The Southern Baptist Leaderships' Addiction to Blame: Is it conducive to the sparking of another Great Awakening?

Our denomination is Shrinking!

Our churches are closing in unprecedented numbers !

Our numbers of baptisms are falling!
Giving to the Cooperative Program is down!

When the question is asked of SBC leadership: 

Whose fault is it? 

Where does the problem lie? 

Too often the automatic answer comes back: "With the people in the pews. The members of the churches. If THEY would only get THEIR act together and do A, B, or C, things would turn around overnight and we'd have a revival!"

Sometimes one gets the impression that when there's a problem, Southern Baptist leaders just don't DO self-reflection. They don't have to. They already know whose to blame and they are ready at the drop of a hat to tell you.

Thom Rainer is a Southern Baptist. He says he based these fifteen points on a poll. Rainer usually bases what he says on polls and yet amazingly the results always seem to support the thesis he's wanting to promote, which has recently been:

"Is there a problem? Its your fault as members! Jesus is VERY disappointed with YOU! I keep on telling YOU that YOU'RE the problem, but, since YOU'RE so lazy, so hard hearted, so uncommitted YOU won't listen to MY good advice. If YOU'D only get a right attitude and get busy with A. and B. and C. then OUR ministry as a pastors, would start flourishing as it ought, the old glory days of Southern Baptist greatness would return, and it would be glory to glory from hear on out!"

Very often one hears talk about wanting to have another Great Awakening in the SBC, as if Great Awakenings are as easy to schedule as a workshop. Would that another Great Awakening did happen! But we might at least ask in the mean time whether a leadership addicted to blaming those being led for its own failures is conducive to sparking Great Awakenings. 

Gilbert Tennent

One of the famous documents of the First Great Awakening was Gilbert Tennent's sermon, "On the Dangers of an Unconverted Ministry". Are Southern Baptists immune to the danger of an unconverted ministry? Certainly they are not. Are there unconverted ministers and leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention? It grieves me to say that there probably are, even in quite prominent positions. 

And this causes me to ask: 

"Is it even conceivable that a sermon entitled 'On the dangers of an Unconverted Ministry' would ever be written by a Southern Baptist leader for Southern Baptist leaders?"

Is God content with everything addressed to leaders being bathed in flattery, while it is at the same time, quite acceptable for what is said to church members to be bathed in self-justifying blame? Once again, is such a practice likely to be conducive to sparking Great Awakenings?

In his book Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer warnedChristian leaders against trying to be the Holy Spirit to their congregations. In the end, he says, it inevitably ends in disappointment and ultimately leads pastors to partner with the devil by becoming, like him, "accusers of the brethren."