Are Southern Baptists embracing family reformation?

This statement on the priority of the family and the blessing of children reads as though it were written by a group of fathers from Heritage Family Church.

In fact it was drafted by a Southern Baptist seminary president.

It is endorsed by Johnny Hunt, the Georgia mega-church pastor who currently serves as SBC president.

It already has over three thousand on-line signatures of support from Southern Baptist leaders.

It will be presented for adoption by the ten thousand or so messengers attending the SBC annual meeting later this month in Louisville, KY.



It is part of a document called, the "Great Commission Resurgence Declaration." The "declaration" lays out ten commitments the authors believe are needed for a renewal of evangelism and missions among Southern Baptists.

The first nine commitments deal with such matters as a commitment to the Lordship of Christ, to the inerrancy of Scripture, to the centrality of the gospel, to sound biblical preaching, to a more effective convention structure, etc.

At the very close of the document, though, is commitment #10, a "Commitment to Distinctively Christian Families." It is a truly remarkable statement.

For those who may wonder why I am even bringing this up, it's worth noting that many in our fellowship have a Southern Baptist background. While our church is non-denominational and independent in affiliation, our primary confession of faith, the Baptist Faith and Message, is a Southern Baptist confession.

Some of our families have had discouraging experiences with fine Southern Baptist churches that were unsympathetic to their convictions about family renewal, the blessing of children, and the restoration of the home as the center of education and discipleship.

Some of these less-than-pleasant experiences are due to churches being bound by tradition or being over-protective of scripturally questionable programs, such as youth ministries and children's church.

On the other hand, some of us at times have been guilty of over-zealousness, immaturity, or impatience in our dealings toward those with honest misgivings about our family convictions. I know for a fact this has been true of me.

But I believe we can all rejoice in changing attitudes among SBC churches regarding family reformation. May we be as humble and open to Spirit-led change in our traditions and practices as some of these Southern Baptist brothers are.

Here is the statement about the family (Commitment #10). The whole thing is a blessing, but I couldn't help highlighting a few sentences in italics.

X. A Commitment to Distinctively Christian Families.

We call upon all Southern Baptists to build gospel-saturated homes that see children as a gift from God and as our first and primary mission field. (Deut. 6:1-9; Psalm 127, 128; Eph. 6:4)

The family is the first institution ordained by God and the foundational institution in all human cultures. Unfortunately, in our own time we see the family attacked on a number of fronts. Too many Southern Baptists have embraced unbiblical notions about marriage and family. Too often we believe that children are a burden rather than a blessing and smaller families are more “responsible” than large families. Too many believe that motherhood is not valuable as a woman’s unique and primary calling and is not as “fulfilling” as other occupations. Too many believe that husbands and fathers are not uniquely called and gifted for leadership in the home and that biblical gender roles destroy authentic equality.

We believe that distinctively Christian families are characterized by a deep love of Jesus Christ above all things and a desire to honor God as a family. We believe that Biblical truth is loved, taught, and lived out in healthy Christian homes. We believe that godly families cast a vision for spiritual greatness and equip every member, including children, to live for God’s glory and pursue great things for His name’s sake. We believe that strong Christian families are characterized by an atmosphere of love, fun, service, humor, faith, and fellowship. Southern Baptists must continue to reject the cultural status quo and seek to be a counter-culture for the common good when it comes to building God-centered, gospel-driven, Great Commission-loving homes.

GreatCommissionResurgence.com