Conservative Meeting in Bassett Well Attended

by   Rodney Houston, pastor, Chatmoss BC, Martinsville,                                                                         Vol. X, No. 3, March 1997

           More than 250 people attended a regional conservative meeting at First Baptist, Bassett, on 3 February, for a time of worship, encouragement, and information. Keynote speaker, Dr. Paige Patterson, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, reported on the school and brought a challenging message to the churches. The two-hour meeting was attended by folks from Martinsville, Bassett, Danville, Roanoke, and surrounding areas. Fontaine BC, Martinsville, provided inspirational music including congregational hymns and specials by the church choir.

           SBCV Executive Director, Doyle Chauncey, reported on the SBCV and requested prayer for our new state convention. Chauncey said, “We want to build the SBCV not on the paradigm of the past, not to perpetuate the past, but to build the SBCV in a way that God can use it in a very unique and special way in the twenty-first century.”

           Noting that the 1997 SBCV budget is $774,000, Chauncey reported that in the last four months churches have contributed $354,000 for Lottie Moon and $443,700 to the Cooperative Program. He said this far exceeds our expectations and that at this rate contributions will easily surpass $1,000,000 this year. He also reported on the churches cooperating with the SBCV: as of 3 February 63 Virginia churches are aligned exclusively with the SBCV, 33 are dually aligned with the SBCV and the BGAV, and 30 more are contributing to the SBCV but have not formally aligned. He noted that on 3 February, the day of the Bassett meeting, two more churches had joined the SBCV.

           Chauncey said that the immediate SBCV vision is for starting new churches in Virginia, 1000 in the next ten years, as well as strengthening existing churches. He stated that we are working with the Home Mission Board and Southeastern and Southern seminaries to help us with the task. Chauncey challenged 100 conservative churches to each plant one church in a year. He also reported that the SBCV is working with the Foreign Mission Board to build a badly needed chapel in Romania July 21-August 1, 1997. Pastors and staff can be at ease regarding their annuities because the contract signed with the Annuity Board was in full effect 1 January.

           Southeastern Seminary President Paige Patterson was full of excitement as he spoke of the work that God is accomplishing at the school. He said it was rumored 4½ years ago that a group of country bumpkins would soon fall off a turnip truck in Wake Forest and take over Southeastern and that it would not be long before the seminary would be “dumbed down.” At that time Southeastern was on probation with both it’s accrediting agencies, a million dollars in debt, and its enrollment had dropped from 1200 to 488 students. Patterson said that within a year the accreditation probation has been removed and the school was debt-free. This year’s enrollment is at an all-time high of 1450 students. The audience responded with enthusiastic applause.

           Patterson also spoke of improvements in the Master of Divinity program. The proportion of required courses has been increased from 1/3 to 2/3. He claimed that “We probably teach more liberalism than most liberal institutions, but then we show why ‘that dog won’t hunt’ and then teach the biblical principles of evangelism and missions.” Required courses now include both Hebrew and Greek, preaching, evangelism, and every MDIV student is required to help start a church on foreign soil to graduate. He spoke with great zeal of a new MDIV degree in Church Planting. Students will spend the last two years of their degree work on a foreign mission field starting new churches. Professors go to the mission field three times a year and set up a central location to teach the students. A unique agreement has been worked out to accept the students’ two years in the field as sufficient for the two years practical experience required for appointment by the FMB. This means Southeastern students can be appointed by the FMB immediately after graduation. Southeastern students are presently on the mission field in Kenya and China, and groups are preparing to go to Indonesia. A doctor of philosophy program has also been recently added at the seminary.

           In another portion of the program Patterson preached from Revelation 3 concerning lukewarm churches. He said Christ is on the outside wanting to get back in many churches. He noted that 85% of mainline protestant churches are plateaued or declining, mainly because they are not Christ’s churches. People think the churches belong to them as verified by the discussions at business meetings where people express their opinions. Patterson said we never have the right to express our opinion in the church; instead we should express what we believe the Holy Spirit is saying to His church.

           Patterson also mentioned that conservatives in other states are watching Virginia very closely. He said, “I have spoken in fifteen states in the last thirty days. [There is] not a single one of them that has not asked what the SBCV is doing in Virginia. How are they getting along? People are praying for you and watching with great interest. One state is giving consideration to doing what you have done.”