Battle for the Minds is a documentary that was made in 1996 regarding the effects of the conservative resurgence of the Southern Baptist Convention unfolding at the Southern Seminary Baptist Theological Seminary. It was produced by  those who were opposed to the hiring of Dr. Albert Mohler as the newly hired President at SBTS. While the aim of the  film was to make conservatives look ignorant, unloving, outdated, legalistic, and chauvinistic, it sheds light on just how bad things had gotten in previous years in regards to theological liberalism, not only at Southern Seminary, but also in the SBC. 

  I think it was around 1997 that I visited a friend and his family at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lousiville. I remember thinking that the weather, which was very rainy, cloudy, and dark during my two-day visit, seemed to reflect the "mood" of the place itself. I was unimpressed. Yet I had heard just tid-bits of how Southern had undergone a tremendous theological shift under the leadership of their new President, Dr. Albert Mohler. I had heard that upon his arrival that students who were opposed to his hiring carried around a casket as a symbolic protest of what they considered to be the "death" of the seminary. But what I later discovered, even though it was not apparent to me during this brief initial visit, was that the only "death" that had taken place was the death of theological liberalism  at Southern Seminary.

  Fast-forward to the spring of 1999 when I decided to give Southern one more visit before I decided where to pursue my theological education. This time the weather was different - a full-blown spring day - but the "mood" on campus reflected it as well. I sensed a change - and there had been many changes, unbeknownst to me at the time, such as the firing of liberal professors and hiring of conservative ones. Yet what confirmed what I sensed during this second brief visit was when I walked into the chapel service. Within the packed chapel their was a joyful stir. And then it happened - that moment when I knew this was the place I was supposed to go to Seminary. The pipe-organ began to play a majestic introduction to Martin Luther's reformation hymn, A Mighty Fortress - not a hymn I was very familiar with at the time. But as I heard the words and listened to the students and professors sing with joy, I felt I was in the presence of God. And the remainder of my visit, and then later as a student, confirmed to me that surely, tremendous changes had taken place in a short time at this school.

Where the SBC (and Southern Seminary) Had Been

  Later when I arrived on campus in the fall of 1999 I heard more stories of how bad things had been at Southern. So when I heard about a documentary called Battle for the Minds that was made from a liberal perspective about Southern, I went to the library and watched the VHS tape. 

 Prayerful Perspective

 What I saw when I first watched Battle for the Minds as a young seminary student was eye-opening indeed. I had no idea that liberal feminism had gained such a foothold at one point in the SBC. And despite what the producers sought to "spin" in making this documentary, I understood that the main issue at stake was the authority of Scripture. So, with a twist of irony, a liberal, feminist documentary made me ever more thankful for how the Lord had been at work so that Southern Seminary and the SBC as a whole had recovered from theological liberalism.

Lessons to Learn

  Could the Southern Bapist Convention ever get back to such a dire place as it once was? Could the SBC become like so many other mainline denominatons whose theological drift led them straight down a "slippery-slope" into a theological wasteland that is dominated by pragmatism and postmodern relativism.? YES. And I put that "YES" in all capitals only to reinforce the need to always be discerning and diligent in our voluntary cooperation with the SBC.

  As we prayerfully monitor concerns that have been raised in recent years about the Southern Baptist Convention , not putting our heads in the sand,  we can also be very thankful that the theological trajectory of the SBC is NOWHERE close to where it once was .  And I put that "NOWHERE" in all capitals to emphasize the need to be patient, to be prayerful, and involved in the SBC in a day where scrutiny is sometimes rightly deserved, and at other times is wrongly propagated. It is often very difficult to know the difference , which should call us to a humble discernment.

Note: This post stems from a portion of a presentation I shared recently with our church family regarding our ongoing voluntary cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention . I read somewhere that someone said "the SBC  is not essential, but it does matter". I agree with that statement. In recent years, valid concerns have been raised about the trajectory of the SBC - ones we do not take lightly. Yet, as I shared with our church family, we have reason to be optimistic regarding the SBC, even as we seek to be diligent and prayerful as we monitor it.