The remarkable part of the feminist takeover of the Southern Baptists is that very few of the laity appear to notice. This suggests that there aren’t any Christians in the Baptists. The truth is worse: Christians are nonparticipants in the Church. Nothing we say or do is allowed to change anything. We don’t care about the process being hijacked because we aren’t allowed to do anything about it if we do care.
The primary way this happened was credentialism. Christ’s example to us is to personally train our replacements under the apprenticeship model, not have them trained in central locations (seminaries). This was also the Protestant model, more or less, because centralized training inevitably leads to the centralized, out-of-touch leadership that we were Protesting in the first place.
Result, individual churches became personality cults of the sermon-giver. They had neither a Catholic-style hierarchy nor a Protestant-style expert laity to keep them honest. This led directly to the next problem.
The secondary way is the silencing of dissent in the churches. Modern Protestant leadership successfully sold the idea that services was more about singing songs and sitting through sermons than open debate about Scripture and current events. God forbid a church permit an Arminian teacher and a Calvinist teacher at the same time! Those poor little spectators might be forced to think, and none of them were properly educated & licensed to think.
The tertiary way is the reduction of churches into corporations, a necessity to claim 501c3 status from the government. On the surface, breaking the Boss-Pastor into corporate officers looks like decentralization. In fact, Boss Pastor is replaced by Boss Internal Revenue and all the officers are beholden first to gov’t mandates ahead of church affairs.
And so the SBC died with barely a whimper. Why would the people complain when they have no forum, no allies and no credentials? They have exactly three choices: rebel, leave and mentally check out. Christians are not known for rebellion. Those who leave aren’t participants. And so the only people in the pews are the people who resigned themselves to going through the motions, perhaps so their kids can benefit from the social programs. It happened so quietly that many laymen still haven’t noticed.
It’s pathetic that so few Protestant leaders even remember what the Protest was, much less recognize they’re participants in the very corruption that Luther railed against.
None of this is grounds for pessimism. Protestants are like weeds. When we die, it’s fast and obvious and we’re free to rebuild… and building stuff honors the Creator anyway. The other branches of Christendom are like trees. When they die, their bureaucracy gives them the appearance of health, ensnaring innocents and forcing God’s remnant to either reclaim resources from an entrenched enemy or shove the petrified corruption out of the way. They can do it but historically, the process can take centuries and maybe a civil war or two. Thank God we don’t have such problems.
Sic Semper Southern Baptist leaders. You were useless to God long before the feminists began gutting you. Your services to Christ are no longer required. He will turn to the men you rejected to be the cornerstone of a new church for His people, a church that you will have no power over. Enjoy the wealth we left behind; we don’t need it and it pleases us to watch you wicked swine die fat and happy for the slaughter of Judgment Day.
They went to shit 15 years…. maybe two decades ago. Never kept tabs after that
Awesome post! Thanks for linking to it.
Credentialism – you nailed it. Such an angel of light it is. That’s part of the reason it’s taken hold, believers are so busy entertaining themselves to death that they are too superficial to see any downside to relying on an expert.