Atlanta: Insights and Sidelights
Vol. III, No. 6, September 1990
Some 3,000 disgruntled Southern Baptist moderates and liberals met in Atlanta 23-25 August to consider their next steps. In light of the massive effort they made to elect a compliant president in New Orleans, the 57.68% majority vote for Morris Chapman was doubly crushing. Consistently defeated in twelve straight SBC Conventions, they now seem to agree that there is no way to reestablish their dominance through SBC constitutional means, i.e., by majority vote.
Dr. Dan Vestal suggested the Atlanta meeting, and an earlier gathering in Dallas formulated an agenda: (1) set up a funding mechanism outside the SBC Cooperative Program; (2) draw up an interim budget; (3) develop a structure for the new fellowship; and (4) create an executive committee to plan a follow-on convention for next spring.
That program was largely fulfilled. The funding mechanism, Baptist Cooperative Missions Program, Inc., was created along with a board of trustees and is to be in operation by 1 October. No distribution plan seems to have been approved, that decision apparently being held over to another meeting in the spring.
A. major first step toward the third goal, developing a structure, was made when a 60 member Steering Committee was elected. Four Virginians are members: Rev. Ray Allen, Blacksburg Baptist Church; Rev. Paula Dempsey, Oak Chapel Baptist Church; Rev. Ray Spence, Second Baptist Church, Richmond, current BGAV President; and Jean Woodward, immediate past BGAV President. The Steering Committee is charged with several responsibilities including: plan the spring convention, propose a distribution plan for funds received, develop a mission statement and operating documents, evaluate strategies, and develop a process for choosing a permanent Steering Committee to be elected at the spring convocation.
The most immediate question for both liberals and conservatives is, is this a new denomination? Here are some quotes from those who were in Atlanta. Judge for yourself. The 26 Aug. Atlanta Constitution says, "The Rev. Vestal refused to characterize the three day meeting of moderates ... as the beginning of a new denomination, referring to it as part of a 'renewal movement'... But he cited past renewal movements, such as the Protestant Reformation and the Wesleyan Revival, and said he is aware that such movements often result in 'new institutions and new organizations."'
The Atlanta Constitution of 26 Aug. also quoted Jack Harwell, editor of the liberal paper SBC Today, "The energy and excitement I have felt this week is going to go some place. Logic tells you its going to be another convention." Furthermore, in a conversation with well-known conservative Georgia layman Lee Roberts, Harwell stated, "I am an organizer of this meeting, and this is definitely a new convention. There is no doubt about it. We will be fully operable within three years."
Rev. Ron Stone, Tabernacle Baptist Church, Carrollton, GA, "We are gone. Anyone can figure that out." Rev. Steve Winkens, Crescent Hill Church, Louisville, KY, "We don't want to be dishonest with Southern Baptists. We need to be honest – as long as the fundies are in control – we must say if we are starting a new convention."
The alternative funding program was another major area of interest. Having established the BCMP, Inc., there was uncertainty as to just how it would operate. Ideally they seemed to feel churches would designate gifts through the state conventions to the BCMP. But they also were clear that churches and individuals could send funds directly to the BCMP and by-pass the state and/or local church. (If such an approach became popular, state conventions would suffer drastically and local churches only slightly less.) The funding discussion made it plain that not all funds received would go to SBC agencies. One might speculate that in order to sucker in the naive, at first the great majority of money will be sent to the FMB and HMB, but gradually more and more will go to (1) the splinter organization's own expenses and (2) non-SBC agencies.
For frankness, the prize was won by an unidentified gentleman from First Church, High Point, NC, in a workshop discussion who said, "We moderates want power! The only way to get power is by controlling the money. And we don't want to give any more money to Paul Pressler."
Along this same line, in one of the workshops Ed Bridges from Conyers, GA, said, "I was at a meeting here in Georgia earlier this year. Dan Vestal spoke to us and told us that he wants this group to have representation on the SBC Executive Committee and that if they agree to give us seats on the Executive Committee, he will give the Executive Committee some of this money." Perhaps Dr. Vestal and Mr. Bridges believe we should just scrap the SBC constitution and put trustee positions up for auction to the highest bidder?
In summing up, we can do no better than to quote excerpts from an editorial by Al Mohler, editor of the Georgia state Baptist paper, The Christian Index. "The meeting was the first step toward formal schism, a fracturing of the SBC.... By the end of the consultation the outlines of a new denomination were evident to all who would see.... What does this mean for the SBC? ... First,...loyalty to denominational structures and the Cooperative Program has finally been broken among many in the moderate movement. Second, though the attendance at the consultation was impressive [some 3,000], no one knows how many churches were represented. [Note: best estimate: about 500 senior pastors attended.] ... How many churches will move outside the Cooperative Program after 65 years of sacrificial support? Third, the group meeting in Atlanta is clearly ready to move ... to a more ambitious agenda in coming months. Fourth, state conventions and the SBC will now enter a dangerous period of budgetary uncertainty. Fifth, the SBC conflict will now become a part of congregational life in many churches .... Many moderate churches will find their own membership divided over how missions giving should be directed."
In conclusion, there seems to be no doubt that the Atlanta meeting initiated a new denomination. The remaining questions are how fast the process will proceed, how many churches and individuals will choose to go with the new group, and how much damage the moderates and liberals will cause to state conventions, local churches, individual Baptists, and most importantly the Cooperative Program. The next round of answers we are likely to get will be from initiatives at the state conventions in November. The second round probably will come in the spring at the "Fellowship's" convocation.