Jeff Iorg returned to Illinois as a familiar teacher and friend, but this time he spoke in his new role as top staff member of the Southern Baptist Convention.
“[The] spirit of cooperation is under attack these days, both from external critics and internal detractors,” Iorg told messengers at the IBSA Annual Meeting Nov. 13. “Our cultural tendencies for tribalism and sectarianism, rooted in the sins of selfishness and self-promotion, are flooding over us.”
His cautionary assessment followed a lengthy summary of the blessings the denomination has meant in his own life, from a teenager in an unsaved family, to president of a seminary, and now charged with plotting a steadier course for what was called, until recently, a listing ship.
“Southern Baptists are a compassionate, devoted, sacrificial people who obey the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment. We are on mission to share the gospel with every person in the world and show the love of God in every context…. Amazingly, we do all this collectively, voluntarily, without coercion or mandate, cooperating because we really believe we can do more together than we can do by ourselves,” said Iorg, President and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee.
Even so, our history of compromise is endangered.
‘Greater good’
“Some Christian leaders are more concerned about getting credit, having their way, being recognized on social media, or enforcing their particular positions than on cooperating for the greater good,” Iorg preached to an attentive audience. “They complain about compromise and demand unity on specific issues to gain their loyalty. Rather than standing against this secular mindset, too many of us are embracing it and reshaping what it even means to be a Southern Baptist.”
Iorg’s cautions came on the same day IBSA messengers expressed support for the current denominational positions on women in ministry, in particular the male-only senior pastor interpretation of Scripture, and called for churches and pastors to strengthen marriages with teaching and counseling.
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The next IBSA Annual Meeting will be held Nov 4–5 at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Eric Reed and originally published by the Illinois Baptist.
