Aquestion was posed to me recently in the context of evaluating our convention’s ministry: “What if SBTC didn’t exist?” It’s thought provoking on several levels and also allows us to analyze trends in the work Southern Baptist churches have in common. And I believe we see enough from where we are to give a reasonable answer.

If we take the question as asking, “What if the SBTC had never formed?” we might speculate that the only Southern Baptist state convention in Texas would be smaller than it was and more liberal than it is. That’s pretty easy to see from the trends of the past 16 years. SBTC has had a preserving influence among Southern Baptists in Texas.

But what if the SBTC and other denominational expressions of Southern Baptists ceased operations? It’s another way of asking what we contribute to the kingdom of God. Denominational bodies can imagine a truly post-denominational age more easily now than most could have 20 years ago. I think the work of our churches would be different in a lot of ways.

First, while many large churches would not particularly miss the training and resourcing denominational bodies provide, they cannot take for granted that their strength and independence is forever. I can name churches in our state that have moved from mega-church status to ministry-threatening decline during the short life of SBTC. These churches need strategic help from the fellowship of sister churches that they could not have imagined in 1998.

Second, places like Laredo and El Paso would have not have had the attention that has benefited those cities in recent years. Maybe a church or two or four would have had the Rio Grande borderlands on their hearts but would those places become the strategic focus of scores of churches utilizing the resources given by thousands of churches? I believe the church planting emphasis, evangelistic focus and leadership training initiatives the SBTC launched in the borderlands is far more extensive than it would have been without a statewide strategy. That is, unless some denomination-like network of churches decided to adopt a statewide strategy of their own—reinventing the state convention wheel, you might say.

Third, the response of likeminded churches in Texas to emergency needs in our state and beyond would be less prepared, less effective and less credible without a statewide strategy. Without planning and coordination beyond the local church we’d always be behind the ball or in the wrong place when something happened. The reason Southern Baptist Disaster Relief is a major player across the world is that state conventions train and prepare and coordinate so that the disaster of the day is addressed while resources are gathered for the needs of next week.

Fourth, small churches and church plants would have a harder lot than they now do. While some of our stronger churches are very generous in helping new churches and struggling churches, that case-by-case assistance is not general. No one has perfectly untangled the revitalization knot, but the need is general—not confined to one community—and again requires a strategy and a strategist concerned with churches no one else would think about. Texas without a state convention would be (nearly) every church for itself. That’s not good news for our smallest, eldest and declining churches. These churches may not be the long term future of our country’s spiritual life; they are its present and they will be significant players in the lives of millions of American Christians for decades to come. 

Fifth, SBTC’s ministry partners would not necessarily go under, but they are strengthened by the support given through SBTC churches. More than they are now, these institutions would be thrown back on the tender mercies of societal missions. Reasonably, we could expect that some would do better than others though not necessarily based on need or worthiness. Their fortunes would depend more on the effectiveness of their fundraisers.

Sixth, I think there would arise a whole gaggle of smaller denominations (whether they call themselves that or not) with very similar intent and doctrine. The aggregate would likely be weaker, less effective and eventually more doctrinally diverse than the current SBC is. Look at the varieties of independent Baptist groups in the U.S. We’d add to those numbers and suffer the same limitations in ministry they experience.

In order to do the things that churches  instinctively desire to beyond their own communities, Southern Baptist churches currently benefit from having a state convention, and a national one. For many churches, the resources of their big sister churches, strategically applied, will help them minister in even their own local contexts. Without apology, I’d say that our current SBTC and SBC fellowships do add something positive and even necessary to the life and work of churches. That’s not saying denominationalism works perfectly or even well at all times, but within the great variety of ministry networks and franchises across the U.S., no one has yet come up with something that works better at addressing a state, national and global Great Commission strategy. In my mind this argues that improving and strengthening our various denominational fellowships is worthwhile. Letting them slip away and then starting from scratch once we realize what we’ve lost would definitely be a huge step backward.

DALLAS—Barry Creamer, vice president of academic affairs and professor of humanities at Criswell College, was unanimously elected president of the school during a special trustee meeting on Monday (July 7).

Creamer, 51, has served as a Criswell College professor since 2004 and is a leading voice on cultural and theological issues, often addressing them on the radio program “For Christ and Culture,” which he hosts on KCBI-FM in Dallas-Fort Worth. 

Prior to the vote, presidential search committee members lauded Creamer for his grasp of the college’s identity, being described by one committee member as “Criswellian” in his DNA. He earned a master of divinity there in 1994. 

He was also praised for his commitment to the classroom and to mentoring young men to preach the Bible expositionally, and as an “independent thinker” with “fresh ideas,” as a scholar-pastor who has debated the likes of Calvinist Baptist Mark Dever and leading atheist Sam Harris, and as a committed family man as attested to by his wife. 

