Complete Founder's Response to Lemke & Welch

I wanted to bring all of the material written by Tom Ascol in response to Steve Lemke together under one post. So here it is:

First Response Second Response Third Response Final Observations Response to Lemke's Letter

I am not so sure if all the issues were cleared up, but I do appreciatte the spirit of the dialog. The debate over Calvinism is a debate within Christianity. We must remember that we are challenging brothers and sisters in Christ. Such argumentation must be done in a spirit of humility and graciousness. A few quotes from Ascol:

The leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention should recognize that many churches and pastors--especially younger pastors--in the convention are growing very weary of the lack of authenticity that comes through in their touting of numbers, largeness and programs. It smacks of triumphalism and a growing number are finding it increasingly off-putting. If SBC leadership wants everyone to jump up and down about the prospect of baptizing a million people in the next 12 months, then first convince us that you are willing to speak honestly about the ten million who have already been baptized but rarely, if ever, even show up on a Sunday morning in our churches.

As a young potential pastor this quote is dead on. I often become very discouraged with the SBC's insistence on numbers and the doctrinal childishness so often played out by its leaders.

The bloated statistics of the SBC are a veneer that conceals serious doctrinal and spiritual problems. It is time for Southern Baptists to drop the facade and to confront the problems directly, with humility and submission to the Word of God. This is not a Calvinist issue. This is a Christian and Baptist issue.

Again, it is a number problem! Regenerate church membership must be recovered. Thank you Tom Ascol for your work in continually defending the doctrines of grace against this barrage of silliness.