CONFIRMING THE BAPTIST WAY
Co-Chair Thoughts from Phil Lineberger

The passage of the Cooperative Missions Giving Study Committee report was a major accomplishment for Texas Baptists. It was both a step away from division and controversy and a step toward the future.

During our recent Baptist General convention meeting in Amarillo, Texas, my mind wandered back to the formative days of our Southern Baptist Convention. The excitement felt by many as a result of the positive vote cast in Amarillo on the Cooperative Giving Plan, must have been the same type felt by so many Baptist in May of 1845, in Augusta, Georgia. There was a sense that we had returned to our roots.

Robert Baker, writing in The Southern Baptist Convention and Its People, 1607-1972, Chapter nine, under the subheading “An Old Dilemma,” says, “Southern Baptist in 1845 faced the same basic problem that has confronted all Baptist groups who have attempted to establish denominational bodies; namely, how to unite independent churches into an effective denominational structure without overwhelming the autonomy of the local congregations.”

Our meeting in Amarillo addressed a problem which had been introduced into Baptist life over the last fifteen years, a denominational structure which was attempting to overwhelm the autonomy of the local congregations. Baptist came away from this meeting with renewed hope in the ministry and mission of the local church, and a sense of freedom in knowing that valid and vital ministry can be decided and funded from the local church level.

This is the Baptist way! Let us go forward now to strengthen our work in Texas and around the world as we form networks of ministry based upon our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and in each other.