State Wrap 2004: Kentucky Sweep!

by T. C. Pinckney                                                                                    Vol. XVIII, No. 9, January 2005

Four Focus States

Kentucky has long frustrated conservatives, but no more. The most dramatic development this year is the conservative sweep of the KY state convention. Hershael York, professor of preaching at Southern Seminary and pastor of Buck Run BC, Frankfort was elected 686-627 over a moderate. Also, conservatives were elected 1VP & 2VP by votes of 645-591 and 377-231 respectively.

One can see by the ballot totals that the state is still closely divided, but nevertheless a decided shift has taken place. The younger pastors are more conservative. Liberals are aging and moving along. Graduates of Southern Seminary in Louisville are being called to increasing numbers of KY pulpits. Interestingly, in each of the three elections the younger candidate won.

A Barna Research Group study found that 32% of the KY population is unchurched and that of those unchurched, 81% previously attended church. Further, of those adults who previously attended church but no longer do so, 42% previously went to Baptist churches. Barna’s conclusion: “It’s a failure of discipleship.” All of us, whether in KY or not, should carefully consider the implications of this study.

Another good development in KY: Messengers rejected a constitutional amendment to permit affiliated colleges have up to one-fourth their trustees be non-Baptists. And yet another positive: They also rejected a proposal from the state mission board that a committee be established to study “how the Kentucky Baptist Convention may relate to the Baptist World Alliance.” The vote was 510-444.

Mississippi: Just so we don’t get over-confident, consider MS which continues to be perhaps the single greatest problem state for SBC conservatives. MS lies between AL and LA where conservatives continue to make good progress (see State Roster below), but it remains adamantly different. The problem continues to be the Baptist Building leadership rather than CBF activity. The re-elected president is reportedly a theological conservative but one who simply follows the Baptist Building’s lead. The 2VP is considered liberal.

Messengers passed a motion to “reaffirm their historical position that the Word of God is our standard of faith and practice, and recognize that the Baptist Faith and Message can serve as a guide for understanding and teaching Baptist doctrine.” Nice sounding words, but the real purpose, obviously, is to avoid endorsing the BFM 2000.

Apparently there are lots of theologically conservative pastors without the insight or backbone to stand firm in the face of liberal opposition. Consequently, MS continues to move more moderate.

North Carolina: This was a relatively quiet year in NC as all three officers were re-elected by acclamation. The most publicized bone of contention was a motion by Ted Stone to eliminate three of the four BSCNC giving plans leaving only the one under which all the out of state money goes to the SBC: Plan A sends 35% to the SBC CP. Plan B sends only 10% to SBC. Plan C is like B except that the 10% goes to CBF. And in Plan D, the BSCNC keeps 50%, 32% goes to the SBC, and the other 18% to Fruitland Bible Institute, church planting, and missions partnerships. Stone’s motion failed on a show of hands.

The 2005 state meeting promises to be extremely important. All three officer positions will be open, and it seems likely that another attempt will be made to deal with the BSCNC giving plans.

In summary, things could have gone better this year, but they certainly could have gone much worse. Reportedly conservatives have filled about 60% of the General Board seats in 2004 and will probably move up to 80% in 2005. Boards of the colleges and of the state newspaper, The Biblical Recorder, still do not have conservative majorities, Hopefully, that will come. Conservative Southeastern graduates are being called to pastorates and are having a growing impact.

Tennessee: As we noted last year, Tennessee remains a problem for conservatives. The major roadblock is that TN is the only state convention where the president has no appointive power. In TN the Committee on Committees selects nominees to serve on the Committee on Nominations, and the Committee on Nominations selects nominees to be on the Committee on Committees. Thus, once one group gets a majority on both committees, they can be self-perpetuating.

This year saw the first of two votes required to give the state president a “voice and vote” on all convention committees. But this is simply a token move. What is needed is a constitutional amendment to give the president power to select nominees to sit on the Committee on Committees.

