TEXAS BAPTISTS — REMEMBER YOUR POLITY

The Southern Baptist Convention voted to “instruct its institutions to accept no contributions given through the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.” What this means is a local church cannot designate money to go to an SBC institution through CBF. Money must go to the SBC through the BGCT or direct from a local church.

The point of this is to tell churches, “choose either the SBC or CBF” - one or the other. Either support the current direction of the SBC or get out of the convention.

As stated in our official response on the front page, we do not believe this is a proper attitude. We do not believe it is very Baptist. And furthermore, we believe the vast majority of Texas Baptist churches share two characteristics: (1) they do not support the fundamentalist takeover of the SBC and (2) they are sure that they do support missions.

Why do we draw this conclusion? Because Texas Baptists continue to reject fundamentalism when they elect leadership of the BGCT, and yet most of the churches still send their money through the BGCT to the SBC. This tells us is that most Texas Baptists are not fundamentalist and yet Texas Baptists want to support the 4,000 missionaries serving on foreign fields.

THEREFORE WE ARE GOING TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO TEXAS BAPTISTS THAT WE THINK IS A VERY BAPTIST RESPONSE. REMEMBER BAPTIST POLITY AND REMEMBER YOUR AUTONOMY AND SUPPORT WHATEVER YOU AS A CHURCH WANT TO SUPPORT. DESIGN YOUR OWN BUDGET!

The last thing we would do is try to infringe on local church autonomy. We would never tell Texas Baptists they OUGHT to support the SBC or CBF. We respect and trust local Baptist churches and individuals. We encourage you to not let others tell you what you OUGHT to do and HOW you OUGHT to do it.

Several fundamentalist leaders have challenged Texas Baptists to investigate the SBC and the CBF and support one or the other. The investigating is a good idea, but the answers are not that simple for most Texas Baptists. It is not an either/or question for most Texas Baptists. We are in the middle when it comes to financing missions and theological education.

Investigate the SBC. If this takeover has lead you to feel that you can no longer support certain programs of the SBC, or none of the SBC, then stop supporting them. Remember, the Baptist Faith and Message Statement on cooperation says that “Christ’s people should, as occasion requires, organize such associations and conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of the Kingdom of God. Such organizations have no authority over one another or over the churches. They are voluntary and advisory bodies designed to elicit, combine, and direct the energies of our people in the most effective manner.”

If some aspects of the SBC — Seminaries, the Southern Baptist Christian Life Commission, etc. — are no longer “directing the energies of our people in an effective manner” in your opinion, then stop supporting those programs.

Investigate CBF. Maybe some of their programs you will like and some you will not. CBF is another part of the family supporting missions and theological education because they feel the SBC has abandoned Baptist principles. You may decide you want to support CBF totally. You may decide you want to support the mission programs of both. If so, do it. And do not let anyone say that you are disloyal because of it.

You may decide you want to support two SBC seminaries and two supported by CBF. If so, do it, and feel good about it. That’s the Baptist way.

And fundamentalists reading this, if there are programs of the BGCT you do not want to support, then exercise your autonomy and stop supporting them. Texas must remain fair to everyone.

Cooperation does not have to be blind. It does not have to mean all or nothing. Cooperation depends on respect and trust, two factors now absent in Baptist life, especially on the SBC level. We can cooperate on things we agree upon without calling each other names and without kicking people out of our fellowship.

Friends, you will never find Texas Baptists Committed advocating anything but fairness for all Texas Baptists. We just want everyone to have the freedom to follow God’s leadership and be respected and accepted within the family for doing it.

And if you want to exercise your autonomy, God Bless you. In the current climate, it is probably the most Baptist thing you can do.

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