A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE
Games People Play
By David R. Currie,
Coordinator

 

Oh the games people play now,
Every night and every day now,
Never saying what they mean now,
Never meaning what they say.

I thought of these lyrics by Joe South, from 1969, when reflecting on Baptist life after 20 years of fundamentalist control of the SBC. Sadly, we are deeply engaged in “playing games” throughout Baptist life, and traditional Baptists (labeled moderates politically) are often as guilty as fundamentalist leaders.

I grew up in an extended family that often chose to play games rather than face reality. It was better to hide the truth than discuss it. They felt it was easier that way. When my aunt and an uncle were dying from cancer, I remember being told to never discuss it because they had not been told they had cancer. Can reality be changed if it is not talked about? I still remember my Uncle Ed, pale and dying of cancer, commenting to me as a ten year old boy that “I must eat more beans than he did because my skin was so dark.”

I must point out that my mother thought this was all nonsense. She has always lived her life with “blunt honesty.” She taught me it was foolish to play games and hope bad things will go away.

I think it is time we stop the games in Baptist life and talk about our painful reality.

1. Southern Baptists are two distinct denominations right now, and neither side wants to admit it, acknowledge it or act on it, except for courageous individuals like Herb Reynolds who proclaimed this truth at our TBC breakfast this past Fall.

2. Traditional Baptists have no more in common with fundamentalist Baptists than we have with Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans or other Protestant Christian denominations.

We share a common faith in Jesus, as we share with other denominations, but beyond that we are as different as night and day.

3. Traditional Baptists believe the Bible is the written Word of God and completely trustworthy in all matters of faith and practice. We do not share with our fundamentalist brothers an idolatry of the Bible nor do we like to argue over the original autographs, which do not even exist.

We believe the Bible we read today is sufficient for all our needs and think it is ludicrous to argue over terms. We certainly do not believe in creeds as the fundamentalists do. You think the SBC does not have creeds? Ask the professors at Southwestern seminary in Fort Worth.

4. Traditional Baptists believe in the priesthood of all believers. We believe Christians have the right and responsibility to interpret Scripture for themselves and that the pastor has no ultimate authority over any other person or church member.

5. Fundamentalists believe the pastor is the ruler of the church and the interpreter of Scripture for church members. They passed a resolution affirming this at the 1988 SBC convention.

6. Traditional Baptists believe in local church autonomy. Baptist polity is bottom up, not top down. Local churches have the final say. Does the SBC practice this? Try sending a contribution to CBF through the SBC or try to give a contribution to CBF through your fundamentalist church.

7. Traditional Baptists believe in religious liberty for all. The SBC Religious Liberty agency lobbies and advocates for government sponsored prayer in schools and for tax money to be given to church related private schools. If our forefathers who were martyred for religious liberty could look down from heaven they would grieve over Baptists asking for government money to do the work of the Gospel.

8. Traditional Baptists believe cooperation and unity should exist around the Great Commission and missions. The current SBC leadership redirects money from mission causes to political activities hoping to create a Christian America and to the seminaries hoping to produce more pastors who will be rulers of the church and involve their congregations in partisan political activity. The basis of cooperation is right wing beliefs—not missions.

Now friends, what I have written is the painful truth. If you do not believe me, then check it out for yourself.

Appoint a committee of respected leaders in your church to study the charges I have made to see if I am correct. Find out for yourself.

If what I have written is reality, then do we really have much in common with fundamentalist Baptists? No! They are a totally different denomination.

How do we play games?

Fundamentalists admit to the beliefs I listed above but they continue to claim our forefathers really didn’t believe in religious liberty for all. They pay homage to the Cooperative Program although their leaders, for the most part, never led their churches to give sacrificially to it, and then claim they want unity. They play the game because they want your money.

Moderate leaders often do the same thing. Moderate leaders in state conventions have done little, for the most part, to tell people about the truths I have written, because they do not want fundamentalists to stop giving money to the state convention and its related institutions. Many Directors of Missions, understandably, do not want division in their associations, so they promote ignoring reality.

No one wants to admit we are separate denominations and thus everybody plays games and hopes somehow it will go away. The result is that in ALL state conventions that do not have a Baptists Committed- type organization, the fundamentalists will take over, despite the efforts of leaders to keep peace.

Even Texas, which has rejected fundamentalist leadership for now, remains in danger as long as we still pretend we have a good relationship with the SBC. Why do we pretend? Because we hope churches won’t leave to join Southern Baptists of Texas. The fact is we have not and will not lose a genuine Baptist church to SBT. Baptist “in-name-only” churches will relate to SBT and we should wish them well.

It has been 20 years. I know they have been painful years for many people. I wish the last 20 years had been different. But we have to deal with reality and more importantly, we have to try to preserve an authentic Baptist witness in America and around the world. We have to make sure that when someone hears the word Baptist, they think of people of love and grace.

The SBC carries a Baptist name but its leaders and its institutions do not believe in, teach or practice Baptist principles. They are a different denomination. Why does any traditional Baptist continue to support them?

“We have to support the missionaries,” you answer. OK. Do you really think most of the missionaries like fundamentalism? Of course not. They just want to serve and tell people about Jesus.

Why doesn’t someone lead an effort to find out what the missionaries want and who they want to work for and then put together the money needed to rescue them. They are basically hostages in a system they detest. Why don’t we show some courage and really help them instead of sending money and hoping it is helping them?

After 20 years, it just seems to me we need to quit playing games, ask some tough questions and get to work building the Kingdom. Let’s admit we are two different denominations. Let’s respect each others’ convictions and get on with it.

Will the future be painless? No. Will churches and associations split? Unfortunately, yes. Is there a way to avoid this journey? No. We are just postponing the inevitable. It is time to educate as many people as possible and put this part of our history behind us. We have a future that is being unfolded by God. When will we let go of the past and move forward into the new millennium?

July 1999