I’m at a conference this week. A conference put on by LifeWay, the resource arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. The man who’s kinda been heading this week up came to the platform after a time of congregational music and asked one question that was no doubt on his heart (has anyone made a first-time decision to follow Christ), but the way he handled it was a bit perplexing.
But that’s not what I’m posting about. He then asked if there was anyone in the congregation who was facing difficulty and needed prayer. A wonderful opportunity to intercede on behalf of brothers and sisters. But he called someone he referred to as an “elder” to the platform to pray. Then he explained that this individual was not an “elder like we split churches over but an elder by age.” Why do folks think they need to take swipes at alternative forms of church polity that don’t fit the typical Southern Baptist model?
UPDATE: In the interest of fairness, maybe the speaker didn’t intend to take a swipe. Maybe he was just trying to make a joke. But at the very least it was a poor one, and ill-advised.
