Kansas City, Mo.—Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has announced the release of a book featuring key Southern Baptist leaders addressing the Southern Baptist Convention, its heritage, identity and future.
The 269-page work, “The SBC & the 21st Century,” was edited by Midwestern’s Seminary’s President Jason Allen. The idea for the project resulted from the seminary’s 2015 symposium, “The SBC & the 21st Century: Reflection, Renewal & Recommitment.” LifeWay Christian Resources’ imprint B&H Academic released the book on June 1.
“I cannot be more pleased with the way ‘The SBC & the 21st Century’ has turned out,” Allen said. “It has been a privilege to partner with the B&H Academic team and so many of our denomination’s brightest minds to publish a book that, I pray, will be used for God’s glory and to further the work of Southern Baptists to the ends of the earth.
“Each of our contributors provided insightful assessments of the SBC’s past and present and hopeful exhortations for our future,” Allen noted. “As each chapter developed, I was encouraged by the thoughtfulness of each author’s work and became increasingly confident that this book would substantially impact the work of the SBC for years to come.”
Contributors to the book include SBC leaders such as Frank Page, Ronnie Floyd, Paige Patterson, Thom Rainer, Albert Mohler Jr., Daniel Akin, David Platt, Kevin Ezell, David Dockery and several others. Additionally, Midwestern Seminary authors were Allen, Jason Duesing, John Mark Yeats, Christian George and Owen Strachan.
The primary audience for the book includes pastors, denominational servants, laypersons, and anyone else who cares about the collective work of Southern Baptists, Allen said.
“For all those who care about the SBC and its future, this is the book to read this year,” he said. “We designed the book for key SBC stakeholders to speak to urgent denominational matters in a way that serves the entire SBC. I believe that God is going to use this work in a profound way to impact our Southern Baptist Convention.”
Issues addressed within the volume include: Will the SBC grow more unified around shared convictions and mission or will it fragment over secondary concerns and tertiary doctrinal differences? Will the SBC be able to maintain a distinct Baptist identity while engaging and partnering with the broader evangelical community? Will the SBC be willing to reimagine its structures, programs and efforts to effectively reach the world for Christ or will it risk being a past-tense denomination?
“Here is a collection of prescient essays on the Southern Baptist Convention, America’s largest Protestant denomination, written by a superb team of scholar-activists,” said Timothy George, founding dean and professor of divinity, history and doctrine at Beeson Divinity School.
“Beyond the analysis and perspective offered here, there courses through this volume a common theme: the urgency of declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ to all persons everywhere. This is the historic mission of the SBC and its future.”
To purchase the book through Amazon and B&H Academic, please go to http://jasonkallen.com/sbc21book/. (BP)
Patrick Hudson