ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)–North American Mission Board President Robert E. Reccord called on trustees May 19 to join the prophet Ezekiel in the role of the “watchman” to proclaim a warning to fellow Christians of the consequences of apathy in submitting to the culture’s moral drift.
In a passionate appeal, Reccord cited continued signs of lost effectiveness in the Christian community and increasing inroads of moral compromise -– including the rapid assault on the institution of marriage and the consequences on future families and individuals. The address was in the context of Reccord’s report to trustees during a regularly scheduled meeting.
“Today, I believe God is calling His leaders afresh to the sobering responsibility of being a watchman in our fractured society,” Reccord said, citing the story of Ezekiel’s call to the prophetic role in Ezekiel 33:1-9.
“We are to challenge those who so readily say they follow God to examine themselves and to make sure they are in the faith,” he said, “for the forces intent on undermining biblical Christianity, monogamous marriage, biblical stewardship and religious liberty in which faith can be expressed in the free marketplace of ideas are insidiously and violently on the march.”
Noting the historical evidence of the nation’s Christian moorings, Reccord said contemporary trends point to a continued decline in a biblical worldview even among Christians.
He noted a recent George Barna survey finding that only 71 percent of Southern Baptist ministers had a biblical worldview as defined by the survey –- and that was the highest percentage of the seven denominational groups surveyed. Another Barna survey found that only 4 percent of American adults and 9 percent of “born-again” Christians reported making decisions based on a biblical worldview.
The result, he said, is that “57 percent of our young people cannot even say that an objective standard of truth exists,” according to research by author Josh McDowell.
“For years when important cultural and political battles arise we have been able to awaken the sleeping giant in America that represents traditional values and Judeo-Christian morality,” he said. “Today … I fear that if the giant awakes, he may be confused and unable to determine right from wrong.”
The solution, Reccord said, is for Christians to “regain a biblical theology that becomes our biography. It cannot merely be about head knowledge, but must become life expression.”
Churches should be teaching “what it means to fear and truly know God,” or “What does it mean to make decisions through a biblical worldview?” Reccord also suggested a return to a higher standard of biblically based church discipline to help keep Christians accountable to each other.
“The days must cease,” Reccord said, “where a member living in sin in one church can move their letter of membership to another church, having their membership forwarded as though they were in good standing.”
Reccord also cited the decline of giving patterns among American Christians –- a trend that also has affected the cause of missions at NAMB and other missions entities. Another Barna study released this year found only 7 percent of “born-again” adults were regular tithers. Churches’ mission gifts as a percent of total receipts also have declined. The response, again, should be a greater emphasis on stewardship at all levels from the local church, Reccord said.
One of the most disturbing indicators, Reccord said, is the continued decline of baptisms -– which for the early church was the first public proclamation of faith. For Southern Baptists, the number of baptisms peaked in 1955, then plateaued, despite continued membership gains. The number of Southern Baptists “needed to bring one person to Jesus Christ” was 21 in 1900 but has risen to 43 today, he said.
A recent development seen among youth ministers is particularly troubling, he said. “There seems to be a trend indicating that baptism is ‘just about numbers, has nothing to do with salvation and isn’t critically important.’ Yet that doesn’t seem to be what Scripture indicates.”
Reccord encouraged pastors to emphasize the importance of baptism, as well as celebrating the event itself in creative ways. He also cautioned against encouraging early baptisms, noting that one survey found that just as many people were being baptized for the second time in Southern Baptist churches as were being baptized for the first time after a profession of faith.
The result of the decline in biblical Christianity, he said, has been “a losing battle for the family on the cultural battlefield.”
“This week Massachusetts has legalized ‘gay marriages’ while to a great extent American Christianity has sat idly by,” he said, adding that while many have taken action, much more needs to be done.
As an example of where the current trends in America might be headed, he suggested looking to Canada -– where religious liberty already is threatened in the name of tolerance. “Bill C-250 added homosexuals to the list of those protected from ‘hate speech’ — and this is interpreted as anything that is critical of such a group,” he said.
“Legislation that has exempted Canada’s clergy from having to perform homosexual ‘marriages’ is in doubt,” Reccord said. “And already a legal expert has recommended, ‘Churches and religious organizations may want to consider avoiding public criticism of identified groups -– limiting opinion to private conversations, and if targeted or investigated, relying on the constitutional right to remain silent.’
“Already, the work of the North American Mission Board is being impacted by Canada’s new law,” Reccord said. “Our staff at FamilyNet Radio has already heard from station managers in Canada who say they are seriously considering dropping all Christian programming because it is not worth risking a fine from the government.”
Similar laws in Scandinavia already have resulted in a decline in marriages, with 60 percent of first-born children born out of wedlock. The impact on children, Reccord noted, is that “unmarried parents break up at two to three times the rate of married parents.”
With the recent action in Massachusetts, coupled by other efforts to weaken marriage, the danger of further erosion of U.S. laws continues.
“It only becomes a matter of time until the dominoes start falling in other states if people of faith do not start standing up firmly and quickly,” he said.
Even the 38 states that have existing “defense of marriage” acts may not be protected because homosexual activists plan to argue that the Constitution’s “Full Faith and Credit” clause requires states to recognize public contracts of other states –- including marriage.
For those reasons, Reccord urged trustees to be advocates for the Federal Marriage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, while acknowledging, “People are saying you can’t legislate morality. I agree that only God can make somebody good; a government can’t.”
Reccord encouraged trustees to call their congressional representatives and urge others to do the same.
“Time is running out, and if somebody doesn’t get moving fast, time is going to be gone,” Reccord said.
“A watchman cannot say, ‘This battle doesn’t look very winnable. Maybe I ought to just stay home,’” he said. “It is not the watchman’s job to win the battle, because the battle is the Lord’s. It is the watchman’s job to sound the warning.”
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(BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: ROBERT E. RECCORD.
