Calvinism not the reason for fewer baptisms among Southern Baptists, says JD Greear

The Summit Church pastor J.D. Greear said Calvinism, which is recently gaining popularity among Southern Baptist Convention churches, is not the reason for the decreasing numbers in new conversions.

"Jesus gave every one of us the Great Commission, and if we're not carrying it out, that's just plain unfaithful," Greear told the Christian Post in a recent interview. He added that the number of "points" of Calvinism a believer holds has no bearing in light of this truth.

Greear, who admitted he is not comfortable using "Calvinist" and "non-Calvinist" labels, said it's "unfair" to say that the lack of evangelism activities is a result of holding certain views. 

"In my experience, it's too simplistic (and unfair) to blame one group of people for our collective failure to evangelize," Greear said when asked if critics who say that holding stricter Calvinist views lead to evangelism decline.

For instance, although his staff and congregation do not all agree on some theological principles, they are all committed to preaching God's Word, evangelizing the lost and "giving God all the credit," Greear said. 

Greear, known to have strong Calvinist views, was one of two major candidates for the Convention's next president. He lost the election to moderately Reformed Steve Gaines.

Moderately Reformed Southern Baptists believe that everyone can be saved but not all will be saved. They embrace the five points of Calvinism: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace and perseverance of the saints.

Before the election for the new president, a chart showing a noticeable difference between the number of church plants and the number of baptisms among Southern Baptist congregations was released at the Southern Baptist Convetion annual meeting in St. Louis.

According to some sources, the chart was an important factor in the victory of Gaines because it brought up issues regarding the "degree of evangelistic zeal and the theological orientation that underpins the historic Southern Baptist emphasis on sharing the Gospel with nonbelievers," Christian Post reported.

Southern Baptists have been facing a drop in the number of members and new conversions for several years, a pattern that was observed for the first time in their 161 years of existence, according to another article by the Christian Post.

The Southern Baptist Convention is comprised of an estimated 47,000 local congregations with a total of about 15.5 million in the U.S. 

It is a network of various churches that are united in the goal of fufilling the Great Commission through missions and other activities.