THE DIFFERENCES BECOME CLEARER
Co-Chair Thoughts from Billy Ray Parmer

Our primary purpose at Texas Baptists Committed is to support BGCT leadership opposed to fundamentalist control and yet leadership who will include all Texas Baptists, thus giving us an opportunity to remain united within the state on missions and evangelism.

As much as we want to tell you what we are for, it is sometimes important to point out examples of what we are trying to avoid in Texas.

The differences in the way the BGCT does things and the way the SBC does things are becoming clearer and clearer. In Texas, we are working hard to keep doing things the way Texas Baptists have done them for years (at least in my lifetime). We are trying to be inclusive of everyone’s perspective. We are trying to maintain unity around missions and evangelism. We are trying to respect the priesthood of every believer and the autonomy of the local church.

The SBC leadership continues to ignore these most basic of Baptist principles. They act more exclusive with every decision. They show no respect for differences of opinion. They seem to have no desire for unity except with persons who agree with everything they do and say. A few examples (so we can avoid them in Texas):

The SBC Christian Life Commission conference in Del City, Oklahoma had a program which only presented hard line fundamentalists speakers. Look at the speakers: Paige and Dorothy Patterson, William Bennett, James Draper, Tom Elliff, Richard Land, Nancy Schaefer, Jay Strack, Al Mohler, John Morgan and others. Not only are they fundamentalists theologically, but every single one is identified with the far religious right politically.

Contrast that program with the Texas Evangelism conference. Richard Jackson and Daniel Vestal spoke. They would be identified with the moderate cause. But Jimmy Draper, Ed Young, Ken Hemphill, and Junior Hill also spoke who would all certainly be identified as fundamentalists (in fact, there were more fundamentalists on the program than moderates).

Jimmy Draper commented later that both conservatives and moderates were on the program and said, “I see a lot of things going on that are bringing us together — like this conference.”

Sure this conference included both sides, IT WAS SPONSORED BY THE BAPTIST GENERAL CONVENTION OF TEXAS. That is the way we still do things in Texas. Can anyone point out a SBC sponsored program in the last five years that included everyone? Of course not!

Another example of the difference is Southern Seminary’s decision to terminate the school’s presence at state and national meetings of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. According to ABP, $125,000 was given to Southern Seminary last year by churches who gave through CBF. But to the Southern trustees, that is not the point. The point is, you do things the way we want them done or we do not want to have anything to do with you. We must avoid this attitude in Texas and respect everyone’s decisions.

A final example is really a state convention decision, but it reflects the SBC influence. Oklahoma Baptists are controlled by fundamentalist leadership. The Oklahoma convention’s strategic planning committee chairman David Willets asked Gary Cook, pastor of FBC, Lawton, to serve on the committee. Then he found out Gary Cook, (who’s church is among the Oklahoma leaders in Cooperative Program giving), is on the Oklahoma CBF coordinating committee. Thus he withdrew his invitation to Cook to serve on the strategic planning commission. This was a sad day in Baptist life.

Friends, is that what we want in Texas Baptist life? Do we want leadership that will exclude everyone that does not do things exactly their way? Do we want our current leadership to exclude churches who give to Criswell College or Luther Rice Seminary (non SBC and non BGCT institutions) from involvement in the BGCT? OF COURSE NOT!

My prayer is that we will continue having leadership that will include all Texas Baptists and respect the freedom we have as Texas Baptists (and used to have as Southern Baptists). Please join me in that prayer and hopefully, we can remain as united as possible in the years ahead.

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