“Peace at any cost” not always more noble
Paul Kenley,
Pastor, Baptist Temple, Houston

I have heard numerous comments about Texas Baptists Committed’s political victory since the Houston BGCT annual meeting in November.

Some have said, “Yes, you won, but at what cost? You came out looking just like what you were opposing.” This is a rehearsal of the old stance that somehow staying out of the fray and keeping quiet is a more noble and higher road than mixing it up over convictions we deem important.

TBC Scapegoat

It seems that TBC has wound up being the scapegoat of having caused division in Texas where it previously did not exist. Must we be reminded that it was the cause of fundamentalism, and not that of traditionalism that introduced division and politics into Baptist life?

For lay people and pastors alike who still seem to be confused about this, I want to restate the reminder that fundamentalism is mean-spirited. The most recent reminder is the dissemination of the Roger Moran video from Missouri.

Lies, half-truths and innuendo in a ceaseless stream have marked the fundamentalist movement from its first public coming-out in 1979.

Assassinated characters and sullied reputations of some of our finest Baptist leaders have been left in the wake of fundamentalist politics. The Moran video is no exception. And yet, those of us who have dared to stand up against such ungodly behavior now are held by some to be responsible for all that has transpired in the past two decades.

Division Not Bad

No, division is not all bad. Throughout our history, division has been the impetus for proliferating Kingdom work, from Paul’s disagreement with Barnabas to the birth of the churches to which many of us belong.

If the Southern Baptists of Texas moves on to organization, committees, elected leaders and missions, then I will be forced to ask myself, “What is so bad about the end result here?”

We finally agreed to disagree and go our separate ways—to get on with the work. I applaud the SBT folks for finally accomplishing the inevitable. Whereas I could not do so before, I can now pray for God to bless them as they hopefully turn to more mission-minded endeavors.

TBC Helped

In the final analysis, TBC aided and abetted the work of the Kingdom. Surely, no one needs to be reminded of what would have most certainly happened had we remained silent for the past 20 years.

Oh sure, we would have remained a single convention — but at what cost? Soul freedom. Individual priesthood. Local church autonomy. Separation of church and state. A denomination run from the top down with an ecclesiastical hierarchy that stifles freedom of expression would have resulted.

I, for one, am proud to have been identified with what TBC has accomplished. Had we never existed, only the Lord knows what kind of death-grip fundamentalism would have on us today. In my younger days, I was taught that taking a stand for what we believe is not only acceptable, but an integral part of integrity and character. I still believe it is true.

I, therefore, reject the notion that peace at any cost is somehow more noble. The fundamentalists justified their political activity in the 1980s as a battle to save the Bible. I would justify ours as a battle to protect what the Bible teaches. Now that this part of the fray is over (at least temporarily), we can all get on with the work.

May God prosper both endeavors!

July 1999