Tonight I spent a really encouraging few hours with a group of younger pastors — men who are being greatly used of God to reach their own generation and far beyond. That experience made me really thankful, and also led me to think about why Southern Baptists should be especially thankful for the rising generation of young pastors.

1. They are deeply committed to the Gospel and to the authority of Scripture. They are men driven by conviction and the ability to “connect the dots” theologically. They understand the threat of theological liberalism and want nothing of it. They love the Gospel and have a firm grip on it. They are animated by a biblical theology that brings them joy and grounds them in truth.

2. They love the church. They have resisted the temptation to give up on the church or to be satisfied with a parachurch form of ministry. They love people, love the church, and see the Body of Christ in terms of God’s redemptive purpose. They like the gritty work of the ministry and are not afraid. They understand the joy of authentic Christian community and they give their lives to it. They are recovering a biblical ecclesiology in its fullness. They affirm and practice church discipline. They see the glory of God in an inter-generational congregation of believers growing into faithfulness together.

3. They are gifted preachers and teachers. They rightly divide the Word of Truth and they make no apology for preaching the Bible. They are dedicated to expository preaching and they actually know what that means. They may not use pulpits, but they do have something important to say when they get before a congregation.

4. They are eager evangelists. They are driven by an urgency to see lost people come to know Jesus and become both believers and disciples. They are innovative in methodology and boldly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They affirm that Jesus is indeed the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and they know that there is no other Gospel that saves.

5. They are complementarians who affirm the biblical roles for men and women in both the church and the home. They love God’s gift of marriage and the blessing of children, and they make clear that Christian discipleship requires faithfulness in marriage, family, parenthood, sexuality, and they embrace the Bible’s teaching concerning the roles of men and women. They motivate younger men to embrace God’s plan for their lives and lead. They talk openly about their joy in their wives and children. They change diapers.

6. They are men of vision. They apply intelligence and discernment to the building up of the church and the cause of the Gospel. They see and seize opportunities. They are planting and building churches that glorify God by reaching the world, preaching the Gospel, and changing lives. They are innovators and churchmen. They love a challenge. They would be embarrassed to aim low.

7. They are men of global reach and Great Commission passion. They long to see the nations exult in Christ. They know nothing of a world with fixed borders and nationalistic aims. They eagerly send, go, and give. They refuse to let their congregations fixate on themselves. They look at unreached people groups and hear the call.

8. They are men of joy. To be with them is to sense their joy and their lack of cynicism. They are not interested in complaining about the church. They are planters and fixers. They scratch their heads as they look at many denominational structures and habits, but they have not given up.

Most denominations now look to the younger generation and wonder if there will be any pastors, or if the younger pastors will love the Gospel, preach the Word, and commit themselves to the church and the Great Commission. Southern Baptists are now blessed to look at the rising generation of pastors and see so much that should bring satisfaction, hope, and joy. The younger you go in the Southern Baptist Convention, the more conviction you discover. There is reason for great hope.

I go to bed tonight having been encouraged by my time with these young pastors. I get to see this rising generation every day on the campus of Southern Seminary. I also know that none of this would be happening here if a generation of SBC pastors and leaders had not fought the good fight and recovered this denomination for the cause of truth, the authority of the Bible, and the furtherance of the Gospel.

All this will send a man to a thankful sleep.

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I am always glad to hear from readers and listeners.  Write me at mail@albertmohler.com.  Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AlbertMohler.

Rudolf Bultmann, one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century theology, was known for his program of “demythologization.”  A committed theological liberal, Bultmann was convinced that modernity meant the end of supernaturalism. As he explained, modern people who use electric razors and electric lights (both fairly new in his day) do not believe in a literal Heaven and Hell, he advised. He called for modern interpreters of the New Testament separate a continuing existential message from the “mythological” supernatural elements.

Bultmann called this method of stripping the supernatural from the New Testament “demythologization.” Dispel the myths, Bultmann commanded.

Well, theologically speaking, there is hardly a figure more oppposed to Rudolf Bultmann than Danny Akin, President of Southestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Dr. Akin is a staunch defender of the inerrancy of Scripture and a defender of the faith. When it comes to the supernatural claims of Scripture, Dr. Akin stands firm. Yet, in his own way, he knows a myth when he sees one.

In a series of short articles, Dr. Akin has recently responded to various myths about the Great Commission Resurgence. He gave leadership to framing many of these issues, and his article series is well worth the reading. Danny the Demythologizer sets the record straight.

GCR Myth #1: The goal of [particular members of] the Task Force to get more money to the nations is only a smoke screen to get more money to the seminaries.

GCR Myth #2: The goal of [certain members of] the Task Force is to turn North American church planting over to Acts 29 or to at least enter into a formal partnership with them.

Myth #3: The Great Commission Resurgence Task Force is attempting to influence and even control the search committee process at the Executive Committee, the IMB and NAMB.

Myth #4: The goal of the Great Commission Task Force is to dismantle if not destroy the Cooperative Program as we know it today.

Myth #5: The GCR is actually a grand Calvinist plot to infiltrate the SBC and gain control or at least greater influence in the Convention.

The Great Commission Task Force is gathering in Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex for important meetings as we continue the work assigned to us by the Southern Baptist Convention.  Please pray for the Task Force to be granted wisdom as we seek to discern what will help Southern Baptists to be more faithful in obeying the Great Commission.

On Tuesday we will be meeting with the majority of the Executive Directors of the state conventions for a very important session. Please pray that we will all hear each other, speak honestly to each other, and hold each other accountable to a Great Commission vision that will require the very best and the very most from all of us.

We face hard questions. Questions of finance and structure are secondary to the missional questions of reaching North America and the world beyond. We are living in a denominational house built long before the revolutions in transportation, communications, and geopolitics that have simultaneously made the world smaller and larger than ever before.

We are privileged to be able to ask these questions — and even to ask what questions we must ask. We are drowning in data.  Please pray that we will be led to the insights, judgments, and proposals that will best serve Southern Baptists as we face the future together.

I’ll report back as we make progress.