The divided nature of Baptist matters in TN is personified in the three presidential officers: the president is reputedly a theological conservative, but not a movement conservative. The 1VP is conservative both ways. And the 2VP is liberal.

Perhaps the most significant thing at this convention was passage of a motion that the state education committee in conjunction with the schools’ trustee boards “investigate and study the theological teachings of Carson-Newman College, Belmont University and Union University “, report to the Executive Board which will in turn report the findings to the November 2005 annual meeting. The results and reactions of the three schools should prove very interesting.

State Budgets

Souls are infinitely more important than budgets, but budgets are important in showing where our emphasis lies and whether we are more interested in evangelizing than in bigger buildings. So let’s take a look at states’ budget decisions for 2005.

There are 41 state Baptist conventions affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. One bit of encouragement is that 29 of them raised their budgets for the coming year. Increases varied from MD-DE’s 0.4% to NV’s 10.4%, with most increases falling between two and six percent. Five states reduced their budgets, and five remained the same. One of the latter was NC which is beginning the second year of a two-year budget so that the budget could not be changed this year.

One cautionary note: Budget increases are in dollar amounts. However, studies show that while churches consistently give more dollars to the Cooperative Program, the percent of undesignated church receipts donated to the CP has been falling steadily. If this trend continues, inevitably dollar support for our foreign and home missionaries and our seminaries will fall. Please encourage your church to increase the percentage of undesignated receipts given to the CP.

Six states raised the percentage sent to the SBC CP: KN, LA, NV, NY each increased their amounts by 0.25%, PA-SJersey +0.1%, and TX-SBTC by 1.0% to 53%. The SBTC has a goal of giving 55% of all undesignated receipts to the SBC and has raised their percentage one percent in each of the last three years.

VA-SBCV gives 50%, GA 50% after deducting “shared responsibilities” and contributions to ministers’ retirements. Seven other states contribute between 40% and 50%: AL, AR, FL, IL, MD-DE, OH, SC. Fourteen give between 30% and 40%: AK, HW, IN, KN, KY, LA, MI, MO, MS, NM, NW (Northwest), OK, TN, WV. Ten contribute between 20% and 30%: AZ, CA, CO, IA, MT, NE (New England), NV, NY, PA-SJ, and UT-ID. Three states send between 10% and 20%: DK, MN-WS, and TX-BGCT. Only one state contributes less than 10% to the Cooperative Program, the Baptist General Association of Virginia which for 2005 cut its CP giving in the WM-2 giving track even further to 6.77%.

Resolution Run Down

Fifteen states passed resolutions affirming traditional marriage, including a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman: AL, AR, CA, DK, FL, IN, KY, LA, MO, MS, NC, OH, OK, UT-ID, VA-SBCV. And seven more resolutions addressed the sanctity of life, several focussing on ending embryonic stem cell research because it kills a child: AR, LA, MO, NM, OH, OK, TX-SBTC.

Nine states expressed support for our military, veterans, military chaplains, or encouraged prayer for a successful and timely end to war: AL, AZ, IL, MO, NM, OH, OK, TX-SBTC, VA-SBCV. Plus three resolutions asked for prayer for our nation and our leaders: AZ, OK, NM.

Seven resolutions addressed the need for revival in America and/or winning souls: AZ, MS, MN-WS (2), NM, OK, TX-SBTC.

Six states opposed gambling or its expansion: AR, KY, MO, OH, OK, SC.

Five states passed resolutions dealing with some aspect of schooling: AL, FL, MO, SC, TX-SBTC. And VA-SBCV opposed the secularization of our culture.

Four resolutions encouraged Baptists to vote: DK, KN, MN-WS, and TX-SBTC. No other topic garnered more than one resolution.

State Roster

Remember that in the following summaries the terms “conservative”, “moderate”, and “liberal” refer to the individual’s denominational stance, not necessarily his theology. Someone who is theologically conservative may cooperate with liberals organizationally.

AL: All three officers are conservatives who were supported by the Alabama Conservative Network. A motion to move $30,000 from the SBC to the BWA received only about 25 votes out of more than 1,000 messengers present. CBF is present but marginal.

