The SBCV is 10 ... or is it 7?
by T. C. Pinckney Vol. XVII, No. 1, January 2004
Where We Were
Long-term SBCVers will remember the 28 January 1993 meeting at Old Forest Road Baptist Church, Lynchburg, where we voted to form a fellowship named the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia. Then, on 2 September 1993 350-400 of us met again, this time at Grove Avenue Baptist Church, Richmond, where our Constitution and By-Laws were adopted and officers elected to lead the SBCV. ... But we were still a fellowship, not a state convention. And we were still working to motivate biblically conservative Virginia Baptists to attend the Baptist General Association of Virginia annual meetings and turn Virginia back from its liberal direction by achieving majority votes.
The BGAV, not surprisingly, was working to stymy conservative efforts. Four times in five years BGAV supporters offered amendments at their annual meeting to change the basis upon which messengers are authorized to churches. Previously ALL the Cooperative Program money sent by a church to the state convention counted toward qualifying the number of voting messengers a church was authorized. But as the BGAV reduced the percentage of receipts going to the SBC, increasing numbers of conservative churches instructed the BGAV to retain small percentages and send the major part to the SBC.
To punish those churches and to make it impossible for conservatives to win important votes, in November 1994 the BGAV meeting voted to amend Article III, Section B, of the BGAV Constitution and By-laws by inserting three words. Whereas previously messengers had been allocated based upon each church’s contribution “to the Cooperative Program funds and State Missions Offering ...”, the wording was changed to read “to the Virginia portion of Cooperative Program funds and State Mission Offering ...” [Emphasis added.] That change drastically reduced messengers allowed to conservative churches. For example, my church was cut from the maximum 15 messengers to three or four.
Consequently, on 16 September 1996 after 22 months of unhurried, careful planning and consideration, over 500 of us met at Grove Avenue again and unanimously voted to declare ourselves a new state convention.
Thus, depending on whether you prefer to start when we became a fellowship or a state convention, the SBCV is either 10 or 7 years old.
Where We Are
Our 2003 combined Bible Conference and Annual Meeting was great. It was well attended with 803 registered messengers representing 222 churches plus 130 guests who completed registration cards. Stirring messages were brought by evangelist Junior Hill; Paige Patterson, newly elected president of Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth; Tim Piland, SBCV president; Bill Stafford, author and evangelist; and Hershael York, professor of Christian Preaching at Southern Seminary. Doyle Chauncey, our Executive Director and Treasurer, brought a most encouraging report. Geoff Hammond, Senior Associate Director of SBCV, chaired a very interesting and moving series of in-person and video reports on SBCV ministries under the call, “What are we willing to risk to rescue for the Kingdom?”
One completely new aspect was that attendees were challenged to become actively involved in a new ministry partnership with the North American Mission Board to reach the Washington, DC, area with the Gospel. In a population of over 6,000,000 only eleven churches contribute funds to the Southern Baptist Convention. The District of Columbia Baptist Convention is trilaterally aligned with the SBC, the American Baptist Convention, and the National Baptist Convention. Because of liberal actions by the DCBC, the North American Mission Board of the SBC has ceased its once-substantial funding assistance (some $475,000 annually) to the DCBC effective in June 2002.
Considering the worldwide influence of Washington, the size of its population, and the numbers of foreigners who reside or visit there, this SBCV-NAMB outreach partnership has great evangelistic potential. Pray about whether your church should become a partner in planting new churches in the Washington area.
Perhaps the most thrilling action at the meeting was the affirmation of those churches which asked to affiliate with the SBCV during the previous year. Twenty-five churches joined uniquely, six dually, three withdrew, and one disbanded. These changes bring us to 408 churches: 321 uniquely aligned, 45 dually, and 42 church plants. This is a marvelous blessing. In addition, between 1 January and 30 September this year donations were received from 15 non-affiliated churches.
Another notable action was adoption of our 2004 Cooperative Program budget of $7,000,000. This is $1,000,000 (16.7%) more than the 2003 budget of $6 million. By the way, note that this amount is for the CP only. It does not include designated offerings or budget supplements from SBC entities, such as the North American Mission Board and LifeWay, with whom we work closely.
