Newsletter
March 1994

 

Articles By
David R. Currie, Executive Director

SOME PERSONAL REFLECTION AND SADNESS



 

My Dear Baptist brothers and sisters in Christ: You have been duly elected by your church to serve on the Pastor Search Committee.
To accuse Russell Dilday of “arrogance” and “disdain for authority” is absolutely absurd.
The other campus political correctness war - the theological and political bloodletting in the huge Southern Baptist Convention has claimed another victim.
James Hefley, fundamentalist apologist, quotes B. H. Carroll, the founder of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, in his Truth in Crisis series of books.
It is a privilege to be a part of what Texas Baptists are doing to establish the kingdom of God in the world.
Our primary purpose at Texas Baptists Committed is to support BGCT leadership opposed to fundamentalist control and yet leadership who will include all Texas Baptists, thus giving us an opportunity to remain united within the state on missions and evangelism.
The firing of Russell Dilday reaffirms the fact that the SBC is going in the opposite direction from the BGCT.
SBC president Ed Young told the SBC Executive Committee in February that the SBC should invite independent churches of “like mind and theology” to join the SBC.
George Gagliardi, well known composer, lyricist and musician from Dallas, will be the musical guest for the Convocation in San Antonio.
Jack Graham, who admits he supports the so called “conservative resurgence” broke ranks with his fellow fundamentalists and issued a statement criticizing the firing of Russell Dilday.
Providential? Maybe so. Certainly interesting.
The spiritual children of J. Frank Morris have finally succeeded in accomplishing what the old warhorse could never accomplish: the destruction of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
For those of us who are life-long Southern Baptists these days are traumatic.
We so called “moderates” have maintained throughout this SBC controversy that the Bible never was an issue for Baptists.
In 1979, the first of a string of fundamental-conservative presidents was elected to lead the Southern Baptist Convention
Texas Baptists Committed is excited to present a seminar especially for ministers entitled “Caring for the Care Giver: For Ministers Who Do Not Walk on Water.”
Texas Baptists Committed will hold its second annual convocation on June 3-4, 1994 in San Antonio. The convocation theme is “Servant Leadership.”
You are feeling a great deal of pain, frustration, and confusion right now.
One of the distinguishing characteristics of Southern Baptists used to be that we were free people.
Trustees at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary said they removed the school’s president because of mismanagement of the institution, and doctrinal and policy differences that caused gridlock between him, and trustees and Southern Baptist Convention leadership.
Wayne Allen, pastor of First Baptist Church, Carrollton, stood alone as the only Texas trustee on the Southwestern Board to support Dr. Dilday.
The TBC phones have rung constantly since the news of Russell Didlay’s firing.

DO YOU SUPPORT THE MINISTRY OF THE BGCT?

Do you believe the Bible is the inspired, authoritative Word of God, and the final authority in matters of faith and practice?

Do you believe Baptists should never have a man-made creed?

Do you believe the Bible should not be used as a political weapon?

Do you believe Texas Baptist Convention leaders are Bible-believing traditional Baptists?

Do you believe the BGCT is moving in the right direction with Mission Texas?

Do you believe the focus of the BGCT should be missions and evangelism?

Do you believe in local church autonomy?

Do you believe in the priesthood of believers?

Do you believe in the separation of church and state?

IF YOU ANSWERED “YES” TO ALL THE QUESTIONS ABOVE, YOU MUST BE A TRADITIONAL TEXAS BAPTIST, SO PLEASE JOIN TEXAS BAPTISTS COMMITTED AND STAND UP FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE.

 

INVITATION TO “fundamentalists”

We remain convinced that only about ten percent of Southern Baptists are truly hard-core, Norris-type, Fundamentalist. These are the people in control of the SBC. We want to invite fundamentalist, who now realize the issue is power, and not the Bible, to reject hardcore Fundamentalism, and come back home to traditional Baptist principles.

We would welcome you to be a part of Texas Baptists Committed.

SOUTHWESTERN’S SEARCH COMMITTEE

The Presidential Search Committee named by the trustees at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is a typical Southern Baptist Convention appointed committee. Seven members of the trustees voted not to fire Dr. Dilday. Guess how many of those seven are on the search committee? Based on our best information, NONE! Certainly you would not have expected it to be any different.

ATTENTION TEXAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY ALUMNI

If you have been wondering why Texas Baptists Committed exists, now you have your answer. Picture the president of your alma mater, fired without justification or explanation, and locked out of his office; your school’s faculty and student body in turmoil. Not a comforting image, is it?

Then please join Texas Baptists Committed. Send us the names of your alumni friends for our mailing list. Only by an organized educational effort can we keep such events from happening at our Texas Baptist institutions.

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