Commentary: Page election signals continuity and change … by Don Kirkland

The election of Frank Page on June 13 as president of the Southern Baptist Convention is a signal that the denomination will experience both continuity and change in the days ahead.

Don Kirkland

Like current convention leadership, Page is conservative, evangelical and an inerrantist. He subscribes to the latest Baptist Faith and Message statement, but cautions against going beyond its guidelines in matters of faith and practice among Southern Baptists. He was a participant in, and remains supportive of, the decades-long “conservative resurgence” that, from the perspective of theology and doctrine, changed the face of the Southern Baptist Convention. He never believed for a moment that his election, in which he received twice the votes of either of the other candidates, was intended to trigger a revolution to undo the results of that resurgence, which was not without its trauma and depletion of the ranks of Southern Baptists.

Where Page differs most markedly from many current SBC leaders is in the area of cooperation, visible in his, and his church’s, championing of the Cooperative Program and in a willingness — even a determination — on his part to broaden the base of involvement in SBC life, particularly in regard to many “godly men and women” in large and small churches who have been passed over for appointment to positions in the denominational structure. He has vowed to begin what he has characterized as a “nationwide search” to seek out these grassroots Southern Baptists who are eager for, and deserve to have, a voice in convention work.

The Taylors pastor represents a type of conservatism that is more cooperative and less exclusive than many who now lead the SBC. These conservatives — and many of them are young — cling just as tenaciously to those essentials of the faith that fueled the conservative resurgence, but they have let go of the spirit of separatism that grew strong during that era and is still today what some Southern Baptist leaders believe is a threat to the future ministry and well-being of our denomination.

One message of the 2006 convention — and our critics as well as all Southern Baptists should hear it — is that it is not necessary for all conservatives to walk in lockstep with each other, that unity of purpose can exist independent of conformity of thought and practice concerning every matter of our faith.

While Page is in a position to lead Southern Baptists in nurturing a more inclusive spirit within our ranks, he also symbolizes a movement already afoot to accomplish just that. Even before the election of Page as SBC president, some Southern Baptists had said they sense a new wind blowing across our denomination, which can be unsettling and even threatening to those who benefit most from things staying the same. This wind of change has the power to provide refreshment and a sense of newness that can benefit the Southern Baptist Convention. We should relish rather than resist it.

As a candidate for the presidency, Page said in an interview with The Baptist Courier, “If another Southern Baptist has a sweet spirit, an evangelistic heart, and believes in the integrity of the word of God, then I would say to that person, ‘There’s room at the table for you.’”

Page envisions a table of fellowship that is large indeed. But it is one that befits a denomination whose future strength and effectiveness will depend, in large part, upon recognizing and accepting the diversity within its ranks.

The late Adrian Rogers of Memphis was an architect of the conservative resurgence. His widow, Joyce Rogers, spoke at the Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference. She said that her husband would not want a “narrower SBC.” She challenged the pastors “on his behalf to graciously work for unity in the body of Christ.”

Such unity is, of course, possible, but only if we as Southern Baptists give full attention to achieving it.