TEXAS AND VIRGINIA MOVING IN TANDEM

Editors note: The following are quotes from Reginald Mcdonough, executive director of the Baptist General Association of Virginia.

“It’s correct that there is a decentralization under way...While there are some churches and ministers angry with the Southern Baptist Convention, this move, I think, would have happened whether or not there was this great division...It was inevitable with the trends that were going on in the nation toward more localized decision-making.”

“The pattern of cooperation is moving from what I would call a linchpin style to more of a networking style. We’ve always believed that each unit in the Baptist tradition has been autonomous, and we’ve always acted that way. We’ve reacted in the past to what I’ve always called a monolithic style.

“There is a trend toward `affinity groups’ — there’s much more of a movement toward groups with whom they have an affinity.

“I think we’re on the same page (as the Texans) and I think what they’ve developed is unique for their state and I think what we’ve developed is unique for our state.”

December 1997