Mike Day at Baptist Identity II

I accepted the Tom Ascol's recommendation to listen to Dr. Michael Day's message, "Associations and State Conventions" at the recent Baptist Identity II Conference at Union University in Jackson, TN. Dr. Day is the Director of Missions for the Mid-South Baptist Association in Memphis, TN.

His message opens with the pathway of the past, an excellent history of Associational and State Conventions in the SBC, particularly as it relates to cooperation between these entities, providing some important historical points concerning the founding and purpose of the Cooperative Program. He summarizes this section as follows: Associations and State Conventions were 1) birthed by biblical Baptists, 2) nurtured by believing Baptists, 3) shaped by bureaucratic Baptists, 4) defined by battling Baptists, and 5) questioned by befuddled Baptists.

He then addresses the predicaments of the present:
1) The duplicated effort syndrome between SBC entities
2) The institution first syndrome, "feeding the beast"
3) The autonomous hierarchy syndrome, claiming autonomy is necessary while in practice answering to others, an implied hierarchy. The real problem is that the church winds up at the bottom of the pile.
4) The codified cooperation syndrome where lines are drawn in the sand by SBC entities
5) The thinly spread mission dollar syndrome even though Cooperative giving is up
6) The lost influence syndrome among SBC entities in influencing churches to do their job

He concludes with suggestions as to how we can resolve these predicaments. Commenting on Morris Chapman's suggestion that the SBC needs to be overhauled, he asks the question, "Is an overhaul enough?" He suggests a new paradigm that is arising for Associations and State Conventions, that is in fact and practice emerging in our denomination:
1) It is church driven
2) It is priority based
3) It is resource focused
4) It is institution free
5) It is strategically managed
6) It is regionally located but not geographically bound
7) It is denominationally connected, but not in the traditional ways. Here is where he suggests that Associations and State Conventions as we know them today will no longer exist but will morph into this regional kind of association of churches.

Dr. Day's message is a breath of fresh air from an unexpected source. He is open and honest in his assessment of what needs to be done, at least initially, to fix what is broken in the SBC. I encourage you to listen to "his rantings" (his words, not mine).