The Controversy Has Arrived at Local Churches
Many are Unhappy

The big Baptist controversy has now arrived at almost every local Texas Baptist church. Many pastors and key lay persons are unhappy about it. They did not want to have to face it. Many wanted it to go away. Many Baptists have chosen to ignore the conflict, or consider it someone else's problem.

Now, it is a problem for everyone and it has come as BGCT budget decisions. As each church decides state and worldwide giving, they are making a judgment call on matters that are controversial in Baptist life. Some are very uncomfortable. Some are anxious. Many are just upset to have to deal with these matters.

How does one explain such a response? Such a question is not just clinical. It is practical. Some of our friends in Baptist churches are confused and upset. We must face that reality before we can move forward. Many Baptists have chosen to be ignorant about the situation in the convention. We believe they would better understand if they only knew the facts, so we try to give them the facts. Well, let us hope we can get to the facts, but first we need to try to address why our fellow Baptists are confused and upset.

For many this is the first time denominational wars have come to their church. As each church decides state and worldwide giving, they are having to make judgment calls on controversial issues. Reporters have written about the conflict in denominational publications and convention mailings more than pastors have talked about it in most churches. Many did not know the war had escalated to such an extreme. The conflict is highly polarized and propagandized. Many just saw it as a petty preacher fight. Uninformed people in churches have been stunned and confused about having to make decisions and wonder whom to blame. 

That is the second element we need to understand.  Those who are so uninformed can blame only the ones responsible for the last major controversy because that is the only one they feel. Therefore, many are quick to blame the BGCT and those who are trying to make changes. 

We have culture wars, political wars and religious wars of all kinds. Many want to forget raging issues and past conflicts.  Many Baptists will deal with conflict only when forced. In their minds, the most recent controversy is the first one being forced upon them.

They do not want to hear about past conflicts, tragedies and atrocities the Southern Baptist power elite has propagated and committed. All these good folks know is that they did not want to have to deal with a conflict or controversy. Whoever is responsible for this recent controversy has been the bearer of bad news.

Those of us in Texas Baptists Committed need to understand this anti-controversy mentality. Many churches are in a state of transition and change. They do not want anyone to rock the boat. The most common response to controversy from outside the church has been to insulate against it and resist the most recent.  I believe these are the key reasons so many churches are choosing to make no changes or feel attracted to a 50/50 division of Cooperative Program gifts. With no study or consideration, a pastor or church member can recommend that the church do what they have always done or give equally to the BGCT and the SBC.  This requires no discussion, no conflict and little or no change. The issue is settled. Insulation is intact. Those making decisions believe they are doing right simply to support those whom they have supported in the past--no questions asked, no reasoning needed.

Are the churches making their best response? Of course not. Many, if not most responses are uninformed, if not ill informed. They represent a retreat rather than an advance into the visionary future of Texas Baptist life. The SBC has changed. The small group of power elites leading the convention are creed-bound and control-minded. They are forging the convention according to their ideology.  

We conservative evangelicals do not accept their creed nor do we adapt to their control. We have sensed the Lord's leading into a wonderful, visionary new future. The present and future opportunities before Texas Baptists will be our best opportunity to reach our world with the gospel. We also can revise cooperative relationships to correspond to the needs of the world as we see it. So, we do have a better way. However, it is not the old or the comfortable way. We have much work to do to help our friends across Baptist life to see where the Lord is leading beyond the control of the SBC power elites.

So what do we do? It is very important that TBC members and friends tell their own stories and their views as they have come to understand them. Charles Wade can neither reach nor affect everyone. Neither can our elected leaders, although they are leading us well. 

Our TBC leaders are doing a good job, but they cannot speak for you. No one can speak to the people you can. They will not have the impact your story and views can have. Your personal witness to what you see the Lord doing, is powerful. The Lord is leading Texas Baptists to reach more people with the gospel. He is leading Baptists to more effectively educate our ministers and missionaries and to work more strategically with those from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. That requires change that does not fit the control of the SBC power group. Nevertheless, we believe it is the Lord leading us into the future beyond the misguided human constraints that would try to hinder our efforts.

Remember as you tell your stories and viewpoints that a highly charged atmosphere surrounds most of the pastors and key lay persons in these churches. They are exposed to an unprecedented avalanche of misinformation and disinformation about BGCT work.  They hear bad information, untrue statements and slanderous accusations. We are telling our story in a highly confused atmosphere. It takes a clear mind, resolute will and strong heart to do so.

We must acknowledge and be aware also that we suffer from a lack of definition. The SBC is trying to define the BGCT as liberal and accommodating to that which is not of the Bible and from the Lord. They have been effective in convincing the na.ve and uninformed. 

We have not been effective in defining ourselves and telling our own story. Our BGCT leaders are trying to tell the story. It is time for members and friends take full responsibility to tell the story in their own words. Printed materials and audio and video tapes are available to help. 

Moreover, someone that knows and respects you is more convinced when they hear you support the BGCT wholeheartedly and without reservation. Tell them we believe the Bible. We are conservative, evangelical people, without qualification and apology. 

We uphold moral standards and Bible principles and truths in our churches. We have not changed in this regard. This makes us different from those who began to take over the convention in 1979. They have altered the course and changed the direction of the SBC by their own admission and boasting. We have not changed. They have.

You are on the front lines of the denominational conflict. This may be the most difficult thing for many of us to realize, because we do not like controversy either. However, we cannot insulate ourselves against the truth nor can we ignore the challenge. 

Tell your story and your version of God's abiding truth and advancing mission among and through Texas Baptists and the BGCT. People need to hear your version of what God is doing among and through Texas Baptists. It is crucial that you tell it to all who will listen. Tell it soon, before we miss another strategic opportunity.

We are talking about gospel business. I personally believe the gospel is at stake in all of this. I take my daily commission from a variety of scripture verses. None are more important than Mark 8:35: For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and for the gospel's shall save it. (Taken from the NASV that my friend Richard Jackson gave me with "The Baptist Faith and Message" imprinted on the cover.)

This commissioning and challenge say nothing about the SBC creed. It says nothing about selling our mission vision to the SBC power controllers. It is about Jesus and the gospel and he is not under their control. He is our Lord and he is leading Texas Baptists to reach our world with a new vision and new sense of mission and purpose. Tell the story. It is a responsibility to Jesus Christ and his gospel.