“The first year I submitted it (2006), the Committee refused to bring it before the Convention in Greensboro because, as the chairman said, if we remove all those members of our churches who don't attend, we will lose some of our best evangelistic prospects. I was allowed to read my resolution on the floor of the convention, however, and request a vote to override the committee. The vote failed to get the required supermajority though some estimated 40-50% of the messengers voted for it.

Last year, it was same song, second verse. The rationale this time was that the committee did not want to violate the autonomy of the local churches by bringing the resolution to the convention. The vote to override the committee was stronger, but still not enough to bring it out for the whole convention to consider it.

Since then Malcolm Yarnell has crafted a resolution…to be presented…Bart Barber is coordinating efforts on this...I affirm everything in the Yarnell-Barber resolution. It is well-crafted and expresses Baptist commitments very clearly. My only reservations about it are that it does not state the rationale for the need of such a resolution (as indicated by our ACP statistics), it does not call for repentance (despite the fact that past resolutions have repeatedly called on Southern Baptists to repent for other sins and one last year even focused completely on repentance) and it does not call on denominational servants to be supportive of churches that take practical steps to recover the principle of regenerate church membership.

At the encouragement of friends, I offered a few suggestions to address these issues in ways that I thought would strengthen the Yarnell-Barber resolution and make it unnecessary for me to submit my resolution again. For various reasons, my suggestions were not taken and so I am compelled to proceed with my plans to offer the resolution below. My decision to do so should not be taken as criticism of the Yarnell-Barber resolution. We agree on much and share many of the same concerns about these issues…”

I am happy to be one of the supporters Dr. Ascol’s proposed resolution.

“Several pastors, theologians and church leaders have indicated that they intend to support the following resolution and have given me permission to list their names publicly. Among them are, Eric Redmond (2nd VP of the SBC) Phil Newton, Southwoods Baptist Church, Memphis, TN, Darrin Patrick, The Journey, St. Louis, Tom Bryant, FBC Osprey, FL, Tom Nettles, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Joe Thorn, Redeemer Fellowship, St. Charles, IL, Roy Hargrave, Riverbend Church, Ormond Beach, FL, Voddie Baucham, Grace Family Baptist Church, Spring, Texas, Nathan Finn, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Greg Welty, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Bill Ascol, Bethel Baptist Church, Owasso, OK, Jeff Noblit, FBC Muscle Shoals, AL, Paul Dean, Providence Baptist Church Greer, SC, Fred Malone, FBC Clintion, LA, Wyman Richardson, FBC Dawson, GA and Tim Brister, Grace Baptist Church Cape Coral, FL”

Much discussion has been generated by the offering of two resolutions. That discussion revolves primarily around whether or not we as Southern Baptist leaders are willing to humble ourselves, repent of our failures, and take action steps to work toward maintaining the principles of a regenerate church membership, loving church discipline as prescribed in the Scriptures, and integrity in the reporting of our membership. At the same time, the gospel itself is at stake here.

This is no mere denominational or political discussion. As Tim Bristor noted,

“If we separate the issue of regenerate church membership from the recovery of gospel faithfulness, we are only offering a band-aid cure to a much deeper problem. The gospel will not “surge” out of churches where less than 30% bear any evidence that it is “the power of God unto salvation.”…Regenerate church membership begins with “regenerate”–and if we do not get the gospel right in our churches, we cannot expect to get church membership right either.”

On today’s edition of “Calling for Truth,” our special guest will be Dr. Tom Ascol, the Executive Director of Founders Ministries and Editor of the Founders Journal. He has been the Pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida since 1986. He is editor of the books Reclaiming the Gospel and Reforming Churches and Dear Timothy and has contributed articles and chapters to numerous publications. He and his wife, Donna, live with their six children in Cape Coral.

We will discuss these resolutions and the implications flowing from them. While this is an SBC issue, the implications stretch beyond the bounds of the Convention.

Vatican: Space Aliens Might Actually Exist
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=64184

"Believing that there are little green men who one day will land on earth does not contradict Catholic doctrine, according to the chief of the Vatican's Observatory. Fr. Jose Gabriel Funes told L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican daily, that such extraterrestrial life "is possible, even if until now, we have no proof." "But certainly in such a big universe this hypothesis cannot be excluded," he told the newspaper."

Belief in space aliens might not contradict Roman Catholic doctrine, but it does contradict the Scriptures. The whole concept of aliens and the resultant alien mania is grounded in an evolutionary worldview. The thought is that since the universe is so vast and so old, there must be alien races out there somewhere. If life sprang from nothing then there must be all kinds of life forms scattered throughout the universe. Without evolution, there can be no aliens.

The world constantly exerts pressure upon us that causes us to continually be conformed to it. By way of example, in a recent article from Baptist Press: “If the name "Grand Theft Auto IV" doesn't give away the violent and explicit content of the latest teenage video game craze, then the multiple warnings on the packaging do. "GTA IV," as it is called," carries a "Mature" rating for "blood," "intense violence," "partial nudity," "strong language," "strong sexual content" and the "use of drugs and alcohol."…The latest release, in fact, could become the top-selling video game of all time. It went on sale April 29 and already is the top-selling video game on Amazon.com. The game revolves around "Niko Bellic," an immigrant from Eastern Europe who lives in "Liberty City" –- essentially a faux name for New York City. The video gamer, playing the role of Niko, steals cars, kills cops and gang members, runs over pedestrians on the sidewalk, gets drunk, visits strip clubs and has sex with prostitutes. The game has multiple critics, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which is upset that players can get drunk and then drive.”

We are in a spiritual battle for our own souls and the souls of our children. Part of the weaponry used against us is worldview. Parents and teenagers who claim to be Christians: be warned. Satan’s attacks are subtle. What some consider to be benign entertainment is no such thing. Every thing we see or hear comes from one of two worldviews: a Christian worldview or a non-Christian worldview. Too often Christians miss this reality. Further, they don’t understand what the battlefield is or what to do on that battlefield.

On today’s edition of “Calling for Truth,” we’ll talk about the battlefield of the mind/heart.

“A little novel written by an Oregon salesman and self-published by two former pastors with a $300 marketing budget is lighting up USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list with a wrenching parable about God's grace. First-time author William P. Young's book The Shack, in which the father of a murdered child encounters God the Father as a sarcastic black woman, Jesus as a Middle Eastern laborer and the Holy Spirit as an Asian girl, is No. 8 on the list. Lynn Garrett, senior religion editor for Publishers Weekly, calls the book's success "most unusual. It's every self-published author's dream to start out this way and sell at this level. People are not necessarily concerned with how orthodox the theology is. People are into the story and how the book strikes them emotionally," Garrett says.”

That this novel is popular is not surprising considering the spiritual but relativistic society we have become. What should be surprising, however, is the popularity the book has gained among Christians. Of course, that popularity highlights major problems in the church today. When a novel freely alters biblical teaching on doctrines connected to salvation and the nature of God Himself and is not rejected outright, it is no wonder that we find ourselves in an “evangelicalism divided.” To say that “people are not necessarily concerned with how orthodox the theology is...and [that] people are into the story and how the book strikes them emotionally,” is to unwittingly put a finger on the problem.

On today’s edition of “Calling for Truth,” we’ll talk about the rise of spirituality and the demise of truth, and, what to do about it.