November is Coming

by T. C Pinckney                                                                                    Vol. VI, No. 7, September 1993

The Baptist General Association of Virginia annual convention will meet in Richmond on Tuesday and Wednesday November 9 & 10. It will be preceded on Monday, the eighth, by the conservative sponsored Virginia Baptist Bible Conference. This article will consider the convention.

For years, decades, conservatives have been effectively shut out of decision-making by lopsided convention voting: budgets, elections, et cetera. Early on Virginia developed the well deserved reputation of being the most liberal SBC state. Sometimes it was even funny. For example, in 1985 a conservative young pastor in a western state had just received a call to a church in Virginia. Before he moved, one day he was coming out of the Baptist building in the state capitol when he met the leading liberal pastor of that state coming in. Though on opposite sides of most issues, they had a pleasant personal relationship and stopped to chat. The liberal pastor said, "I hear you're going to Virginia." "Yes, that's right," was the reply. "Well, I could never go there," responded the liberal. Surprised the conservative asked why not, and the liberal replied, "Oh, Virginia is much too liberal for me."

As a result of repeated convention defeats culminating in the biblically disastrous vote last November on homosexuality, many conservatives have become discouraged, conclude that the situation is hopeless, and simply do not attend the state convention. Following are some thoughts for you to consider as you decide whether to go this November and, if you go, how many messengers to take from your church.

First, God has been working in Virginia. Not with earthquakes, thunders, and lightnings, but slowly and surely by replacing moderate to liberal pastors with conservative ones who believe every word of the Bible. In 1985 there were only 373 identified conservative pastors in the state. Today there are 640. In 1985 there were 584 moderate to liberal Virginia pastors; now there are 554. Moreover, simultaneously, conservative laymen have been discovering the truth about what conservatives stand for and about the spiritually deadening impact on a local church and on evangelism worldwide of believing that men have the right to pick and choose what parts of the Bible to accept.

Second, today conservatives know they do not stand alone. They know they cannot be isolated but rather stand shoulder to shoulder with tens of thousands of other Bible-believing Southern Baptists all across the state. Formation of the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (SBCV) last January and adoption of the SBCV constitution on 2 September are tangible evidence of rapidly growing conservative cohesion, strength, purpose, and elan.

Third, events at the SBC level reinforce and facilitate our efforts here in Virginia. Southeastern Seminary at Wake Forest, NC, supplies just about 40% of pastors to Virginia SBC churches. It is now a thoroughly conservative, inerrantist institution whose graduates are already beginning to make a difference. Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY, provides another 20% of our pastors. Dr. Al Mohler assumed the presidency there on 1 August. In fact, seeing the handwriting on the wall, some ten faculty had left in the previous two years, and five top administrators resigned effective 31 July. Before long (perhaps two to three years) Southern also will be supplying us with dependably conservative biblical scholars. The SBC Foreign Mission Board, Home Mission Board, Christian Life Commission, Executive Committee are all headed by conservative executives and have strong conservative majorities on the trustee boards. The spiritual battle for the soul of the national SBC has been won.

Am I saying, then, that we have a sure victory in Richmond in November? Absolutely not! The potential for victory is there, but the outcome depends upon how faithful conservatives are.

Baptists make corporate decisions by vote. So it's simple: if you don't come and bring all your messengers, you can't vote. If you don't vote, we won't win. Pastors, you must engage your laymen!

Everyone understands that our local church deserves the great bulk of our time and effort. Unfortunately, not everyone under stands that as Southern Baptists we also have equally important (though not as time consuming) responsibilities to our local association, the Southern Baptist Convention, and to our state association. We know that the state convention comes every year during the first half of November. We should never schedule personal or church conflicts. We must keep that time open for the state convention.

Talk to your friends. Line up your messengers as early as possible. Arrange now for some alternates to fill in if someone gets sick at the last minute. It is not enough for just the pastor and maybe his wife to represent your church. Every authorized messenger must be there.

It is important to remind ourselves that we are not interested in fighting for the sake of fighting. We do not strive to win votes for power, or status, or influence. Rather we come to the battle as faithful soldiers because our hearts are heavy for souls who die for eternity because they are not being fed on the whole Word. We work for the honor of our God whose Word is debased by those who consider and call parts of it "myth, saga, and legend."

And finally, we must remember that not everyone comes to an understanding of the importance of biblical inerrancy at the same rate or at the same time. There are pastors and laymen who have consistently voted with the liberal control clique but for whom the light will dawn. As long as their change is sincere, we must stand ready to welcome them with open arms and hearts. Soldiers engaged in a desperate battle do not resent reinforcements or shun them because they were not on hand for the opening rounds of the battle; rather, they welcome them wholeheartedly and with thanksgiving.

We are called to stand firmly, frankly, forthrightly on God's infallible Word and for His honor. We are also called to do so with restoration and redemption conveyed in a spirit of love as our first priority. But we must give equal weight to the truth that genuine love is willing to risk confrontation in God's name and for His cause.

Come to the state convention in November. Bring all your messengers. Pray that the Holy Spirit will motivate every conservative church to send its full complement. Encourage your fellow pastors to do the same.