The Year Ahead
by T.C. Pinckney Vol. IV, No. 1, January 1991
1991 promises to be interesting and eventful for conservative Virginia Baptists, to put it in the mildest possible terms. What is bringing controversial issues to a head in the state is the refusal of moderates to accept constitutionally voted decisions of the last twelve annual SBC conventions. Rather than acquiesce in these decisions of the SBC democratic process, moderates now appear to have lost hope of winning at the national level and instead are pursuing a two-track strategy.
The first moderate track is embodied in the August meeting of "the fellowship" in Atlanta. Is the fellowship the foundation of a new denomination? The answer may depend upon whom you ask. Dan Vestal spoke in terms of possibilities. Jack Harwell said definitely yes. Al Mohler, editor of the Georgia state Baptist paper, wrote, "The meeting was the first step toward a 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." Clearly the Atlanta meeting established the organizational framework for a new convention: A new funding mechanism, Baptist Cooperative Missions Program, Inc. (note that the word "Southern" does not appear) was created, complete with a board of trustees and is now in operation. A 60 member Steering Committee was elected in Atlanta including Rev. Ray Allen, Blacksburg Church; Rev. Paula Dempsey, Oak Chapel Church; Rev. Ray Spence, Second Church, Richmond, and at that time BGAV president; and Jean Woodward, Spence's predecessor as BGAV president. In addition, a publishing house alternative to the Southern Baptist "Convention Press" and "Broadman Press" has been established in Greenville, SC. The new venture is designated Smyth and Helwys Publishing, Inc. and offered its first volume in mid-December.
The fellowship Steering Committee meets in Dallas 17-19 January, and the full group in Atlanta 9-11 May. All Southern Baptists of whatever persuasion will watch for the results of these meetings with great interest.
The second moderate track is being played out right here in Virginia, focussed upon the decision each local church must make concerning the "Virginia Plan" (VP) for budget receipts. It is interesting to note how two of Virginia's secular press religion reporters characterize the state budget action. Marjorie Mayfield, The Virginia-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, wrote on 8 December, "At the [BGAV annual] meeting, the Baptist General Association of Virginia became the first state group to pass a budget of rebellion against fundamentalists controlling the SBC." Ed Briggs, religion writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, commented in a 29 December review of religious developments during 1990, "In November, Virginia Baptists fired the first shots in a grass-roots rebellion and took control of half the money that normally flows from the congregations to the national church."
Rebellion? Both these non-Southern Baptist secular writers so characterize Virginia's actions. And they are right. Having failed at the ballot box, Virginia's "moderate" leadership is now trying to force its way upon the SBC through financial pressure. Let's look at one example of the fruit of their labors, impact upon our six seminaries. Dollar figures are from page 27 of the 1990 Book of Reports given to messengers at the November BGAV meeting. In the 1990 budget SBC seminaries were slated to receive $1,193,849. In the 1991 budget (if all donations were distributed under the Virginia Plan as amended slightly on the floor of the convention) the seminaries receive only $718,073 ... a reduction of $475,776. Divide $475,776 by $1,193,849 and you will find that the VP would cut our seminaries by 39.85% between 1990 and 1991! The Foreign Mission, Home Mission, and Annuity Boards receive designated funds under the VP and would actually get slightly more dollars, but every other SBC entity is slashed, most by about 52%.
IF YOUR CHURCH DOES NOT MAKE A SPECIFIC DECISION AND SO INSTRUCT THE STATE TREASURER, YOUR MONEY WILL BECOME PART OF THE REBELLIOUS VIRGINIA PLAN! Your church has the constitutional right to vote to have its donations distributed as it sees fit.
The most immediate decision facing Virginia churches is, how will we decide to have our funds used: according to the VP or according to the SBC budget as approved by messengers voting in New Orleans last June. The most "moderate" of churches will follow the VP. Many less moderate congregations evidently object to this "budget of rebellion" and are choosing to stick with the previous (1990 and before) budget under which 65.94% was allocated to the state budget including the SBC Annuity/Protection Plan and 34.06% was sent to the SBC Cooperative Program (which means undesignated). These percentages get confusing. Last year's plan is commonly called the 62/38 plan because after $660,000 is deducted for the Annuity/Protection Plan, 62% of the remaining donations go to the State budget, 38% to the SBC undesignated. Of the total collections, however, only 34.06% goes to the SBC.
Other churches see a need to defend the integrity of the Cooperative Program by balancing off the impact of the VP. Consequently, these churches are deciding to send more to the SBC and less to the state. Some have reversed last year's percentages and specify 38% for the BGAV; 62% for the SBC undesignated. A few churches have chosen 50/50. The majority of conservative churches reporting thus far and a few moderate churches are deciding upon the conservative recommendation: 17% to the state for sections A & B of the budget, 83% to the SBC undesignated.
The 17/83 split is based on the fact that the VP only sends 17.03% to the SBC Cooperative Program and keeps 82.97% under the control of the BGAV. (That does not mean 82.97% is spent in state; instead it is either spent in Virginia or the BGAV designates it to other causes including the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, Associated Baptist Press, the HMB, and the FMB.)
