A running joke among Baptist ministers during two decades of denominational
infighting has been, “If the Southern Baptist Convention splits, Im
going with the Annuity Board.”
For some persons, it no longer could prove a laughing matter.
A running joke among Baptist ministers during two decades of denominational
infighting has been, “If the Southern Baptist Convention splits, Im
going with the Annuity Board.”
For some persons, it no longer could prove a laughing matter.
The Southern Baptist agency has reminded state conventions
that its policies state staff members from churches that publicly sever ties
with the convention no longer can be eligible to participate in Annuity Board
retirement or insurance programs.
The board can continue to manage asset accumulations and
distributions for past participants but cannot accept additional contributions
or make insurance programs available, officials explained.
State convention officials have been asked to implement the
established policy and to notify the Annuity Board when a church announces
its withdrawal from the Southern Baptist Convention.
The Church Annuity Plan is based on contractual agreements
between the Annuity Board and the state conventions or multi-state associations
affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The plan calls for the state
conventions to determine which churches qualify for participation.
As amended and restated in 1995, the plan defines an eligible
church as “any Southern Baptist church as determined by the state convention
as well as an association of Southern Baptist churches or other Southern Baptist
organizations that the state convention determines should be treated as a
church for purposes of participation in this plan.”
The same section goes on to state that “an organization
shall cease to be a (qualifying) church when the Annuity Board receives notice
from the state convention that the organization is no longer a Southern Baptist
church.”
Annuity Board President O.S. Hawkins recently wrote to executive
directors of the state conventions, reminding them of the provision. The Annuity
Board must act within the limits of its charter, which calls
for it to serve churches only within the bounds of the Southern Baptist Convention,
Hawkins said.
“We expect you to notify us of churches in your state
that no longer consider themselves to be a part of the Southern Baptist Convention,”
Hawkins said in his letter to Jim Royston, executive director of the Baptist
State Convention of North Carolina.
However, Royston explained that the state conventions
policy allows any church contributing a minimum amount to its unified budget
to qualify for participation. “The contract is between the state convention
and the Annuity Board,” he said. “If a church continues to support
the state convention, we dont plan to declare it ineligible.”
Annuity Board official Curtis Sharp told a recent gathering
of state executive directors and editors that the Annuity Board has no desire
to force churches out of its programs.
“We want to keep them in. The worst thing for us is
to erode our asset base – the more assets we have,
the lower our fees – but we must maintain the charter.”
Sharp said the Annuity Board is encouraging all Southern
Baptist churches to remain affiliated with the convention so they will not
face any loss of benefits.
Annuitants who are members of non-Southern Baptist Convention
churches will not be affected because their benefits are based on past service,
Sharp said.
Sharp agreed that the Annuity Board cannot cease serving
a church unless its state convention instructs the agency to do so.
But the Annuity Board will not rely solely on the state conventions.
Sharp said that when board officials learn of churches that have voted to
withdraw from the convention, they will contact the churches individually,
advise them that the Annuity Board will serve only Southern Baptist churches,
and encourage them to rethink their decision to sever ties. (ABP)