The distribution of the little booklet “Building Bridges” to messengers at the Southern Baptist Convention in San Antonio this past June could signal a major step toward a brighter future for the largest Protestant denomination in America. I, for one, pray that the insights and convictions expressed in this small volume by co-authors Timothy George, David Dockery, in the forward by Chuck Colson, in the preface by Thom Rainer and in the endorsement by Morris Chapman are given serious consideration by leaders throughout the SBC.

“Building Bridges” recognizes the sad necessity for the conservative resurgence within the SBC and gratitude for its success. I share that recognition. I confronted that necessity in the mid 80’s first hand as an M.Div. student at Southern Seminary where a culture hostile to Bible-believing Christianity held sway. Old Testament professors questioned the historicity of the plagues visited upon Pharaoh; one church historian questioned the historicity of Jesus’ bodily resurrection; an ethics professor viewed abortion on demand as a constituent prerogative of human rights and homosexual behavior as a function of sexual orientation. Yes, the conservative resurgence was necessary. All who love the gospel of Jesus Christ and recognize the Bible as the very word of God owe Paige Patterson and Paul Pressler and the scores of Baptists who helped make their dream of rescuing the SBC from its leftward slide a deep and abiding sense of gratitude.

The conservative resurgence prevailed. Thanks be to God! What now? Listen to the heartfelt words of Thom Rainer: “I am a firm supporter of the conservative resurgence. I knew we could not continue down the path we were headed. But it seems as if we just can’t stop fighting even though the battle for the Bible is over and won.”

Dockery and George offer incisive overviews of the history of Southern Baptists, its now complicated make-up, the new challenges facing the denomination and a plea for the development of a new consensus that can anchor us as a people in evangelical, orthodox confession but also free us from constant self-destructive fighting over secondary issues (important issues but still secondary). The continuance of such controversies threatens to fracture our fellowship and to divert and drain energies better spent in evangelism and church planting. Failure to build the needed new consensus could ensure that the now undisputed decline of Christianity in North America will drag the SBC down with its terrible tide.

David Dockery’s discernment of fourteen categories of Baptists to replace the old moderate/liberal vs. fundamentalist/conservative divide in the convention marks a truly profound contribution to our comprehension of what Southern Baptists have become. If Dockery’s analysis comes even close to an accurate description of the true character of current SBC constituencies, the fragility of that fellowship becomes obvious and so does the urgency of that new consensus necessary to hold together large portions of the various streams in the new SBC.

Current controversy surrounding private prayer language and now the consumption of alcohol highlight the ease with which SBC energies can be diverted from the great task of global evangelism and church-planting into fractious fights we can ill-afford where the character of the gospel and other core doctrines of orthodox, evangelical and biblical faith are not at stake.

14,000 copies of Building Bridges are now in print. Read it for yourself if you can lay your hands on a copy and if you share the message contained therein, pass the word along. The difference between a future of fighting, fragmentation and decline or one of growth, fellowship, and advance of the gospel may hang in the balance.

Audio of the Dockery and George contributions to this volume are availale from Union University. Perhaps copies of the booklet can be obtained from Union University or the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention.