CO-CHAIR THOUGHTS FROM JEROLD McBRIDE
Pastor, First Baptist Church, San Angelo
The Sky Is Not Falling!

I hope each of you has read the report of the Effectiveness/Efficiency Committee on which I had the privilege of serving. It is an excellent report which casts a dynamic vision for Texas Baptists into the next century.

We worked for nearly two years as a committee and managed to write a document that was passed unanimously by our diverse committee. Some of my friends were on the committee who disagree with me on most denominational issues. I am proud of this unanimous vote because I believe it indicates how strongly we attempted to be fair to everyone’s point of view while focusing on how we as Texas Baptists can be effective in our cooperative efforts in the future.

In the next issue of Texas Baptists Committed, we will examine this report in detail but I want to say a word about all the negative reactions you are already hearing about this plan from SBC leaders.

You may have read that Morris Chapman, president and chief executive officer of the SBC Executive Committee, told Baptist Press “the report seems to signal a substantial departure from cooperative relationships of long duration… If this causes Southern Baptist churches in Texas to have to decide whether they are principally BGCT Baptists or Southern Baptists, it would be extremely unfortunate.”

You may have seen that Al Mohler, president of Southern Seminary, said, “I am deeply disappointed by the actions proposed by the special BGCT committee. Texas Baptists are members of the Southern Baptist family and have contributed greatly to the building of this denomination.”

Possibly you read that Bob Reccord, president of the North American Mission Board, said his earnest prayer is that “Texas would be careful to not take any steps that could jeopardize the fragile but vital rope of sand which characterized and virtually defines Southern Baptist cooperative missions.”

In my opinion, these responses are similar to Chicken Little running around crying “the sky is falling, the sky is falling!” It is not going to happen. Please allow me to give you a recent history lesson.

In 1994, while I was president of the BGCT, Texas Baptists approved the Cooperative Missions Giving Study report at the convention in Amarillo. This report broadened the definition of a BGCT Cooperative Program gift to include gifts to CBF, the WMU, Criswell College and other Baptist entities.

When this report was proposed in April, 1994, Morris Chapman, the same Morris Chapman quoted above, said the Texas proposal is “a far cry from what Southern Baptists have known, cherished and practiced… I am surprised that a Texas committee appears to be so ready to abandon something which has been greatly used of God to fulfill the Great Commission.”

The SBC Executive Committee, concerned about possible changes in the historic Cooperative Program relationship with several states, passed a resolution in September, 1994, which urged extreme caution in any departure from this God-given and time honored approach to funding a world mission strategy.

After the vote in Amarillo, a man wrote me and said, “in the short run, you have won, but in the long run you have divided the state convention for good.”

All these responses cry out, “the sky is falling, the sky is falling!”

So what happened after the vote in Amarillo? Did the sky fall? Was the Cooperative Program destroyed? I think not!

Year-to-date giving to the Baptist General Convention of Texas is up 10.8 percent. Gifts from Texas churches to the SBC are up 7.3 percent. The SBC Executive Committee recently reported that 30% of the increase to the SBC Cooperative Program is from TEXAS ALONE! The sky did not fall.

Now you are hearing the same old misinformation, threats and fear tactics once again. Texas Baptists are going to destroy the Cooperative Program. Texas Baptists are going to hurt the missionaries. Do not believe it. Cries from the SBC leaders reveal their efforts to control the BGCT and every other state convention.

Texas Baptists are not trying to destroy anything.

We are very concerned about building the Kingdom of God in the 21st century. We are very concerned about reaching Hispanics and other ethnic groups with the Gospel as their population grows in Texas. We are very concerned with good quality theological education. We are very concerned that we help families stay together and be strong.

We are very concerned that we be involved in world missions in as effective a manner as possible.

We are very concerned that our Texas Baptist churches have literature that emphasizes scriptural truth as well as traditional Baptist principles. Those concerns are what the report is about, not destroying anything, breaking away from anything, punishing anything or anybody.

As our track record as Texas Baptists clearly shows, we are also very concerned with fairness and historic Baptist principles.

We want a vision all of us can support. We want to move beyond the political argument of where local churches send their mission money.

We want to respect the various opinions of Texas Baptists regarding denomination issues and present a unifying vision for our state convention.

I urge you to come to Austin and support the good work of the Effectiveness/ Efficiency Committee and I want you to keep in mind as the SBC power structure tries to defeat this report that the sky did not fall in 1994 and is not falling now. What is happening is that Texas Baptists are trying to move forward with a vision to build the Kingdom. And the Kingdom

September 1997