AK: Alaska is a small state convention with some 74 churches and 20 missions. As noted last year, it is largely “go along & get along”. Divorced pastors are accepted.

AZ: All three officers are conservatives with the president solid. Very little, if any, CBF activity.

AR: All officers are strong conservatives and all were re-elected by acclamation. A resolution expressing gratitude for the 25^th anniversary of the conservative resurgence drew an amendment attempt. A messenger sought to replace one whereas clause with “that we acknowledge many God-called, theologically conservative missionaries and seminary professors have been falsely accused of liberalism and that we ask God’s forgiveness for this sin.” After discussion the amendment overwhelmingly failed. CBF fading.

CA: The state seems to be regressing to the way it was before the resurgence, and Southern Baptist witness in CA seems to be weakening. Admittedly CA is a hard, dry field. CBF is active but underground.

CO: All officers conservative with both the president and 1VP actively so. No known CBF presence. CO remains a solidly conservative state.

DC: The DCBC has major problems. It is the only state convention triply aligned (SBC, American Baptist Convention, and Progressive National Baptist Convention). Effective 30 June 2003 NAMB stopped providing DCBC with $475,000 each year because of theological differences. That was one-third of the DCBC budget. Of 147 aligned churches, 43 contributed nothing in the last year, and in spite of efforts to cut expenditures, the 2004 shortfall will be c. $37,000. Last year DCBC adopted an amendment requiring a church contribution of $500 per year for convention membership. In the last three years 37 churches increased giving, 30 reduced, and 10 kept same level.

FL: The president is a strong conservative; the two VPs unknowns. A dependably conservative state. Voted to support a state-wide constitutional marriage amendment. Also affirmed a motion calling for the FBC to continue to cooperate with the Southern Baptist Association of Christian Schools, asking the state convention to “find ways to strengthen and support Christian schools and home schooling among the churches “ of the convention.

GA: Another strongly conservative state. Re-elected a solid conservative as president. Messengers overwhelmingly defeated a motion to add a budget line item to give the BWA $30,000. Welcomed 72 new churches and missions: 42 new works of which 20 were ethnic starts; 28 of the total are previously existing churches that voted to affiliate.

HW: President & 1VP strong conservatives. 2VP unknown. Hawaii is removed from the denominational struggle. Reportedly there is considerable complacency and most churches are not growing. Unfortunately this lack of daily commitment to evangelism is not restricted to Hawaii but is common throughout our convention. We must rekindle a fire for souls.

IL: Re-elected moderate president and strong conservative VP. Approved reduction in state board from 72 members to 33.

IN: Continues its conservative course. Concluded mission partnerships with FL Baptists and Ukraine.

IA: There are just 96 SBC churches and missions in Iowa. CBF only has one or two churches. A new work state, which has accepted the BFM 2000 but knows little of the tensions surrounding the resurgence.

KN: Another new work state. Both officers theologically conservative. Only one CBF church whose pastor came c. ten years ago and has since dwindled to 60-70 members. Liberal Central Seminary is having major problems.

KY: See the discussion of KY under the “Four Focus States” section.

LA: Conservatives consolidating their position. All officers are conservative, all elected by acclamation. Welcomed David Hankins as new state executive director effective the end of January. Elected 5 or 6 more conservatives to the Louisiana College board.

MD-DE: President is unknown; both VPs conservative. Little change from last year when we noted that the larger churches are moderate, the smaller churches more numerous and conservative.

MI: Michigan is a conservative state but there is little denominational participation. A number of the churches are ethnic with divided affiliations. No known CBF. Messengers made three good changes to the state constitution and bylaws: put the BFM 2000 in the constitution, amended the constitution to require that all officers must have been members of their churches for at least one year and that church must give at least 5% of undesignated receipts to the CP, and changed the bylaws to limit family members serving on the state executive committee.

MN-WS: Another new work state, about 160 churches. No CBF. Officers unknown. Welcomed a new state executive director.

