GREENSBORO, N.C. (BP)–“It is time for all Southern Baptists to re-ignite the vision, to reenlist our energies and to realign our focus — not as anyone other than the people of God,” Don Wilton, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Spartanburg, S.C., urged messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention June 14.
“We are a people who are no longer of the North or the South. We are no longer a people who are black or white. In fact, as proud as I am to be an American, as believers of Christ Jesus, we are not even of America. We are the people of God,” the current president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention said during the SBC’s convention sermon.
“Ours is not the Constitution of the United States of America,” Wilton said. “Ours is the constitution of Almighty God in Christ Jesus found within the pages of this book [the Bible].”
Recalling how King Solomon was a man who had it all, was immeasurably blessed, and then lost it all, Wilton observed that Southern Baptists, too, have been greatly blessed by the Savior.
Identifying the “unobstructed access” to God which Solomon enjoyed as a significant issue relevant to Southern Baptists, Wilton asserted that before the convention can move into the future, “we have some serious confessing and forgiving to do.”
“Southern Baptists, it is time for us to wake up. It is time for us to stop the nonsense,” Wilton urged. “It is time for us to roll up our sleeves and go to work and become the soul-winners that we claim to be.”
Declaring that God has given “our marching orders,” Wilton warned, “If we do not obey what God teaches us to do … God will no longer bless this denomination.”
Underscoring the importance of confession in maintaining unobstructed access to the Savior, Wilton emphasized the need to forgive:
— “Father preachers” who were too busy to give children the time of day.
— “Husband ministers” who treated spouses like second-class citizens.
— Ministers who behaved in a manner which discredited the Lord’s work.
— Church members who “continually acted as blood clots” in the flow of God’s grace.
— Theologians who placed a higher premium on theological correctness than the saving grace of God in Christ Jesus.
— “Small groups of power brokers who systematically disenfranchised so many faithful brethren.”
And, Wilson said, Southern Baptists need to confess and forgive each other for not following the Great Commission to “go into all the world, and to preach, teach, baptize and tell people about the Lord Jesus Christ.”
“Unlimited time” is another critical issue for Southern Baptists, Wilton said.
Wilton observed that Southern Baptists have become too comfortable, falling prey to the illusion of having unlimited time. “Look at us, folks,” he charged. “We don’t even hardly have to walk out of the coliseum and there is a hot dog in our right hand and a latté in our left hand. We’ve got places to go eat. We have magnificent houses. We’ve got pulpits and cushions and microphones and suits with beautiful ties that we wear.”
Calling attention to the issue of God’s “undeserved presence,” Wilton highlighted four things that God’s people cannot do without: the guarantee of God’s presence, the writing of His name on their hearts, the conferring of God’s grace for forgiveness and effective service, and the loving gaze of God’s eyes.
Finally, Wilton cautioned against ignoring God’s “unapologetic warnings” of generational decline in membership, a lack of focus, disobedience and idolatry. The penalty for God’s people in Solomon’s time was that God would bring disgrace to the people, defrock their priests, destroy their houses of worship and demean their witness, Wilton noted.
“Where does that leave us?” Wilton asked. “It leaves us where we need to be: right there at the foot of the cross. It leaves us on our faces before God, saying, ‘Oh, God, would you pour out your Spirit upon us? … Would you enable us to be the soul winners that you have called us to be?’” he said.
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