The Southern Baptist Convention has secured its ties to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, concluding years of wrangling about how best to do so.
The Southern Baptist Convention has secured its ties
to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, concluding years of
wrangling about how best to do so.
In addition, a 2005-06 Cooperative Program budget
has been approved, after a move to take money from missions in order to
engage in the “cultural war” in America was rejected.
Both actions came as messengers dealt with
recommendations from the SBC Executive Committee at last week’s annual
convention in Nashville, Tenn.
In addressing the New Orleans Seminary situation,
messengers voted four-to-one to make the convention the “sole member” –
or single controlling entity – of the school’s corporation.
However, the vote of 5,627 (78.6 percent) to 1,528
(21.4 percent) came only after seminary President Chuck Kelley was
given time to explain the school’s reservations with the sole
membership model.
Sole membership relates to a legal structure
designed to specify ownership rights of the convention over the
seminary. The issue dates back to 1997, when the Executive Committee
asked convention agencies to make the convention the sole member. The
action was designed to prevent an agency from leaving the
denominational fold, as has occurred with Baylor University and
entities in other states.
By 2000, New Orleans Seminary was the lone holdout
among convention agencies, with the exception of the Executive
Committee, which pledged to submit its sole-membership amendments once
the New Orleans dispute was resolved.
Seminary trustees studied the issue extensively but
raised concerns about it, finally rejecting the model. However, in
doing so, they pledged to find another way to secure the school to the
convention.
Before that could happen, Executive Committee
members went to the 2004 convention and asked messengers to request the
seminary to adopt the model.
Seminary trustees did so, while continuing to express reservations.
Last week, Kelley was afforded time to explain those reservations to messengers.
As has been outlined in previous articles, Kelley
primarily voiced concern that the sole membership model could expose
the convention to increased liability under Louisiana law and that the
model represents a move toward centralization of control in the
Executive Committee.
He insisted there were other ways to ensure the seminary remained securely in the convention fold.
However, Executive Committee leaders countered those
arguments, saying there was no legal danger in adopting the model in
Louisiana and that the charge of centralization of control was
unfounded.
They insisted the issue simply was one of ownership for the convention.
In subsequent discussion, six messengers spoke on
the issue, three for and three against. All three opposing messengers
were from Louisiana.
SBC President Bobby Welch initially took a
show-of-hands vote on the matter, then called for balloting on the
issue. In the resulting vote, messengers clearly supported the
Executive Committee.
Meanwhile, on another front, messengers approved a
$189.9 million budget for the upcoming church year – after rejecting a
move to alter the allocations.
As approved, the budget continues to allocate 50
percent of Cooperative Program funds to the SBC International Mission
Board and almost 22.8 percent to the SBC North American Mission Board.
It also directs 1.5 percent to the Ethics and Religious Liberty
Commission.
However, Rodney Albert of Hallsville, Mo., proposed
amending the budget by taking 0.25 percent of funding from both mission
boards and allocating it to the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
Albert said the shift was needed to enable the Southern Baptist struggle in America’s culture wars.
“We are fighting for the soul of America,” he said.
“But the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission gets one of the
smallest amounts of budget.”
Southern Baptists are fighting for the sanctity of
life and for the sanctity of marriage on a number of fronts, Albert
said.
“A budget reflects our moral values, …” he said.
“The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission … doesn’t have enough
money to accomplish all it needs to do.”
However, other messengers disagreed with the move.
Indeed, Jim Wideman of Northborough, Mass., said missions hold the key
to victory in the ongoing war.
“Our purpose is not to save the culture of America;
our purpose is to save the world,” Wideman said. “If our culture goes
down, it won’t be because we didn’t spend more money for lobbying. If
our culture is saved, it will be because we spend more money for
evangelism.”
Messengers easily rejected Albert’s amendment and
approved the overall budget, which funds several agencies and the six
convention seminaries as well.
Meanwhile, in action on other Executive Committee
recommendations, convention messengers gave final approval to changing
the name of the Annuity Board to Guidestone Financial Resources. They
also approved a motion to make the convention the sole member of the
Executive Committee corporation – without dissent.