a way that would be fruitful. Your points, however, are quite valid and entirely justified.
You can add Presbyterians to that list, Fred. One local church has a whole department devoted to race relations complete with a reading list of divisive and race-baiting titles written by grifters. It’s all very sad to see us going backwards and much of it due to the druggie thug who died while resisting the police.
You are right, TCFan. The Presbyterian Churches USA wallow in this junk. And increasingly, the so-called conservative PCA denomination is going woke also.
I had the chance to watch The Essential Church last night. It is a documentary with the focus on Grace Community Church, the church John MacArthur pastors and the situation they found themselves in during the COVID lockdown. It documented the fight between the church and the California government. Voddie Baucham was featured a little more than midway through. He was giving commentary on many of the issues around COVID and the social ramifications of not buying into the “official narrative”. He called it for what it is …CULTURAL MARXISM. In the case of this post…..its the same, CULTURAL MARXISM and it has infected just about every part of our society.
You are right, Tommy. It is surprising that these folks think they are doing something original or worthwhile. But then again, perhaps it ought not be surprising. Something pretty awful has happened to the SBC.