The Southern Baptist Convention is at a crossroads. Theological infighting, public scandals, leadership failures, and politics inside and outside of our Convention have frayed the threads of cooperation. During these trying times, a cultural problem has emerged in our Convention among our churches, pastors, and leaders that exacerbates every problem: we have stopped talking to one another.
No, we haven’t stopped talking about one another. But there is a crisis of healthy dialogue in our convention where we talk to each other, across the aisle, with people who see things differently. Baptist papers, blogs, and other outlets that once drove our dialogue have shuttered, gone quiet, or become dominated by one ideological perspective. Twitter is a daily war zone marked by personal insult and cynicism, where anger is elevated by an algorithm and reasonability is drowned out. Even the annual meeting has been reduced in time, allowing less and less dialogue than ever before.
As a result, Baptists are often uninformed, frustrated, and left feeling that they have no avenue to ask questions or be heard. In large part, this has contributed to a polarized environment, where only the angriest and loudest voices rise to the top and drive the Convention’s conversation. It doesn’t have to be this way.
The Baptist Review exists for Southern Baptists to engage in good faith discussion about the issues, current events and questions that matter in our Convention.
As a curated platform devoted to Convention conversation, The Baptist Review aims to coalesce and elevate reasonable, thoughtful voices in the ideological center of the SBC, where we disagree on many things, but agree that the highest values of theological fidelity, cooperation, and charity are not pitted against one another as enemies. We are not a partisan coalition or a political faction, nor do we have a long list of required positions on SBC issues. We don't agree on what should be done at every turn or on every issue. We do all agree on one thing: we need each other, and we need to talk to each other. If the Convention is going to become healthy again, its conversation must leave the toxic confines of social media, but also must resist becoming yet another piece of institutional PR.
Southern Baptists deserve more than discernment blogs and press releases. Real questions deserve real answers—asked fairly and kindly, and answered truthfully.
This undertaking is a forum where Baptist leaders can be asked meaningful questions that contribute to transparency, integrity, and accountability—but without threat, insinuation, or animosity. It’s a place where Baptists can disagree as brothers, and sisters, and talk to one another, not just about one another. That’s why we’ve been using this tagline:
“A better conversation towards a better convention.”
The Baptist Review consists of three forums for discussion among Southern Baptists:
1. Editorial
TheBaptistReview.com will function as an invitation-based editorial page, speaking to the significant issues, current events, and questions that matter in our Convention. The website will be an active source of content, with regular content posted weekly. Readers can expect thoughtful, final-draft publications—a commitment which distinguishes the Review from blog-style and social media contributions elsewhere.
2. Podcast
The Baptist Review podcast will run in seasons, hosting roundtable discussions and interviews with leading voices, as well as inviting leaders of opposite viewpoints into healthy discussion together. The podcast is hosted by David Sons, former chairman of the SBC Executive Committee, with regular appearances by other Review leadership team members and special guests.
3. Journal
The Baptist Review has begun to work with a number of leading academics to create a pastors journal. These articles will be longer, and more scholarly in their approach, but approachable for pastors and laypeople. They will be aimed at the most significant issues of the time, and (ideally) published each May before the Convention. The goal is to provide a resource that helps pastors and messengers be fully informed on the major issues being discussed. We hope to publish the first journal in May of 2024.
We look forward to being part of this conversation with you.
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