A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE: WARNING: TEXAS IN DANGER!
By David R. Currie,
Coordinator

The theme of the Mary Hill Davis Offering for State Missions is Warning: Texas in Danger! It is a proper theme. Texas has too many lost people, too much crime, too much poverty, too much illiteracy, too much drug addition, too much gambling, too much child abuse, too much family crisis and on and on. As Texas Baptists, we are called of God to make every effort to meet these needs.

The focus of the BGCT, local churches, and individual Texas Baptists needs to be on evangelism, missions, new church starts, ministries to families, strengthening local schools, ministries to the havenots and left-outs, making disciples, training a new generation of ministers and reaching lost young people and young adults through preaching and demonstrating the grace of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world and state.

Bill Pinson, our committed executive director of the BGCT, spoke at First Baptist Church, San Angelo, in August. He spoke about “Heeding the Warnings” in regard to the needs of our state. He said, “If we do not heed the warning signals of danger, we will reap destruction. We will not recognize our state in 25 years.” It was a tremendous message.

He is absolutely correct. The challenges before us can only be met with the help of God. In order for us to help we must be available, spiritually and physically, to be God’s partner in ministry.

But I want to write about another danger, a danger that is very serious and very real—the danger of fundamentalist control of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

The article on page 3 is a reprint of an article that appeared in the June 8, 1996 edition of the Dallas Morning News. In this article, Walter Carpenter, editor of the Texas Baptist, the Houston-based newspaper of the conservative lay group Baptists with a Mission, is quoted as follows: “We’re going to do everything politicians try to do to win. It’s spiritual warfare, and it’s political warfare.”

Friends, Texas Baptists face a great danger. In essence, some of our fellow Texas Baptists have “declared war” on the leaders, programs, institutions and ministries of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. I wish this were not the case, but the facts speak for themselves.

Many of us would like to ignore this “declaration of war.” It is tempting. But it would be dangerous. The same “war” was launched upon the Southern Baptist Convention in 1979. Most did not “heed the warning.” Look where the SBC is today.

I do not believe in war. As a Christian, I believe in peace. I believe all God’s creatures should cooperate together in ministry and service in the name of Christ. I also believe in Satan and the power of evil. I am aware of my own sinfulness.

In the real world, “declarations of war” do not go away if ignored. Pretending everything is all right does not make it so. Hoping it is all a bad dream does not change reality.

The fact is, in my opinion, a few of our fellow Texas Baptist brothers and sisters
in Christ have a “developmental” problem. They have an elementary faith that lends itself to fear and the result is they want to make a world where everything is black and white, right and wrong and in which they are in control. This is a real danger which we must heed. And they will do whatever it takes!

Imagine fundamentalist control of our eight Baptist universities. Picture professors who are friends of yours, or who taught you at those schools, living in fear regarding their freedom to teach. (See Faculty article, page 4.)

Imagine the BGCT, not focused on evangelism, missions, etc., but rather having to deal with a group intent on controlling all ministries and programs.

Imagine Bill Pinson, James Semple, Toby Druin, Phil Strickland, Lanny Hall and Don Newbury having to go through what Harold Bennett, Keith Parks, Al Shackleford, Foy Valentine, Russell Dilday and Roy Honeycutt had to go through.

I believe we should avoid this so-called war. But I also believe we should be good stewards of what God has given Texas Baptists and what God is doing through Texas Baptists. Our state is in grave danger. Our state needs Jesus Christ. Our state needs strong, united churches. All of this emphasis will be sidetracked, as was Bold Mission Thrust, if we refuse to “heed the warnings” regarding those with a different agenda than ministry and cooperation in Jesus’ name.

WARNING: TEXAS IN DANGER! It is true. We are in danger both from without and from within. Let’s be good stewards and defeat the danger within so we can continue to focus our main energy on the danger without—our state in need of knowing Jesus!

September 1996