TBC Newsletter, December 1994 - Currie - Keeping the Cause in Perspective

Two days after the BGCT annual meeting, I had an unusual experience. I was driving to watch the first half of my youngest son’s junior high football game, which started at 6 p.m., and then to drive another 20 miles and watch the second half of my other son’s junior varsity game which started at 6;30 p.m. Who ever said parenting was easy? (I made the schedule, by the way.)

Between Ballinger and Bronte I saw two vehicles on the side of the road and a Hispanic family standing outside. Then I saw what looked like a tombstone. As I passed the thought hit me, “That is part of Sam Medina’s family.”

Sam, the wonderful pastor of Alliance Baptist Church in Lubbock, past president of the Mexican Baptist Convention, and former first vice president of the BGCT, is a good friend. Seven members of his family were killed in an automobile accident this summer on that road.

I turned my pick-up around and went back to the parked vehicles. I got out and said, “Sam Medina is a friend of mine, and I do not mean to interfere, but I was wondering if you are part of Sam’s family.” They said they were and I met Sam’s sister and other members of the family.

I shared by appreciation of Sam and my sympathy with the family, and drove on. They seemed to appreciate a “stranger” stopping to share their grief. They were the nicest, sweetest people, just like Sam.

As I drove away, the thought hit me that I was not a stranger, even though I did not know them. Because of Jesus Christ, we were members of the same family. Because of Jesus Christ, my words of support had meaning and significance far beyond those of a stranger. Our mutual faith made us family and made my presence welcome.

Later I began to try and piece together this event and our ministry at Texas Baptists Committed. Jesus has made all believers family. Our main calling is to love Him and love one another. We are to share His love with the world. As Paul said, we are to be “ambassadors for Christ.” Does our work at Texas Baptists Committed help the cause of Christ, and help the ministry of the family of God?

The fact is that if our work does not help the cause of Christ, then we should not do this work. It is meaningless. We are a Baptist organization. All our work should be Kingdom work, or it should not be done. If our work is not helping preserve a climate in which churches grow stronger and more compassionate, ministers are better trained, and more persons are being won to Christ, then our work signifies nothing. The bottom line is are we doing anything that helps spread the Gospel, win people to Christ, and encourage more ministry in His name? If we are not, then our work is wrong.

I believe the work of Texas Baptists Committed is indeed KINGDOM WORK. Let me tell you why.

First we are standing firm for the Gospel. The Gospel is the story of God’s grace. It is the story of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the story of God’s love. It is not about legalism, control, and anger.

We are standing against a gospel of legalism. We are standing so that our churches may be free pulpits to share the gospel. We are standing so that our universities may have teachers free to educate by encouraging students to think out the implications of the gospel message and how to share that message. We are standing so that the physicians in our hospitals are free to heal in God’s name. We are standing so that our caregivers in our retirement homes and children's homes are free to care without the fear of control.

In the Bible, Jesus stood against the legalism of the pharisees. Paul stood against the Judizers. Throughout history there has been those who have tried to turn the Gospel into “rules and regulations.” There have always been those who wanted conformity rather than freedom. Church history, and Baptist history, is full of martyrs who died for soul and religious freedom.

Second we are calling for fairness for all members of the Baptist family. Within the Body of Christ, there have always been disagreements. That is true within the Baptist family. Are these disagreements bad? Only when one group tries to force their interpretations on another part of the family.

I am convinced God uses all parts of the family in His plan of redemption. Within the body, there is a need for very evangelistic congregations, ministry oriented congregations, acceptance congregations, mission minded congregations and prayer congregations. The ideal is balanced congregations, which do all of the above. Reality is that certain congregations take on certain identities. The Body of Christ needs all the gifts.

(continued)

Part of our work at TBC is emphasizing fairness and helping keep balance within the Texas Baptist family. The BGCT is not simply about evangelism, or ministry, or education, or social justice, or missions, or discipleship, or health care, or child care. The ministry of the BGCT is about all these tasks which are given to the Body of Christ.

The problem with the Southern Baptist Convention is that the primary focus is on NONE of these tasks of the Body. The primary focus in on control. Whatever evangelism, missions, education, or social justice, done by Southern Baptists must be done the “right” way. Control and conformity supersede ministry. The result is division, chaos, and lack of vision.

We must stay fair as Texas Baptists. God’s work needs every part of the family. I am hopeful no Texas Baptist church will stop supporting the BGCT or cooperating with the BGCT.

My experience over the past 15 years also has convinced me that for those with a true fundamentalist mentality, compromise and cooperation is difficult.

But we must always be fair to fundamentalists. We must be fair, but we must move on following God as Texas Baptists.

Which brings me to our third point, Move on. In support of the Gospel, we must stand firm, be fair, and move on.

I am tired of the SBC controversy. I think most Texas Baptists are tired of the SBC controversy. Fifteen years is long enough. It is time to move on as Texas Baptists to the “high calling of Christ Jesus.”

What the SBC does, says, votes, wants, etc., does not much interest me anymore. They will do what they want. I cannot affect them. Since I am not a fundamentalist, I have no say in that, so I do not want to argue about the SBC anymore.

I do care about some persons still related to the SBC. I care about missionaries (not the Foreign Mission Board). I care about professors in SBC seminaries (not the institutions themselves).

I care about employees at the Sunday School Board (not the Board as an institution).

I would like to see institutions and structures that professors, missionaries, and employees who do not support fundamentalism could move to, if they wanted to, that were traditional Baptists in philosophy and practice.

I am excited about Texas Baptists. Texas Baptists have not changed. They have stayed true to our principles and heritage. The SBC has deserted these principles. So be it.

My dream is that we will truly act like Baptists and exercise our autonomy. I pray local churches will support whatever they choose within the SBC, CBF, or any other possible avenue of cooperation that might yet be born, and yet retain their individual autonomy. I believe we will have healthier, more Baptist, churches if we do this.

I believe God is calling Texas Baptists to a glorious, exciting new future. The SBC has gone off in a tangent. The BGCT has stayed true to our principles. Surely God is going to honor our faithfulness and use us in a mighty way.

All of which brings me back to stopping on the side of the road with a family I did not know, except that I knew that through Christ, they were my bothers and sisters. The Lord made us family.

The Medina family faces a incredible challenge, moving on through tremendous grief. The loss of seven family members is something I cannot imagine. I would not be so vain as to even hint that I know the depth of their pain.

I do know that the family of Texas Baptists face a grief challenge. What used to be (SBC) is no more. What might have been will never be.

My prayer for the Medina family, and for my Texas Baptist family, is that we will smile at the memory of what was, have God’s strength to accept the pain and sadness of what has happened and what might have been, and yet be overcome with the joy, grace and sweetness of God’s new exciting future. “HE IS NOT HERE. HE IS RISEN.” What looked so bad on Friday, turned out beautifully Sunday morning!

Back to December 1994 Contents