ode to RAM

my friend and former parishoner steve mccoy recently posted a blog on "10 reasons i love al mohler." he also mentioned young guys who were spit on by those who didn't like the changes al made at sbts. since i is one of those guys, and since i responded on steve's blog, i thought i would add my own two cents.

al mohler is a rarity in the sbc. he is a theologian who works from an historically informed perspective. for all the good revivalism has done the sbc - i think the long-term effects will be (and have been) devastating. a church historian and good friend of mine argues rather persuasively that we have lost the last two generations of pastors. by that he means the biblical/theological/historical grid from which they work is woefully deficient. expository preaching is used to describe any number of random thoughts set forth from the pulpit. we have surrendered centuries of strong baptist theology for silly and unbiblical jingoism (i.e. "God voted for me, satan voted against me, and i cast the deciding vote. that's election."); and that evangelism is something you do in the last five minutes of any expository sermon. we also seem to think baptists magically appeared in 1845 in augusta, ga and that missions didn't really begin until lottie moon (i think the wmu is responsible for that one).

our current sbc president is worried that theologians will ruin the denomination. my fear is just the opposite: the lack of theologically, biblically sound pastors will ruin the sbc. i am grateful for guys like al mohler, david dockery and danny akin - guys who understand we need some light with all the heat the bus is generating. do i agree with everything dr. mohler has done? no (does it matter? no.). do i respect the man? yes.