MO: A thoroughly conservative state convention. Liberals formed their own convention which is not recognized by the SBC. All officers conservatives. CBF churches are pursuing relationships with the national CBF or TX-BGCT. Messengers soundly defeated a motion “to immediately drop the legal actions” against the five breakaway institutions which unilaterally amended their charters to make their trustee boards self-perpetuating.

MS: See MS in the ‘Four Focus States” section.

MT: 130 churches and missions. No changes over the last year: still no CBF; state very conservative. Adopted new bylaws and articles of incorporation to mark move from fellowship to state convention status.

NV: President solid conservative. Other officers unknowns. No known CBF presence.

NE: The president and VP of New England are solid conservatives. The New Hampshire director of missions is a Southeastern Seminary graduate recommended by conservatives.

NM: President and 1VP are conservatives; 2VP is unknown. An important change is approaching as the current state executive director retiring in March. Only one known CBF church.

NY: One of the most conservative state conventions and growing more so. And the new state executive director is also strongly conservative. All officers are solid conservatives.

NC: See the “Four Focus States” section.

NW: President and 1VP very conservative. 2VP unknown. Very conservative states though not focussed on the political struggle. Seeking a new executive director.

OH: 558 churches & 74 missions including 32 starts. All three officers are quite conservative.

OK: All officers conservative. One of our most conservative states. Which is not to claim an absence of concerns. Five point Calvinism seems to be growing. Support for the Cooperative program is not as strong as it ought to be, which probably reflects a failure of many pastors to recognize just what a great program it is. Finally, there is a reported willingness on the part of some pastors to accept into membership folks who come from a “sprinkling” denomination without them undergoing biblical baptism.

PA-SJ: 366 churches, chapels, and Bible fellowships. No CBF activity. The two largest liberal churches have both called conservative pastors. All officers are conservative. Southeastern students coming into pastorates.

SC: Another conservative state. All officers conservative. CBF a minor factor.

TN: See “Four Focus States”.

TX-SBTC: One of our two or three most solidly state conventions. They began in 1998 with 120 churches and now have over 1,550. Another church joins roughly every two days. Awarded Joe Atchison, a retired DOM in Arkansas originally form Texas, the Paul Pressler Distinguished Service Award.

TX-BGCT: One of the SBC’s most liberal state conventions (competing for that honor with the VA-BGAV). BGCT churches fill out a state form indicating whether the church wants its “21% Worldwide” giving to go to the SBC, CBF, or to BGCT World Missions Initiatives.” Thus, the most the SBC might receive from the BGCT is 21% of CP giving, the least (should every church choose CBF or TX World Missions) is zero. This November the BGCT made the BWA a permanent part of the BGCT World Missions. Now of the money that flows into that track, 5% will go to the BWA ... in direct opposition to the SBC defunding BWA.

UT-ID: Marked the 40^th anniversary of the state convention. The president is a solid conservative, 1VP non-political, and the 2VP unknown. No liberal activity. The new state evangelism director is a solid conservative.

VA-BGAV: Continues to move away from the SBC as rapidly as its leaders dare. This year the BGAV reduced the money going to the SBC in the WM-2 giving track from an already pitiful 7.05% to 6.77%. The BGAV approved seeking membership in the Baptist World Alliance from which the SBC withdrew because the BWA is so liberal. Moreover, the BGAV raised its contribution to the BWA from $90,000 to $150,000 with most of that increase coming from reducing funds going to the SBC International Missions Board. The BGAV will now give more to the BWA than any of its 211 member bodies.

VA-SBCV: See Nov/Dec Baptist Banner.

WV: Approximately 160 church & 20 missions. Baptisms increased 16% last year, a very encouraging fact demonstrating the biblically conservative commitment of many WV Baptists. Currently the state is seeking inputs as the staff studies the future of the WV convention.

WY: A new work state where denominational issues get little or no attention. About 90 churches & missions. Most pastors in the state are quite conservatives.