The Southern Baptist Convention is perceived as having lost its focus on the sufficiency of Scripture and evangelism. So it should not surprise anyone that another conservative @BaptistNetwork would crop up to fill that supposed void. 1/10

You might question whether or not that perception corresponds to reality, but at the very least, it corresponds to the rhetoric we are hearing. And unfortunately, the response to this new group of conservative Baptists has only solidified the concern. 2/10

An initial attempt to 'cancel' the Conservative Baptist Network began by citing Paige Patterson as its 'leader' of sorts. People who are both opposed to and in favor of something like CBN have some difficulties with that, but Patterson never emerged as the group's leader. 3/10

Another objection was that CBN puts 'patriotism' in their list of distinctives and this somehow sets them apart as white nationalists, Trump supporters, and the like. But the Bible does not condemn patriotism as such and voting is a conscience issue that's not up to the SBC. 4/10

The group was said to promote a type of fundamentalism akin to 'The Sword of the Lord,' which seems unnecessarily offensive to both the CBN and Independent Baptists, and isn't true anyway. Opponents straddle the fence of two narratives where CBN is 'bad.' 5/10

In the first narrative, CBN is wildly fundamentalist and hyper-conservative. In the second narrative, CBN is redundant because the SBC already exists as a conservative missions organization. In any case, the CBN is said to be bad. We're just not sure why. 6/10

Others charge CBN with being divisive. But if members of CBN remain in the SBC, they're not being divisive by their affiliation with another Baptist organization. To make such a claim would be a gross misunderstanding of Baptist polity, missions cooperation, and parachurch. 7/10

And if members of the CBN do not remain in the SBC, but leave it, then they've clearly divided from the SBC, and are not being divisive from within the SBC. Again, if the CBN is redundant, constituting another conservative Baptist organization, then it can't be divisive. 8/10

As far as the SBC is concerned - ecclesiologically, morally, and doctrinally - there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the CBN, much to the dismay of those pushing more progressive agendas in the SBC while hoping everybody follows along and stays. 9/10

The CBN provides an opportunity to function as a well-organized grassroots movement for conservatism within the SBC. The cards are on the table. But we'd be mistaken to think it can't also function as an exit strategy. 10/10