Younger conservative leaders need a voice in SBC

DULUTH — Former SBC President James Merritt of Duluth believes the Church too often has brought up the end of life’s parade rather than leading it. That’s why he feels his son’s document on the environment is a step toward taking back what rightly belongs to believers.

James Merritt

“For example,” he says, “we do not have a good track record on the Civil Rights Movement and ending segregation. In some ways protecting the environment has the same polarization factor that keeps us away from having a voice.

“We have been so alienated by the efforts of the Left that we don’t want to get involved for fear of associating with them. Christians should have a place at the table when it comes to shaping public opinion; instead we have abdicated our role in this discussion,” he says.

Creation care, he maintains, is one of the foundational tenets of Scripture, “going back to the first three chapters of Genesis.”

Merritt admits he was surprised at the controversy his son’s document unleashed in the Convention.

“I have to admit that, as I saw the first drafts that Jonathan was working on, I thought he might get some criticism. But after he passed it around David Dockery at Union, Timothy George at Beeson, and others of similar academic and theological backgrounds I felt like it took on a very centrist flavor. That’s exactly why I wanted to sign it – not as a father but as a concerned follower of Jesus Christ.”

“People who know me know that I’m conservative and just a little to the right of Ronald Reagan; I’m not in Al Gore’s camp at all. But if you set your preconceived notions aside and read the document carefully it does not take the alarmist position that the sky is falling but does say that to do nothing (to actively protect the environment) is just as poor a response.

“I believe that this document comes from a purely spiritual point of view. It does not take sides and acknowledges that there are scientific opinions on both sides of the debate. In light of that fact it says we should affirm our biblical mandate to be involved in saving God’s creation,” he adds.

Merritt said he was disappointed that the denomination’s response was so harsh and so quick. Less than 24 hours after the story appeared in national media, Baptist Press had a story distancing the denomination from the document.

While the initial story could be justified to clarify that the document was not an official SBC statement, the information agency generated an additional 13 stories over the next 8 publishing days. The majority of those took issue with the topic of global warming – an issue which was a minor point in Jonathan Merritt’s document.

In a separate interview with Jonathan Merritt he said that he asked for the opportunity to write an opinion piece for Baptist Press to explain his side but was not offered the opportunity.

“I personally felt the denomination’s response was a little heavy handed. But what really concerns me is the message we are sending about anyone having a difference of opinion in the Southern Baptist Convention,” James Merritt continued.

“If we don’t reach out and embrace the younger generation of conservatives who are coming out of our seminaries we are going to see an even faster graying of our denomination. We must shift our thinking in the way we pro-actively and positively engage with the next generation of leaders or we will continue to get what has been documented with recent studies – a saturation of their absence in our convention.

“In a conversation with Danny Akin the other day he told me that he did not have one negative response from anyone under the age of 40.

“There is a new world of younger, conservative evangelicals out there and if there is not room for a healthy debate of this nature they will simply leave. They will see the Southern Baptist Convention as irrelevant.”

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