Conservatives are working right now in their churches to convince members of the need to vote the best practicable plan. But 17/83 is not a litmus test. Many churches have a division of views within the body. It is not our desire or purpose to cause splits in churches. If 17/83 would cause problems, perhaps an acceptable compromise would be 50/50 or reversing last year's percentages so that the BGAV receives 38%, the SBC gets 62%.
Turning a few months further into 1991, in June of course the SBC meets in Atlanta with the Pastors Conference on Monday, the third, and the convention proper Tuesday-Thursday, 4-6 June. There will be vital decisions to be made, so conservatives should take the maximum number of messengers for which your church is qualified. Note: We must not even give the appearance of impropriety. We must not be a stumbling block to any brother. Although there is nothing in the SBC constitution or bylaws to preclude children being voting messengers, many people on both sides of the controversy object to that practice. Please follow Paul's dictum and do not take children as voting messengers. Okay, so the next question on someone's mind is, specify an age. I suggest that the youngest messenger should be 18. Granted some/many younger than that have excellent judgment, but that is not the issue here. The issue is the impression upon others at the convention. We should go the extra mile and be very careful to do nothing (short of compromising principle) to cause anger or irritation among other Baptists, or criticism of ourselves.
In November the Virginia Baptist Bible Conference will be held the afternoon and evening of Monday, 11 Nov., and the BGAV annual convention Tuesday and Wednesday, 12-13 Nov., both in Salem. Conservatives must begin to plan now to bring the maximum numbers of messengers for which each church is qualified. We have made much progress over the last three years: In 1988 we did not even nominate anyone for state office. In 1989 our nominees got only 13.0% to 18.0% of the vote, in 1990 from 26.64% to 31.33%. Of course our hope is always to win, and in God's grace we will. We just don't know when. Of two things we can be sure: the victory will come when He is ready, and it will be His, not ours.
GOAL #1: For 1991 1 believe a reasonable, attainable objective for us would be to have our candidates receive 40% to 42% of the vote. Active conservatives need to be talking to fellow church members now about the importance of going. People need time to plan schedules.
GOAL #2: Another goal is in the area of education. Our messengers to both the SBC and BGAV conventions must understand the requirement for faithfulness and commitment. Every messenger should be present at every business session. We can learn a lesson from our experience last November in Richmond. On Tuesday afternoon somewhere between 1,500 and 1,700 messengers voted for Ken Hemphill's motion on the budget. Yet Wednesday afternoon when votes for the state officers came, only 873 voted for conservative Fred Caffey for president; 700 (42%) of our people had not even stayed to vote for the president! By the time the vote for second vice president occurred, only 493 conservatives cast ballots for Malcolm Cadd: 380 more conservatives had left. But think about this: If all 1,500 (minimum) Tuesday afternoon voters had stayed, we would have elected Cadd as second vice president! Here's the math.
Houghton received 1,230 votes. If Cadd got 1,500, he would have had 54.94%! Furthermore, if we had the higher figure on Tuesday afternoon (1,700) and all had stayed to vote for officers Wednesday afternoon, we would only have missed electing the first vice president by 149 votes. Granted those are big "ifs." But the figures demonstrate that conservatives can win in Virginia. Whether we do or not depends upon our willingness (1) to get messengers to commit to come, (2) to educate messengers to the critical importance of staying to the end whether we have won any votes or not, and (3) to accept the Lord's timing and not look at the struggle with eyes of flesh.
The lesson is, Grow not weary in well-doing. Come and stick it out. Every vote is important, right up to final adjournment. Don't get discouraged. Don't retreat halfway through the battle.
GOAL #3: We must expand the readership of our conservative newsletter, The Baptist Banner. We are having good success. The early November issue went to some 1,615 addressees. The early December issue to a bit over 2,000. Our goal for 1 November 1991 is a mailing list of at least 5,000.
How do we get the names and addresses? Simple. You and people just like you send them to me (8601 Buckboard Drive; Alexandria, VA 22308). If you want to talk, the phone is 703-780-1566.) If you know conservative Southern Baptists in your church or any other church, just send in their name and address and the name of their church and the local association if you know it (not essential), and they will start receiving the Banner with the next issue. One easy way is to go through a copy of the church directory, highlight the names you want to receive the Banner, and send the directory to me. (If anyone receiving the Banner does not want to get it, just let me know and you will be dropped.) There is no subscription fee for the Banner.
That brings up another point. The Banner does cheerfully accept donations. We need to have more churches and individuals send their contributions to The Baptist Banner; 4009 Lafayette Blvd.; Fredericksburg, VA 22401. If a few more churches could put the Banner in their budgets for modest amounts, say $25 to $50 per month, we would have dependable finances and enough to fund our growth.
As you can see, 1991 promises to be a year of exciting, important decisions. We need to get more laymen involved. We need to pray harder and more faithfully. We need to seek our guidance in God's infallible Word. And we need to do our part in the battle without shirking, without leaving it to others, without leaving while the battle still goes on.