Jim Richards, search committee chairman, said the committee looked at well over a dozen potential candidates, “many qualified, godly men in the pool,” but were committed to dealing with only one man at a time in the process. 

“No one has a better grasp of Criswell College than Dr. Creamer. He understands the historic connection to its founder, Dr. W.A. Criswell,” Richards said in his opening remarks to the board. 

Additionally, Creamer, in his role, lives with the daily operation of the school, has been deeply loyal to it even when opportunities to go elsewhere have come, and has a vision for the school’s future ministry, understanding the challenges in expanding the curriculum and relocating the campus, Richards said.

Joshua Crutchfield, search committee member and two-time Criswell graduate, told the board one of his fondest memories of studying under Creamer was gathering with a group of students at Creamer’s house, “young men he was mentoring to preach and teach, working through Acts, working through a book of the prophets, hearing how they are developing sermon outlines, investing in these students. Incredible.”

The admiration of fellow faculty and the growth of the school “is a large testimony to the kind of man Barry Creamer is,” Crutchfield added.

Having served with him in the college’s executive cabinet after earning two Criswell degrees, Andrew Hebert, another search committee member, said he had seen Creamer “lead courageously” and that he would be ready from day one for the job.

“Dr. Creamer understands the challenges that lie before us” and can articulate the past and the future as a “genuine pastor-scholar.”

Having served the college faithfully and been the pastor of Woodland West Baptist Church in Arlington from 1987-2004, “I think Dr. Creamer has staying power, which is something we need,” Hebert said.

Another search committee member and Criswell graduate, David Galvan, said it was telling for him to hear the heart of Creamer’s wife Joan, who told the committee, Galvan said, that “she thought [leading Criswell College] was something God was preparing her husband for” through their years of ministry.

Jack Pogue, longtime Criswell trustee, agreed with one assessment of Creamer as sharing the DNA of school founder W.A. Criswell, who espoused a vigorous pre-millennial eschatology, biblical inerrancy, and the idea “that Jesus Christ died for everybody.”

Addressing the board just prior to his election, Creamer said his primary interest in serving the college in any position, but especially as president, stems from his conversion and the power of the gospel.

“My life really was changed when I met Jesus,” Creamer said. “I want the gospel to go out. I want people to be changed. I want them to hear about Christ. At the end of the day we have to put out students who are sharing the gospel, who know what it means to witness to people, and who get the meaning of that, which is somebody’s life was messed up, they meet Jesus, and then their life is transformed. That’s just missing from a lot of things right now.”

Also, Creamer said his commitment to the college dovetails with his commitment to the local church and that while the college seeks to expand its academic offerings, preachers “are still going to be the core of what we produce.”

“While we’re developing these other programs and beginning to produce the kinds of people who can run a corporation or build a business,” the school must also equip them to “handle the Word of God with real confidence, to grasp what it actually means and to be able to teach that to their neighbor, to their Sunday School class, or sit down with their pastor and help him return from the brink, from heresy or error, which happens all the time.”

“I think Criswell College can do that better than any other school, anywhere,” Creamer said.

Additionally, Creamer said he is “very committed to the academy,” noting the school’s wide influence, especially in the Southern Baptist Convention in the last 40 years.

“That kind of influence has to come somewhere for the culture at large, and it’s not happening yet,” Creamer said, describing his vision for turning out culture-changers able to influence the world in the same way the school influenced the SBC during the Conservative Resurgence.

‘That’s what we are trying to get at. That’s what we’re trying to build,” Creamer said.

Creamer earned a Ph.D. in humanities with a philosophy and history emphasis from the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). He graduated summa cum laude with a master of divinity degree from Criswell in 1994 and a bachelor of arts in English from Baylor University in 1985.

He has served churches in a variety of roles, from pastor to minister of evangelism, since 1982. While teaching adjunctively at Texas Woman’s University in Denton and at UTA, Creamer was pastor of Woodland West Baptist Church for 17 years.

He is a member of Lake Highlands Baptist Church in Dallas and has been married to Joan for 31 years. The couple has four adult children.

The members of the Criswell search committee were: Jim Richards, chairman, Joshua Crutchfield, Andrew Hebert, David Galvan, Keet Lewis, Jack Pogue, trustee chairman John Mann, and committee alternate Paul Pressler.

Creamer’s presidency begins officially on Aug. 1.

He succeeds Jerry Johnson, who left to become president of the National Religious Broadcasters. LifeWay president emeritus Jimmy Draper, a longtime Texas pastor, has served as the school’s interim president.

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