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Reactions
to revised BF&M from North Carolina Editor's Note: Excerpts printed from Biblical Recorder: Journal of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina North Carolina Baptist churches are responding in various ways to revisions to the Southern Baptist Convention's (SBC) Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M). Most reactions have been predictable with conservative/fundamentalist churches applauding the changes and moderate churches challenging them. But not all reaction follows theological lines. At least one prominent conservative pastor has spoken publicly against one of the changes. Joe B. Brown, pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte and husband of Baptist State Convention 2nd Vice President Teresa Brown, spoke on the issue of women preachers in the church's evening service June 18. The message can be heard over Hickory Grove's Web site at: www.hgbc.org/Sermons.asp. Brown said the Bible does not say for women to "shut up." "If you say women can't preach, you've got a problem," he said. "You've got a problem with Scripture." Brown explained how women "prophesied" or preached in the Old Testament and New Testament. He said the Bible teaches that in Christ there is neither male nor female. "What God wants us to do is quit putting people in categories," he said. Brown said he knows some people say that Jesus only called men as disciples. "If you take that kind of test, then you'll say the only people that have authority in the kingdom of God then must be Jewish, Caucasian men," he said. "I don't think that'll float anywhere. "You can use this Bible to beat people or you can use this Bible to encourage people," he said. "I believe we should use it to encourage people. A western N.C. church with a pastor who preaches only from the King James Version of the Bible decided to stop sending money to the SBC because of the revisions. Charles Dean, pastor of East Sylva Baptist Church in Sylva, said his church voted to move its gifts to the Cooperative Program to Plan C, which forwards no money to the SBC. "We said we'd prefer to be known as an old-time missionary Baptist church," he said. "We didn't leave the SBC. They left us." The motion to change giving plans passed with only one dissenting vote, Dean said. About 250 people attended the meeting, he said. "I'll bow down to King Jesus, but I will never bow down to King James," he said. September 2000 |