Last week the Southern Baptist Convention voted for a new president. It was an event that I watched from afar. While I don’t identify myself as Southern Baptist, I used to go to a church that affiliated with them and I attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for two years. I had also read Voddie Baucham’s Fault Lines and knew some of the issues with Resolution 9 from the SBC Convention in 2019, so I was interested in hearing what happened in this year’s convention. Both the rejoicing and discouragement over the victory of Ed Litton as the new president reveal much about the current division within the Southern Baptist denomination. It was a fairly close race (52-48) and one that could swing back in the other direction next election.

The point is not that the right or wrong man was voted in as the next president of the SBC, nor that the next election could correct this error, rather the point is that we consider voting within the SBC and the Church to be a valid method of revealing God’s will. Consider what an election is. It is a consent to the majority, a popularity contest of sorts. The kind of people voting determine the kind of majority that there will be. But even beyond that, are people voting for what they believe? Or what they or those they represent want? And how many people vote based on what Christ wants?

This does not mean that God can’t or won’t use an election, because He has and will whenever it fills His purpose; however, Christ’s Church has not been left up to the dictates of a popular vote. We follow Christ and we all ought to be in the habit of allowing Christ to lead, not the majority. Learning how to follow Christ in making a decision means waiting on Him and being patient as we wait for others to hear from Him too.

Thus, the idea of voting ought to be considered. For Christians to vote on a matter that pertains to the rest of the Body of Christ and then go with whatever the majority says means that if God is speaking to and solely directing the minority that they are ignored. It could even be a minority of one person. Yet even with only one person, add God and it is the kind of minority that will succeed. Any branch that does not bear God’s fruit will be cut down, it’s just a matter of time. And every branch that is bearing godly fruit will be pruned to bear more.

As the Body of Christ, we all ought to be willing to give up the things we want, the ideas we champion, the directions we long to go all for the sake of Christ. It is often more important for us to cultivate unity with our brothers and sisters, to go at the slow pace that they are capable of going, than to rush on ahead. We may long for changes to the Body of Christ around us and we should work toward helping those who need help. It is only that we cannot work quickly with those who are not yet capable of moving with us.

We also need to cultivate a willingness to wait on Christ. No Church vote should be won by majority. It ought to be 100% and nothing less. If Christ is in me and in you and we are equally submitting to Him and equally willing to listen to Him, then He will direct us both to the same answer. The issue comes when I put my goals first, perhaps even in the name of Christ, and push for them no matter how honorable or good they may seem over my willingness to wait patiently for Christ’s direction and leadership to be revealed.

This does not mean that there is not disagreement or even parting ways, because where God wants you and where He wants me may be two different places. This might be His means of revealing His different directions to us. But it does mean that if you and I seek to obey Christ, yet we are angry at each other and we refuse to listen to each other and we also refuse to consider that we might need to give up what we are championing, then we are not obeying Christ’s command for unity nor are we considering others as better than ourselves.

Unity is not something that can just happen. It takes work and effort on everyone’s part. Unity is also not something that can be had if some love Christ and others love the world. We need to know when and where the line is on that as well. But if we love Christ then we ought to seek to be unified with others who love Him. Not to shove deep inside us what we really believe to be true for the sake of a false peace, but to grow and challenge others in growth. Our love for and obedience to Christ is and always is the goal.