These words of Adrian Rogers, leader of the Conservative Resurgence in the Southern Baptist Convention, are still worth our consideration. Listen to Danny Akin and Scott Pace’s summary of his words:
Just before renowned pastor and leader Adrian Rogers died, he shared a concern that many evangelical churches had become distracted and even divisive over petty and unimportant issues. When asked what the problem was, he used a striking analogy. He said that during the conservative Christian movement in the 1970s and ’80s those who believed that the Bible is the infallible and inerrant Word of God were on the battlefield shoulder to shoulder, fighting a common enemy. After winning the “Battle for the Bible,” inerrantists retreated to the barracks and are no longer shoulder to shoulder but face-to-face. We are used to fighting; since we are no longer fighting the enemy, we are fighting each other. We have turned our brothers and sisters into our enemies in the midst of our missional calling. Rogers said that conservative evangelicals need to get out of the barracks and back on the battlefield where the real enemies are: sin, Satan, death, and hell.
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Akin, Dr. Daniel L.; Pace, Dr. R. Scott. Pastoral Theology: Theological Foundations for Who a Pastor is and What He Does (p. 202). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. The source of Rogers’ words is a personal conversation between Akin and Rogers in 2005.