MO: Liberal Backlash, Conservatives Steadfast

by T. C. Pinckney                                                                                       Vol. XV, No. 7, August 2002

from Baptist Press reports

Baptist polity in which each level of SBC life – the national SBC, state conventions, local associations, and the local church – are all autonomous (that is, controlling themselves, making their own decisions independently) often makes Baptist affairs hard to pin down, like trying to grasp the proverbial handful of Jello. Yet at the national level both liberals and conservatives agree that conservatives have won.

Oh, issues will continue to be debated, i.e., the current liberal criticism of the International Mission Board’s request of our foreign missionaries to agree in writing with the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message. But like the IMB/BFM contretemps, such matters seem merely to be liberal attempts to embarrass the SBC leadership in order to convince a few more churches and individual Baptists to support the CBF.

The real struggle today has moved to the state conventions. In some, such as Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Oklahoma, and South Carolina, conservatives are definitely in the ascendant. In two, Virginia and Texas, there are two state conventions, one steadily moving away from the SBC and becoming increasingly liberal, one solidly conservative and loyal to the SBC. In some other states the question is in various stages of being determined. Missouri is going through the final, climactic phase of the process.

In MO conservatives have won at the last five annual state conventions, and consequently the trustee boards of the several state entities have become increasingly conservative, replacing previously solid liberal boards. Last year, after four conservative victories, liberals apparently decided to act while they still had majorities on at least some state entity boards. Prior to the October 2001 state convention, the boards of five MO entities (Windermere Baptist Conference Center, the Missouri Baptist Foundation, The Baptist Home, Missouri Baptist College, and the 106 year-old Word & Way newsjournal) voted unilaterally to select their own successors. Previously in accord with governing legal documents, trustees had been elected by the state convention. Collectively the five institutions are said to be worth almost $100 million.

MO liberals have organized a breakaway state convention, the Baptist General Convention of Missouri from which the SBC has refused to accept funds. To date less than 20 of Missouri’s nearly 2,000 churches have publically declared a switch of affiliation to the CBF and BGCM.

Last November state messengers voted overwhelmingly to escrow approximately $2 million in 2002 CP funds appropriated for the five entities after their trustees refused to rescind their actions.

Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC, the long-standing and now conservative state convention) officers offered to meet with the liberal leaders for discussions and even to submit the dispute to arbitration by persons jointly chosen, but the liberals have refused all offers.

The MBC board has received three separate and independent opinions from different law firms that the five entities broke Missouri corporate law when they voted to become self-perpetuating. Lawyers for the liberal trustees dispute those opinions.

On 9 July 2002 the MBC executive board voted 31 - 15 to eliminate the five entities from the 2003 budget, stripping them of the $953,750 earmarked for them and allocating the funds to other MBC organizations. Of course, the amended budget must still be approved by messengers in October.

At the state convention last November messengers also voted 3 to 1 to give the executive board authority to seek legal remedies, if necessary, to restore the historic state relationship with the five entities. The 9 July executive board meeting also voted to prohibit the entities from having exhibit space at this year’s October state convention and not to accept advertisements in the Daily Bulleting and Book of Reports.

Kenny Qualls, MBC first vice president and pastor of Springhill Baptist Church in Springfield, said, “My heart is broken over this, but my heart is steadfast that this is what we need to do. We are not initiating action. We are responding as a convention to the actions of the five institutions who voted to become self-perpetuating.”