First of all, allow me to celebrate the decision of the trustees. As a pastor within the SBC, someone who has served on the Executive Board of our state convention, and as an individual who has worked closely with the appointment of church planters, I never liked this question. I never understood the need to reject someone based upon what they did in their prayer closet. I hope this decision will allow us to reach out to the many gifted missionaries that were put out some 10 years ago.
Secondly, the ban that was in place would have limited me from taking on a missionary role within the SBC. Around the same time that this ban was initiated was when I began to pray in the spirit, or exercise a private prayer language. A practice that I was open about with my church family, but never shared with fellow SBC pastors. Many of these missionaries were not practiced in this type of expression until they went abroad to serve. The ban caused many of them to live in fear, hide their personal experience, or the leave the SBC altogether.
You have to understand that many SBC leaders are what is termed as cessationists. Meaning that they believed that most (if not all) of the "sign gifts" ceased with the completion of the Bible or the death of the Apostles. A belief that cannot be argued with Scripture, but I digress. The ban that was put in place so many years ago was done out of fear. Not because there were actual issues on the field, in my opinion, but because it was sort of a cardinal rule in SBC life. Even though there was never a written decree against such practice within the convention, most people just knew that Southern Baptists didn't practice certain things.
Unfortunately, this decision is seen by many in the world as a way for the SBC to become more competitive with the Charismatic churches that are growing globally. A way in which they can boost their membership, drive up baptism numbers, and create a new look for the convention. One has to wonder if the decline of growth within the SBC triggered this decision. However, I choose to believe that the current leadership of the IMB simply recognized the lunacy of the ban. That they realized there was a lot of gifted missionaries they were passing up simply because of what was going on behind closed doors.
I texted a friend of mine this morning. A fellow pastor, one who used to serve in the SBC. One of the reasons for his departure is because of his experience with the Holy Spirit. The local association basically rejected him staying in the convention when he started a new church several years ago. Here's what I said: "It's about time. IMB has finally decided that a 10 year break from the Kingdom is enough!"
While there were other decisions made yesterday: how to handle those who were baptized outside of SBC churches, and allowing divorced people to serve in various areas that were once closed, the lifting of the ban on tongues was a huge move. The reason I stated that the IMB had taken a 10 year break from the Kingdom is because they were not allowing their missionaries to practice something that is biblical, spiritual, and essential to those men and women. While the IMB has every right to determine who serves where and when, the reality is that they were draining the pool of God given talent before them. They were also limiting the work of the Holy Spirit among their members. All because someone was offended, someone had a bad experience in a charismatic church, or someone simply misunderstood the whole practice. The idea that an individual would simply place importance upon ONE gift because of their experience was a misguided notion.
I remember several years ago being at a conference and a man walked up to our group. The conference was in a charismatic Baptist church, so there was a lot of freedom in worship and expression. All the gifts of the Spirit were functioning in our meetings. This gentleman walks up to us and asks if we were Baptist. One of the guys spoke up and said, "Is it that obvious?" He said, "No. That's not what I mean. I mean that you can always tell when people who come out of a Baptist background begin to experience the Holy Spirit like this. They don't hesitate. They are strong in the Bible and they just let it go. I came out of a charismatic background and still have difficulty in some areas. Not you guys. It's awesome to see."
It's the marriage of the Word and Spirit. The Bible and Gifts. It's the expression of faith that we are all meant to enjoy. The Kingdom of God manifesting itself in and through our lives. It's not just one gift, but all that are available in the Spirit. That's what we should be teaching. That's what we should be allowing among the members of His body. We are not those who can sit back and say this no longer exists. We don't have a biblical or historical leg to stand on. People operating in the Spirit of God have always been at the forefront of what God is doing. The gifts of the Spirit have always been available because you have the Giver within you.
So...I'm celebrating today. I enjoy watching mindsets change. I love to see people embrace everything this Kingdom offers. I pray that this will be your experience as well. Enjoy!
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