By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
WOODWORTH, La. (LBM) – Executive Board members adopted a proposed amendment to the Louisiana Baptist Convention Articles of Incorporation, Sept. 27, that allows a church to contribute solely to state causes and still be defined as a church in cooperation with the LBC.
Previously a church was required to support Southern Baptist causes in order to be in friendly cooperation with the LBC.
In his report, Louisiana Baptist Executive Director Steve Horn told the Board that 26 of about 1,600 Louisiana Baptist congregations have in[1]structed that their cooperative missions and minis[1]tries contributions must be used only in the state with none of their gifts to be forwarded to the Southern Baptist Convention.
The moves by the 26 Louisiana Baptist churches adds to a growing trend among state Baptist convention congregations:
— Earlier this year, the Missouri Baptist Convention adopted a “Plan B” which allows churches to withhold funds from selected SBC entities without withdrawing from CP support altogether, according to the Missouri Baptist Convention’s newspaper, The Pathway. About 217 congregations were choosing to withhold funds from the SBC as late as Aug. 2.
— The Pathway also reported that the Georgia Baptist Mission Board (formerly the Georgia Baptist Convention) allows congregations to exclude up to two SBC entities and still be in friendly cooperation with the state convention. The Christian Index, the news journal of Georgia Baptists, reported that at the end of July more than 180 congregations in the state were bypassing the SBC and that “others have changed their allocations.”
— Meanwhile, Baptist Press, a division of the communications department of the SBC Executive Committee, has noted that “North Carolina, Wyoming and Oklahoma periodically forward church gifts to the [SBC] EC with some type of designation or restriction.”
The backlash against the SBC appears to be related to a number of developments at the national level, including: the SBC Executive Committee’s hiring of a pro-gay law firm, Bradley of Nashville, and the SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force’s hiring of the pro-gay Guidepost Solutions, both in response to SBC messengers asking for an investigation of the alleged mishandling of sexual abuse accusations; the SBC EC’s waiver of attorney-client privilege and the subsequent departure of the SBC’s long-standing law firm; the abrupt departure of Ronnie Floyd as SBC EC president and CEO; and the SBC Credential Committee’s non-decision at the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting on an issue about ordained women pastors. Horn said that the LBC is trying to be understanding that some Louisiana Baptist congregations have concerns about the SBC.
“We are trying to strike that balance of honoring their requests while at the same time continuing to promote the ideal that we are better together with our Southern Baptist partners,” Horn said during the board meeting, Sept. 27, at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center. “By supporting this adjustment, you will be helping us to keep these churches engaged in Louisiana Baptist life while continuing to pray with them and encouraging them to reengage in Southern Baptist life. And I fear that disallowing this could cause us to permanently lose these now cooperating churches.”
The proposed amendment now will be voted on by messengers to the LBC Annual Meeting, Nov. 15, in the worship center of Calvary Baptist Church, Alexandria. See the related amendment notice in this issue.
SEXUAL ABUSE TASK FORCE UDPATE
Horn also updated board members on response to work related to the Sexual Abuse Task Force.
He said the LBC staff members, in January, were trained by Ministry Safe, a national ministry that equips churches and ministry programs to better protect children from sexual abuse, with particular emphasis on recognizing signs abusers are “grooming” victims. Horn noted staff will continue ongoing online training to stay current on the matter.
He said dialogue has begun on how this growing understanding of this issue changes the way they conduct ministry specific to Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center, Baptist Collegiate Ministry and Disaster Relief.
Other related measures include:
— The administrative committee adopted a change in its personnel manual prior to the Executive Board meeting regarding the chain for reporting abuse within the staff. Instead of reporting stopping with Horn, employees will be advised that they can report to the Executive Board president.
— Language will be added to the LBC Personnel Handbook as to what steps to take regarding any allegations of reports of abuse, if any, in its organization.
— An LBC Sexual Abuse Response Council has been formed to help guide work in sexual abuse aware[1]ness and reform. Pastoral Leadership Team Director Ray Swift, Administrative Assistant to the Executive Director Jeannie Saylor, Communications Associate (Stewardship and Cooperative Program) Stacy Morgan, Baptist Collegiate Ministry Team Director Mark Robinson, Adult Ministry Strategist Jeff Ingram, Administrative Assistant / Human Resource Specialist Jessica Fontenot and Women’s Missions and Ministry Strategist Christine Gill will serve as committee members and report on their work during the upcoming LBC Annual Meeting.
— Horn and LBC President Reggie Bridges attended a meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, April 4, with other state convention leaders for an update from the Sexual Abuse Task Force.
ALL IN FOR SBC ANNUAL MEETING
Horn urged board members and other Louisiana Baptists to be “all in” for participation in the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting and related evangelistic events in New Orleans. Originally scheduled to take place in Greensboro, North Carolina, the SBC Executive Committee, in April, voted to change the location to New Orleans, which has the meeting space to accommodate a larger crowd.
He said LBC staff will help coordinate sign-up efforts for Crossover, a large[1]scale evangelistic effort held before the SBC Annual Meeting, and the North American Mission Board SERVE Tour, an effort that seeks to involve participants in service projects as the foundation for evangelism the weekend before the SBC Annual Meeting.
“We cannot miss this opportunity,” Horn said. “By the providential hand of God, the annual meeting of Southern Baptists has been adjusted to come to our state in 2023. I don’t believe that anything happens by accident. Let’s believe that the reason that the annual meeting is coming to Louisiana is not because it was determined that the venue in North Carolina was too small. But let’s believe together that the reason that it is coming to New Orleans is God wants to do something powerful in New Orleans and the surrounding region to impact lostness in that area.”
