Make no mistake, the nature of the Southern Baptist Convention has undergone a transformation, and that transformation was completed in Orlando last week.
Make no mistake, the nature
of the Southern Baptist Convention has undergone a transformation, and that
transformation was completed in Orlando last week. The purpose of the formation
of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1845, as stated in its constitution, was
“to provide a general organization for Baptists in the United States and
its territories for the promotion of Christian missions at home and abroad and
any other objects such as Christian education, benevolent enterprises, and social
services which it may deem proper and advisable for the furtherance of the Kingdom
of God.”
In addition, membership
was based upon a congregations desire to cooperate with the convention
in these enterprises. Cooperation in missions, benevolences and social services
was the requirement for membership. The criteria for voting, and the number
of messengers a church could have, during the national convention was the amount
of money given to the national conventions causes, and a churchs
membership size. Interestingly, the amount of money required for an “additional
messenger” was $250 dollars given to convention causes during the preceding
year, a substantial amount of money in 1845.
Certainly theology has
been important to Southern Baptists throughout their history, but the organization
concerned with proper doctrinal and polity matters was the local association
and not the national convention.
In recent years, doctrinal
agreement has been moved to the central concern of the Southern Baptist Convention,
with cooperation put in a lesser position of concern. This does not say cooperation
in the enterprises of the convention is not important, but cooperation in convention
causes as reflected in Cooperative Program giving is not the central gauge of
convention “belonging”.
After the Baptist Faith
and Message revisions were approved overwhelmingly by messengers, one of the
committee members who hammered out the revisions said, “Now you cannot
believe just anything and be a Southern Baptist.” In other words, the Baptist
Faith and Message now defines what being a Southern Baptist is, at least on
a national level.
Cooperation has taken a
back seat to doctrine as the premium concern. As an indication of this shift,
consider the uneven quality of Cooperative Program support of recent presidents
of the Southern Baptist Convention. Since 1980, the churches served as pastor
by three convention presidents have strong records of Cooperative Program
support, but seven presidents churches have far less than stellar records.
All of the presidents have been strongly committed to the doctrines that have
now been incorporated into the Baptist Faith and Message.
This change cannot be credited
or charged simply to a small leadership group on the national level. While a
definite leadership group certainly has defined the actions of the last 20 years,
a majority of messengers to conventions for the last 20 have affirmed the changes,
and in many cases demanded the changes.
The Southern Baptist Convention
enters the Second Millennium with a new structure and a new nature. At a time
when just about every major denomination in the United States is faltering,
the Southern Baptist Convention is poised for a new beginning. If the financial
support of convention causes continues at the rate of the last 155 years, a
new religious force will be on the scene in the United States, and the world.
Next week, a look at the
impact of the revisions to the Baptist Faith and Message.
Louisiana Leadership
Congratulations to two
Louisiana Baptists who were elected to leadership positions in two national
Southern Baptist bodies.
Congratulations to Janet
Hoffman upon her election as president of the Womans Missionary Union,
Auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention.
Janet Hoffman is Southern
Baptist, Louisiana Baptist and Womans Missionary Union to the core. She
has been a faithful, participating member of a Southern Baptist church since
her conversion as a child, and active in some phase of WMU all her life. She
was a supportive wife of Harvey Hoffman who served Southern Baptist churches
for more than 40 years, and served on the staff of the Louisiana Baptist Convention
for five years.
She has established herself
as a leader. She is astute, caring, insightful, spiritually minded and dedicated
to missions. She is not afraid of needed change and has faith in the future
of WMU. Mrs. Hoffman is also an eloquent speaker. She is ideally equipped for
her task and WMU has done well in choosing her for this leadership position
in a crucial time of its life.
Congratulations to T.C.
“Tommy” French upon his election as Second Vice President of the Southern
Baptist Convention. Tommy French was elected as representative of the thousands
of Southern Baptist pastors who have served their churches and denominations
well through many years. He has served Jefferson Baptist Church as pastor for
over 40 years and has been the congregations only pastor. He has supported
state and national convention causes in an exemplary manner.
Part of his nominating
speech was a reminder that the Southern Baptist Convention moves to New Orleans
next year. He will be the state conventions representative on the national
program. He will serve well. His official duties as SBC Second Vice President
will not interfere with his duties as Louisiana Baptist Convention president