McLaren Withdrawn From Evangelism Conference Lineup 02/18/2005 LOUISVILLE – The Kentucky Baptist Convention has withdrawn its invitation to pastor and author Brian McLaren to speak at its upcoming Kentucky Evangelism Conference. McLaren, pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church in Spencerville, Md., was to have spoken at the Tuesday morning session of the conference to be held Feb. 28-March 1 at Valley View Baptist Church in Louisville. Dr. Bill Mackey, KBC executive director, and Dan Garland, Church Development and Evangelism Team leader, said they made the decision after reviewing McLaren’s position on salvation. “I respect Dr. McLaren greatly and have appreciated his insights on reaching people in today’s culture,” Mackey said. “We try to bring dynamic speakers to the Evangelism Conference who will challenge and inspire their listeners. I felt that in this instance, however, Dr. McLaren’s position diverges too greatly to be appropriate for this conference.” Garland, who had invited McLaren to speak more than a year ago, agreed, saying that reading McLaren’s most recent book, A Generous Orthodoxy, led him to reconsider. In the book, McLaren says that while there is no assurance that there is salvation to be found outside of Jesus, Christians should not jump to the conclusion that Jesus is the only way to salvation. "I must add, though, that I don't believe making disciples must equal making adherents to the Christian religion. It may be advisable in many (not all!) circumstances to help people become followers of Jesus and remain within their Buddhist, Hindu, or Jewish contexts,” McLaren says in the book. For his part, McLaren was gracious in the withdrawal and said he respected the decision. “…we need to keep our focus on what’s most important,” McLaren said in an e-mail response to Garland. “It would have been a shame if my presence distracted people from Christ and the Great Commission.” Garland said that despite withdrawing McLaren, he would always strive to bring the very best and most thought-provoking speakers to the annual conference. “All participants may not agree with every speaker but they are going to go away with food for thought and prayer along with a wealth of ideas to help their churches reach out effectively in their communities,” Garland said. He added that he is excited about the upcoming conference, which will feature seven prominent speakers, including Herb Reavis, senior pastor of North Jacksonville Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla.; Ken Hemphill, Empowering Kingdom Growth coordinator for the Southern Baptist Convention; Thomas Hammond, director of direct evangelism for the North American Mission Board; and Alyn Walker, senior pastor of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia. Also speaking are Joe Brown, senior pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Hickory Grove, N.C.; Donald Morgan, an author, church consultant and former pastor; and Robert Smith, professor of Christian preaching at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Ala. Activities begin at 10 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 28 with a pre-conference session for vocational evangelists followed by the first session of the conference from 1:30-4:30 p.m. An evening session will be held from 6:45-9 p.m. Tuesday will open with early bird breakout sessions from 8:30-9:30 a.m. followed by the conference’s morning session from 9:45 a.m.-12 p.m. An afternoon session will be held from 1:30-4:30 p.m. The conference will close with an evening session from 6:45-8:30 p.m. More details about the conference can be found online at www.kybaptist.org/evanconf. Release prepared by Robert Reeves, KBC Communications