The Southern Baptist Convention and its entities, especially the North American Mission Board, should be broken up under the RICO statute. It is as corrupt as it could possibly be. Any attempt to reform the denomination will be met with a war-chest of money provided by SBC tithe-givers and employed as a weapon by sycophants eager to suckle at the dripping teat of Cooperative Program spoils.
Pulpit & Pen isn’t entirely interested in the candidacy of Randy Adams for the SBC presidency, despite his attempt to provide an alternative to the uber-corrupt and two-faced leftist change-agent, Albert Mohler. While Adams seems like a good alternative, the prospect of saving the Southern Baptist Convention is, to us, like the prospect of polishing a turd. When you’re done, it’s still a turd.
Nonetheless, the news today – first published at Capstone Report – is jaw-dropping. Albert Mohler is the establishment candidate in the SBC. For years he has been the “king-maker,” putting his cronies, colleagues, and flunkies in charge of various SBC institutions until his iron grip could maintain a monopoly on SBC power. And Mohler’s power in the convention was demonstrated today when an entire (growing) region in the SBC was just cut off from North American Mission Board funding mysteriously and without explanation.
If you don’t think that the SBC power-establishment would throttle Great Commission work and stop the spread of the Gospel in order to provide pay-back to political enemies, think again; because that’s what just happened.
Alan Atchinson writes…
Randy Adams released the stunning news just moments ago. He said, “Since publishing those articles I’ve receive some pushback from leaders at the North American Mission Board (NAMB). More than pushback, and in spite of our growth in baptisms, churches, and CP giving from the churches in the Northwest, and even growth in Annie and Lottie giving, they informed me and our leadership at the Northwest Baptist Convention (NWBC) on March 9 that they will end our joint-funding agreement for evangelism and church planting, and will stop virtually all funding through the NWBC as of September 30, 2021.”
The articles he mentions are careful analysis of the overall collapse of the SBC. He charts the decline in baptisms and how when adjusted for inflation that CP-giving is down over 30% since 2010.
Apparently, those truths didn’t make the SBC Elites happy.
Ezell pastored the church Albert Mohler attended in Louisville. He bragged about that connection in October 2019 when Mohler’s SBC presidential candidacy was announced. (See screenshot of the tweet.)
This connection is one of an intricate web of SBC leaders connected to Mohler. (See map below for all the SBC Elites who owe their positions to Dr. Mohler.)
Was this retaliation for an outsider challenging the ultimate SBC insider?
Ezell has a history of petty, vindictive—un-Christian behavior. There are other allegations of Ezell using his position and the dollars of the NAMB to bully state conventions. His conduct against Will McRaney is one example (evidence shows Ezell lied in emails and behaved in a retaliatory manner against McRaney.)
And the allegations go beyond McRaney.
Well beyond.
Notice the other pieces of important news Adams made public. NAMB intends to circumvent the Northwest Baptist Convention and do its own work in the Northwest region with its own people.
Adams said, “They intend to place NAMB staff to work in the Northwest with no accountability to the NWBC. This has been done in other states as well.”
What is NAMB trying to accomplish?
Why work around the state conventions?
Is it a power-grab?
Self-aggrandizement?
Whatever is driving this, it will be expensive and counterproductive.
However, these strongarm tactics from Ezell won’t silence Adams and the work of state conventions.
Adams pledged, “But money withheld or given cannot and will not purchase my silence as it concerns the serious issues of decline facing the SBC.”
That is the type of leader the Southern Baptist Convention needs.
It cannot handle more of Al Mohler or his network of SBC Elites using their power to silence dissent.
This is a crisis. The SBC must clean house.
[Editor’s Note: Cutting of funding for the Great Commission for Albert Mohler? I’ll pray for their salvation tomorrow. Right now I’m praying God damns them to a thousand hells for it]
