Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Dave Doran

Dever, Doran, Bauder, and Others Dialogue

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Calvary Baptist Seminary hosted the Advancing the Church Conference a few weeks ago, and the conference audio is now available.

Mark Dever was the keynote speaker, and he interacted with Dave Doran, Kevin Bauder, and other fundamentalist leaders in two panels:

Kevin Bauder shares his perspective on the conference in “Reflections after the Encounter: Considering the Current Situation of Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism; or, Why I Am Still a Fundamentalist (And How I Am Not).”

Conservative Evangelicals Are Not New Evangelicals

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Kevin Bauder, a self-identified fundamentalist, hits a home run with “Let’s Get Clear on This.”

Some excerpts:

  • Conservative evangelicals are different from Fundamentalists, but they are not new evangelicals.
  • Conservative evangelicals have majored on the centrality of the gospel and the exaltation of God.
  • Nevertheless, some Fundamentalists have managed to convince themselves that conservative evangelicals are the enemy.
  • [Some fundamentalist leaders are] recognizing that the Fundamentalist label is no guarantee of doctrinal fidelity. They are aware that historic, mainstream Fundamentalism has more in common with conservative evangelicals than it does with many who wear the Fundamentalist label.
  • Conservative evangelicals are not our enemies. They are not our opponents. Conservative evangelicals have proven themselves to be allies and even leaders in the defense of the faith.
  • If we attack conservative evangelicals, then we attack the defense of the faith.

The version of this essay that appeared in my inbox this afternoon concludes with these two paragraphs:

If we believe that we must respond to conservative evangelicalism, then let us begin by addressing the areas in which they have exposed our weakness. Let us refocus our attention upon the exaltation of God. Let us exalt, apply, and defend the gospel in all its fullness. If we were more like what we ought to be, perhaps we would feel less threatened by those whose exploits attract the attention of our followers.

Whatever our differences, I thank God for John Piper. I thank God for Mark Dever. I thank God for John MacArthur. I thank God for D. A. Carson. I thank God for a coalition of Christian leaders who have directed our focus to the centrality of the gospel and the exaltation of God. May their defense of the biblical faith prosper.

Read the whole thing: PDF | HTML.

Update:

  1. Dave Doran responds to Kevin Bauder.
  2. Chris Anderson responds to both Bauder and Doran.
  3. Dave Doran responds again.

Two Views on the Duke K. McCall Sesquicentennial Pavilion at Southern Seminary

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This week I enjoyed following the events at the SBC and SBTS from a distance and wish I would have been in Louisville to experience it. I’m encouraged by what I’ve heard. (Cf. summaries by Danny Akin, Tom Ascol, Timmy Brister, Denny Burk, Greg Gilbert, Owen Strachan, and the many articles by Southern Seminary’s news service.)

In the midst of many reasons for rejoicing in the positive advances made in the convention this year, one event stands out as confusing to Protestant fundamentalists: SBTS dedicated a building (cf. audio and video) to former president Duke McCall, a theological moderate who tolerated theological liberalism and opposed the Conservative Resurgence.

Doran’s Objection

Dave Doran (a graduate of TEDS, senior pastor of Inter-City Baptist Church, and president of Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary) reflects on this in these short articles:

  1. “Honor to Whom Dishonor Is Due” (He concludes, “I just don’t get it.”)
  2. “Is This an Application of Loving Your Enemies?“
  3. “We Report, You Decide” (a response to Greg Gilbert’s post)
  4. “Some (Final, I hope) Thoughts on the McCall Pavilion and Objections to My Questioning It” (a response to Mark Rogers’s post)
  5. “Missions, Pavilions, and Wives” (paragraph two responds to Owen Strachan’s post)
  6. “Seeing the Difference between Ideas and Individuals” (an implied response to Gilbert, Rogers, and Strachan)
  7. “Ideas and Individuals (Again)“
  8. “Sticking to the Point . . .“

Reponses to Doran

  1. Greg Gilbert (a graduate of SBTS, former assistant to Al Mohler, and assistant pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church) respectfully responds to Doran’s first article: “Mohler, McCall, Truth, and History.”
  2. Mark Rogers (a graduate of SBTS, son of a pastor in the SBC, current PhD student in historical theology at TEDS, and D. A. Carson’s administrative assistant) also respectfully responds to Doran’s first article: “Southern Seminary’s Anniversary and a Question of Honor.”
  3. Owen Strachan (a graduate of SBTS, former research assistant to Al Mohler, current PhD student in historical theology at TEDS, and managing director of the Henry Center) also respectfully responds to Doran: “At SBTS, Fidelity Matters: A Friendly Response to Dave Doran.”

Dave Doran on Fundamentalism

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Last Friday I referenced Collin Hansen’s CT article “The Crisis of Modern Fundamentalism.” This led to an interesting exchange in the comments section, particularly seven posts by Dr. Dave Doran (“Dave” in the comments) as he interacted with Tim Baylor.

  1. Dr. Dave Doran is president of Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary and senior pastor of Inter-City Baptist Church in Allen Park, MI. He wrote the foreword to Rolland McCune’s Promise Unfulfilled (part of which is reproduced here).
    doran.jpg
  2. Tim Baylor grew up in fundamentalism, including a pastoral internship under Dr. Doran. He is currently working on an M.Div. at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. (He is quoted in Collin Hansen’s CT article.)
    baylor.jpg

I’ve found this exchange to be helpful, especially how Dr. Doran articulates his understanding of fundamentalism.

  1. One of the major questions on the table here is whether fundamentalists can embrace a wider social involvement than some of them have traditionally embraced.
  2. Coming at the issue from another angle: Is secondary separation the crucial difference between fundamentalism and evangelicalism?

Update: Harold J. Ockenga’s foreword to Harold Lindsell’s The Battle for the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976) suggests that I asked the right two questions: “The ringing call for [1] a repudiation of separatism and [2] the summons to social involvement” were the two key notes of the address for which Ockenga coined the term “neo-evangelicalism” in 1948 (p. 11). HT: Brian Collins.