Wrap-Up of the 1993 State Conventions

by T. C. Pinckney                                                                                          Vol. VII, No. 1, January 1994

[Material in the following was collected from Baptist Press releases and personal contacts.]

It is difficult to write a good summary of the annual state Baptist conventions. It needs to be comprehensive enough to give readers an accurate appreciation of events but not include so many details that the forest is obscured by the trees. Furthermore, the writer has to decide in advance whether he intends to write propaganda or a factual report. Finally, everyone has a personal perspective, and if you are trying to provide a factual report, personal views may interfere.

The following is intended to be a factual report. Readers know the perspective of your editor: I believe every word of the Bible is absolutely true, and I praise our gracious God for the changes in the Southern Baptist Convention since 1979. I believe the greatest days of the SBC's work for God's kingdom lie ahead. Other conservatives will understand this and read the Banner with a kindred heart. Moderate readers will also understand this and perhaps read the Banner with an added degree of interest (What is that scoundrel saying now?) although through skeptical eyes. At any rate, whatever your view, forewarned is forearmed. You have now been warned!

There is no agreed line of demarcation between the major and not-so-major SBC states. For present purposes I focus on 16 states with only occasional bits from the other, smaller state conventions and fellowships (those that have not yet grown large enough to become full-fledged conventions). The focus states are: Alabama (AL), Arkansas (AR), Colorado (CO), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY), Louisiana (LA), Mississippi (MS), Missouri (MO), North Carolina (NC), Oklahoma (OK), South Carolina (SC), Tennessee (TN), Texas (TX), and Virginia (VA). A stickler might object to including CO and IN, but the work there is relatively strong, and I chose in this instance at least to be inclusive.

State Officers: Of the sixteen newly elected presidents, eight are moderates or at least were supported by moderates against conservatives (in AL, KY, LA, MS, MO, NC, TX, & VA); the other eight are conservatives. First vice presidents include five moderates (KY, LA, NC, TX, & VA) and eleven conservatives. Second vice presidents also number five moderates (LA, MO, NC, TX, & VA), eleven conservatives. Pastor conference officers are also an indicator. Of course, here in Virginia we have two separate meetings, so the total list is reduced to fifteen. Of those, only two pastors conferences elected moderate officers (MS & TX). The rest all chose conservative officers.

Probably the biggest disappointment for conservatives came in LA where David Hankins, immediate past chairman of the SBC executive committee, lost his bid for state president. Reports are that the initiative was left to the moderate candidate during the campaign. Mississippi saw the first ever effort by conservatives to elect a state president. Though he lost, he received 45% of the vote and conservatives won both vice presidential positions. Mississippi conservatives are greatly encouraged.

The Florida results may confuse some observers. They could be taken to be a conservative defeat, for the slate proposed by several state conservative leaders was defeated. On the other hand, the men who were elected as state president and vice-presidents are just as conservative as the "official slate." Consequently Florida may be seen as a "post-controversy" state: one where the controversy has been definitively settled; where though – of course – moderate pastors and churches remain, everyone understands conservatives have won; and where it is no longer necessary to coalesce around one set of candidates. Thus the Florida pattern may be understood as a reflection of conservative strength, not weakness. If you believe moderate propaganda that the controversy is only a political power grab, this interpretation will not be acceptable. But if you understand that the true issues have been theological (as even leading moderate/ liberal leaders Cecil Sherman and Nancy Tatum Ammerman acknowledge), this conclusion makes sense.

A glance at the parenthetical lists of those states that elected moderate presidents and vice presidents in the fourth paragraph of this article quickly shows which states present the most problems for conservatives: the most intransigent problems are Virginia, Texas, and North Carolina. Second tier problems are Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi. And conservatives face lesser problems in Alabama and Missouri. (The remainder of the article does not include actions in the Virginia convention because they were reported in the previous Banner.)

Cooperative Program Support: A number of states increased CP support percentages. Naturally most are new work areas which are gradually maturing into full-fledged convention status. Those that changed CP support and the percentage change are: Dakota +0.5% to 15% to the SBC, Hawaii +0.65% to 30.85%, Illinois +0.5% to 40.75%, Iowa +1.0% to 21%, Kansas-Nebraska -2.5% to 30% due to projected budget shortfall, Michigan +0.5% to 31.5%, Louisiana -0.25% to 35%, Nevada +0.5% to 25%, New York +0.25% to 26.25%, Penn-Jersey +0.1% to 22.6%, and West Virginia +0.5% to 28.5%.

In addition, several states passed resolutions supporting the CP as the best way for Southern Baptists to support missions: AZ, MD-DEL, MN-WI, MO, OH, OK, TN, and UT-ID.

Resolutions: Other than the CP resolutions noted just above and the usual expressions of appreciation, there were several subjects that were repeatedly addressed. Resolutions opposing gambling passed in: AL, AR, K-N, MD-DL, LA, NM, OK, and TX. The Sunday School Board's "True Love Waits" campaign was supported in AR, IL, K-N, KY, MO, Northwest, and UT-ID. Sanctity of life resolutions passed in AR, IN, LA, MN-Wl, NM, OK, SC, and UT-ID. Opposition to homosexuality was voiced by AR, CO, FL, HA, IL, MD-DL, OK, SC, UT-ID, and VA.

Other Actions: There were several other noteworthy actions. California messengers overruled a decision of the chair and refused to seat messengers from a church with a female pastor. In a close-fought vote (477-438) Kentucky defunded the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs. Missouri voted to prohibit the very liberal organization Americans United for Separation of Church and State from exhibiting at the annual meeting. Readers will recall that both the Baptist Joint Committee and Americans United are line items in the WM-2 Virginia budget track.

In summary, conservatives made definite though perhaps not dramatic gains in the 1993 state Baptist conventions. The spiritual struggle to turn the states back to adherence to the full authority of God's Word will continue, and conservatives can face that struggle with realistic optimism. We can expect the progress to be steady though extending perhaps over a number of years. But Southern Baptists should be conscious that the church has always faced similar controversy: the tension between those who do and those who do not accept the full authority of the Bible. In one form or another that contention will continue till the Lord returns. Regardless of the outcome of any particular skirmish, conservatives must: (1) praise God for the opportunity to serve Him by contending for the faith, (2) maintain a Christlike attitude of personal humility and loving spirit even while refusing to compromise on doctrinal essentials, and (3) pray daily for those who do not fully accept the inerrancy of Scripture.