From the Pastor's desk, Part II

                                                                                                                    Vol. XIV, No. 2, February 2001

Part 1 of this reprint

[Introduction: Last month we reprinted the first part of this article by Pastor Donald R. Joyner, Matoaca BC, in which he presented through the Messenger, Matoaca's newsletter, where he believes God is leading Matoaca as to state alignment. Because every church must make this decision, the subject is of high interest and this second segment should be read carefully by every Virginia Baptist. TCP]

In last month's Messenger I presented to you my perspective on where I believe God is leading us as a church in regard to our State alignment. ("Alignment" is a term that refers to, among other things, [a] who we send our mission contributions to, [b] whom we associate ourselves with theologically (we are not, for example, aligned with Catholic or Presbyterian churches due to the differences we perceive between us), [c] whom we allow to "speak for us" on a state wide scale, and [d] those we look to for leadership and resources outside of our local congregation.) As those who have been paying close attention realize, I am in favor of immediately dropping all association with the "moderate" Baptist General Association of Virginia and uniquely associating ourselves with the "conservative" Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia. I encourage you to re-read the October and November Messengers to see some of the reasons that exist for this position.

As we met in Business Session last month we had a brief time to discuss this issue and one of our members made some excellent points in favor of delaying the final vote. As I write these words, it is my understanding that we will meet on the third Wednesday night in January to have a full discussion of this issue and then vote by ballot following worship the next Sunday (watch your bulletins for final plans). It is my hope to use this space next month and ANY other times (other than worship) to answer questions you may have. The LAST thing I desire is that we make a decision when you are not as informed as you would like to be. I have witnessed too many church members defend their allegiance to one position or another and then discover later to their shock that they really did not fully understand what (or perhaps who) they were defending. I will never forget the reaction my wife had to her first and last --- she refused to go back--- BGAV annual meeting. This is not a direct quote but the flavor of her comments to me were "we are a part of that?"

The reason for her discomfort centered around two issues [there were others]. First was the way in which conservatives who attempted to discuss issues were treated by the convention. The blatant disrespect and thinly disguised contempt were very offensive to both of us. Second was the fact that the conclusions reached on moral stands were based on what the majority "felt" was correct rather than on what God's Word said. In a similar vein my dad used to question me closely every time he saw me during my seminary years. He was surprised and disappointed by the manner in which his tithes had been used to support seminaries that were teaching future pastors to distrust the Bible and instead rely on academic study texts to determine what was true in the Bible and what we were able to safely ignore or change. I believe that he would tell you today that he holds a VERY different view of the BGAV than he used to.

On to the questions . . .

"We have always been apart of the BGAV. Why should we leave them now?" This is an overused reply but it is accurate .... we never moved. I guarantee you that if you asked the pastor of this church in 1860 whether or not the Bible was inerrant, he would answer yes. What happened was that the study of theology and what pastors were taught changed radically in the years following World War One. As the men who led both the SBC and the BGAV starting (approximately) in the 1950's received their training, they were taught what we describe as "moderate" theology. It was, therefore, natural that they would lead in the direction they had been taught. Praise the Lord that there has been a return to His Word and Will in the national convention. This has not happened in the BGAV. The fact is that we are NOT "leaving". Rather we are simply acknowledging the fact that they have abandoned allegiance to the God revealed to us in His perfect Word.

"What happens if we change our mind in a few years?"

If (and God is still in the miracle business) God produces such a change in what we call the BGAV that we wish to return, we would simply request membership. If the BGAV had arrived at that place I will guarantee you that I will be first in line calling for the merger of the two State conventions. Personally I believe that this is extremely unlikely.

"What is all the fuss about anyway?"

Put simply, the Bible. I believe that, when one is a mature Christian, one voluntarily submits to the

authority of God in their life. Because I believe that the Bible is the Word of God, when the Bible speaks I obey. I would argue that the definition of a moderate is that they will obey what they perceive the intent of Scripture to be. In other words... "because Jesus told parables then we can choose to see other `stories' in Scripture as {meaningful} fiction and not be bound by them."

"I don't want to see us fight over this. "

Neither do I, and that is why we are making every effort to approach this issue in a gentle, Christ like manner. It would have been very easy, for me to "ram through" the vote at our last business meeting in the fashion described for that BGAV meeting I mentioned earlier. We will NEVER function that way in a church I pastor.

"I don't feel like I know enough to make a change. "

Please, please, please ... attend Prayer Meeting in the coming weeks and ask questions. Ask me questions and look here next month for the answers. Speak to those who hold strong positions. (I know of more than one in the church who feels VERY strongly about the issue on each side). Most importantly -- pray and pray some more having decided that you will follow God's will wherever He leads.