BGCT staff to support broader array of materials for churches
By: Ferrell Foster

DALLAS - This year will mark the end of a long-standing "investment plan" between the Baptist General Convention of Texas and LifeWay Christian Resources, the official publishing house of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The BGCT staff will continue to offer support for LifeWay materials but also will help Texas Baptist churches utilize other materials, announced Lynn Eckeberger, coordinator of the BGCT's Church Health and Growth Section.

The LifeWay Ministry Investment Plan will end Sept. 30, and it "will not be renewed," Eckeberger informed the BGCT Executive Board meeting in Dallas March 2.

The investment plan is the "current version of a long-standing agreement" used by LifeWay and its predecessor, the Sunday School Board, to "achieve a marketing presence among various state conventions." These annually renewable agreements have been used by LifeWay to achieve a "prominence of position directly related to product sales." And it provided a revenue source for the state convention.

Many churches no longer use LifeWay materials exclusively, Eckeberger said. "When we asked our churches, they identified a frequent use of 10 to 12 suppliers of Christian products" for Sunday School, Bible study groups, Vacation Bible School and other study units.

As a result, the BGCT is moving to better support the changing needs of churches. "We will serve the churches in Texas with an ever-increasing diligence, unhindered by product sales fostered by an agreement to provide exclusive privilege" to one publisher, Eckeberger said.

"When the Sunday School Board existed, and most Baptist churches and associations made use of Sunday School Standard organizational models, assistance to Texas Baptist churches could be adequately addressed by agreements between the Sunday School Board and state convention," he said. "That day no longer describes the most common experience for Baptist churches."

The BGCT, using its own publishing arm BaptistWay Press, is producing an ever-widening selection of materials itself, Eckeberger said. (See related story.) The convention's Bible Study/Discipleship staff will help churches become acquainted with and use BaptistWay, LifeWay and other materials.

Eckeberger said the most recent LifeWay-BGCT agreement obligated the state convention to the following:
-- "Expeditious submission" of Annual Church Profile information to LifeWay;
-- LifeWay "recognition, visibility and location" at convention-sponsored events;
-- Participation in LifeWay conference centers, "multiplier ministry" and state leader joint meetings; and
-- Showcase only LifeWay products during LifeWay-sponsored state training events.

Board members responded with scattered applause to Eckeberger's announcement that the investment plan agreement would end. Two members took the floor to praise the action, and several asked questions.
In response to one, Eckeberger said the BGCT move does not primarily affect churches. When a church says it wants to use a particular product, "we will work with them for those products to be effective."

The change "speaks more to the behavior of the state convention staff," in that they will be helping churches with a broader array of materials and programs, he said. "It's a significant adjustment" for the Bible Study/Discipleship staff.

Some of the questions spoke to how the decision would affect the annual BGCT meeting in the fall. Much of that has yet to be determined, Eckeberger said.

Ken Hall, convention president, noted that the BGCT has two committees - Arrangements and Order of Business - that will be discussing such issues. "We're not being exclusive. We're not turning away from LifeWay or anyone else. We're being inclusive."

April 2004