The Not-So-Traditionalists, who claim to have a “traditional” Southern Baptist understanding of salvation but have in actuality adopted a rather new and novel 20th Century hodgepodge of Semi-Pelagianism, used SBC Today as its flagship blog for about as long as Pulpit & Pen has existed. In the beginning, there were a bevy of anti-Calvinist SBC blogs with which Pulpit & Pen regularly interacted and critiqued, including SBC Today (representing the Calvinist-hating Not-So-Traditionalists) that eventually morphed into Connect316, SBC Tomorrow (the rantings of Peter Lumpkins, who is himself a Not-So-Traditionalist but who unwisely hitched his wagon to the defeated and disgraced Ergun Caner, thus earning him an eternal time-out in the corner of the blogosphere), and the always fun but not prolific SBC Issues from rabidly anti-Calvinist Bob Hadley (whatever happened to him?). Additionally, there was SBC Voices, which is for Southern Baptist pastors who love the Southern Baptist Convention for no other reason than that they’re Company Men, which as of late has become little more than a Social Justice blog, the readership of which has declined to the point that the only people reading it is its authors and small band of regular commenters.
Today, SBC Today announced that it is going on an indefinite hiatus, sweeping it into the dustbin of history where it rightly belongs.
SBC Today was created by a number of anti-Calvinist Southern Baptist pastors including Robin Foster, Tim Rogers (who went into hiding after losing a nomination for the IMB trustee board when he said some pretty cavalier things about incest), and Joe Stewart. In 2011, Steve Lemke of the Baptist Center for Theology of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary began to provide technology and editorial support for the blog. Then, in 2012, the blog was purchased by Emir Caner at Truett McConnell College and became the blog’s publisher. Norm Miller, who worked for Caner, became the blog’s editor. In 2014 the blog was acquired by Connect316, an anti-Calvinism group in the SBC and Pastor Rick Patrick became the blog’s publisher, with Jonathan Carter becoming the blog’s editor.
Patrick resigned in May of this year after making a tweet that, given the current frothing-mouthed Social Justice mob of 2018, was seen as unforgivable. When Paige Patterson’s head rolled at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary as a victim of the newly-woke evangelical #MeToo Movement, the Not-So-Traditionalists were noticeably startled that their champion could be so easily taken out by the Blue Wave of the SBC (I use that term metaphorically, because it is certainly a leftist wave for sure). Patrick, on account of his tweet, was seen as a liability and he was offered as a sacrifice on the altar of political correctness. Patrick was forced to step down from SBC Today and Connect316.
Since Patrick’s departure, Connect316 has had a muted tone toward the onslaught of Social Justice, Cultural Marxism and Critical Race Theory in the SBC (the one and only time I wish they were around to help). SBC Today has struggled to make regular blog posts and has remained inactive.
The SBC is an inherently political organization. Thanks to Patterson’s coup, and the Not-So-Traditionalist loss of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary as an institution (Patterson will be replaced by ERLC acolyte and fully-woke, Hershael York, surprises notwithstanding), someone like Rick Patrick proved to be a major political liability. And ultimately, this small and dwindling branch of the SBC is likewise all about power. Right now, they’re hunkering down and hoping to make it to retirement. Their fight is over, and they know it.
In a way, I’m glad that SBC Today is gone. After all, their years-long attack against God’s sovereignty over salvation has been tiresome, if not offensive. On the other hand, I wish they had not tucked tail and ran so quickly when Patterson was metaphorically decapitated. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like to actually fight on the same side (notice, I didn’t say “arm in arm”) with these men on the important issue of the liberalization of the SBC. Sadly, they’re keeping mostly quiet in the face of insurmountable odds in favor of the leftward push in the SBC.
On their last post today, SBC Today endorsed the website of Leighton Flowers. Flowers teaches that it’s possible to be saved without Jesus.
So maybe it’s good that SBC Today is gone after all. Good riddance.
