Friday, July 4, 2008

IMB Restrictions and SBC History

There has been a great deal of talk in recent years about the current IMB restrictions regarding such things as Private Prayer Language (PPL) and other topics not mentioned in the Baptist Faith and Message.

It reminds be a bit of the history of the SBC founding. Unless I have my facts wrong the northern Baptists decided to keep slave owning southern Baptists from becoming international missionaries. When the original mission compact between US Baptists was started being a slave owner was not a disqualifying status. So in effect the northern Baptists changed the rules in mid-game and placed a limit on who could be appointed without consulting the entire US Baptist world.

While I don't want to equate slave owning with PPL it does seem like our own current day IMB is doing a similar thing. By adding a non-PPL plank without asking the churches of the SBC they seem to be acting just like the northern Baptists that we left back in 1845.

DD