Respect and Cooperation
By Bill Bruster

Editor’s Note: This is a column from a 1993 TBC newsletter. It is one of many articles to appear in the past few years with similar themes of respect, cooperation and fairness.

This will be my final column as chairman of Texas Baptists Committed. I have served as chairman for three years and it is time to have new leadership in this organization. It has been a privilege to serve in this capacity.

I am proud of Texas Baptists. I am proud of the leadership this organization has provided in keeping Texas Baptists in the mainstream of our tradition and polity. I am proud of the support Texas Baptists have given this organization and proud that this support has translated into support for the current direction and leadership of the BGCT.

It is exciting to be a Texas Baptist.

I want to write my final column about how we can remain united as Texas Baptists. Obviously, we have had and will continue to have disagreements regarding the direction of this state convention. Also, it is obvious that over the last several years Texas Baptists have rejected fundamentalist leadership. I expect us to have to continue to be diligent in rejecting fundamentalism.

But I also believe we can become more united in Texas if we acknowledge and follow some specific guidelines.

We can begin by committing ourselves to RESPECT one another. Yes, we disagree, but that can be healthy. We do not have to agree on everything to cooperate together on major things.

We have Texas Baptists who do not want to support the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs or Baylor University. Let’s respect that choice. You have that right as Baptists.

But the BGCT has voted several years in a row to support these concerns through the BGCT budget. Respect that voting his-tory and quit bringing it up every year. Let it go!

We have Texas Baptists who do not want to support the Southern Baptist Convention, or at least every program of the SBC. That is a local church decision. Respect that decision. Do not criticize those churches and individuals. Allow them the freedom that by polity is the right of any Baptist individual, church, association or convention.

I have been very impressed at the unity found in many churches that have allowed their members to designate cooperative mission funds beyond the local church. In these turbulent times, these churches have retained unity in the local church by allowing their individual members to disagree.

I have been especially impressed by the unity in our local associations. The directors of missions have done an incredible job maintaining unity at the associational level. It seems to me they have accomplished this by encouraging their churches to respect their differences and cooperate where they agree.

That seems to me to be the key to unity. Let us as Texas Baptists respect our differences and cooperate on the things we agree upon.

Surely we can all agree on Mission Texas and the need to start new churches!

Surely we can agree on Vision 2000 and the vital importance of giving priority, funds, training, etc. to Hispanic ministry!

Surely the River Ministry is something we can all rejoice about!

I believe there is much more Texas Baptists agree on than we disagree on.

Let us as Texas Baptists behave exactly opposite of the SBC. We have been rejecting fundamentalist control in our BGCT elections. BUT let us be inclusive of every opinion in appointments to leadership positions.

Rather than tell Texas Baptists to support everything just like we want it or leave the convention, let us as Texas Baptists say to one another that we respect our differences and will cooperate on the things on which we agree.

Follow your conscience and roll up your sleeves and work together on the many things we do agree on. NOBODY LEAVE! We have a state to win to Christ!

These are my closing thoughts as chairman of Texas Baptists Committed. To those of you who are our members and supporters, thank you for your commitment to our Baptist heritage and principles. Thank you for supporting this organization financially so that we have the money to mail out these newsletters. Stay committed and keep coming to every convention and practice good stewardship of what God has given us as Texas Baptists. Keep the BGCT where she has always been.

And as you continue to stand, remember to respect everyone and build bridges of cooperation wherever you can. Being courageous and compassionate is the Baptist way.

October 1998