The SBCV has always given 50% of all undesignated receipts to the SBC (compared to the BGAV’s 2004 percentage of only 7.34% in their WM-2 budget track, 0% in the WM-3 track, and 34% in WM-1. Churches must choose WM-1 or WM-2; otherwise they are automatically placed in WM-2.) However, even the 50% figure understates SBCV support for the SBC. When we include designated offerings, approximately 65% of all the money received by the SBCV in the last twelve months was sent to the Southern Baptist Convention for world-wide missions and ministries. Moreover, during the first three quarters of 2003, the SBCV gave 19% more to the SBC than in the same period in 2002.
Two officers were re-elected and two new officers were chosen. Our SBCV president Tim Piland, pastor of Nansemond River BC, Suffolk was re-elected to a second one year term as was secretary Dan Cook, associate pastor of Spotswood BC, Fredericksburg. Our two new officers are Tim Hight, pastor of Main Street BC, Christiansburg, as first vice-president, and Ronnie Brown, pastor, Swift Creek BC, Midlothian, second vice-president. [Our constitution provides in Article VIII, Section B, that “No individual (except the Executive Director-Treasurer) shall serve more than two consecutive one-year terms in the same office.”] All elections were by acclamation.
Perhaps the most impressive indicator of the convention’s spirit was the fact that every vote was unanimous. The meeting was more like a revival than a business session.
Looking to the Future
But challenges remain. In his report, Doyle Chauncey commented on four challenges:
1. Christian Stewardship: The percentage of members who tithe to their local church is decreasing, and tithers are growing older as a group. SBCV church members gave an average of only $11.54 per week per resident member to the church in 2002.
2. Cooperative Program Support: Total CP dollars are increasing year by year, but churches are sending less and less of their undesignated receipts to the Cooperative Program:
1982 10.7% 1996 8.1%
1992 9.3% 2002 7.0%
Clearly, if this decrease continues, before long the absolute number of dollars will also drop, with disastrous impacts on our SBCV and SBC ministries and evangelism. Note that SBCV churches contributed an average of only 85 cents per week per resident member to the Cooperative program in 2002.
Obviously, our churches are not teaching folks how God expects us to handle the financial resources with which He has blessed us. We must do a much better job of impressing these truths upon the minds and hearts of our members.
3. Culture Crisis: Growing numbers of those who claim to be Christians and their children hold to a secular worldview, bowing to pressure from the liberal media, government schools, and special interest groups to live as if there is no absolute truth and all values are relative. This is utter blasphemy, and our people must come to understand that to be a Christian we must be willing to stand openly and consistently for the truths of God’s inerrant Word, and to accept the scorn and active opposition of who reject the biblical God who is a God of law and judgment as well as love.
4. Church Exodus: Unfortunately, many churches are unwilling to change. Their core groups are wedded to the way things have been done, simply because they are used to those traditions. They are unwilling to change to win souls and grow. They elevate their personal comfort zone above God’s commands. I know of two instances right here in Virginia where pastors were opposed and run off because, “That pastor is bringing too many new people into this church!” What will people who have held and acted upon such views say when they stand accused before Jesus? (Note that the question is when, not if.) Churches will continue to wither away unless they are willing to make the necessary changes to become effective soul winners. The church should not be merely our local social club; we must always keep the mission in mind: to be a strike force for winning souls to Jesus.
Did you catch the significance of our 42 church plants? This is tangible evidence of the SBCV’s passion for the Gospel, for evangelism, for winning souls. Pray for our church planters who carry the major responsibilities for the success of these efforts as we continue to expand our witness to the lost.
Our annual meeting is truly a great experience. Plan to come next year, especially if you have never attended before. Next year’s dates are Monday and Tuesday, 8 & 9 November 2004. The location will be Spotswood Baptist Church, 4009 Lafayette Boulevard, Fredericksburg. Put it on your calendar now. See you there.
And if your church is not affiliated with the SBCV, come anyway. Visit our meeting and see what it is really like to do business for the Lord. You will immediately feel right at home.