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Let's
Talk
It
is an honor for me to serve as one of the three chairpersons of
Texas Baptists Committed. I am proud to be an active member of
TBC and truly believe we would not have a free BGCT without the
work of David, Charles and Charlotte and the many members of TBC. I
also want to thank those of you reading this who gave me the privilege
of serving as first vice president of the Baptist General Convention
of Texas for the past two years. It
was an exciting time to be in a leadership position for Texas
Baptists. I appreciate your prayers and support during my time
of service. As
a Baptist lay person I treasure the historic Baptist principle
we call the priesthood of every believer. I value the idea that
as a lay person, I have both the privilege and the responsibility
to think for myself and read the Bible for myself. I believe this
principle, which puts the responsibility of ministry on lay persons,
is one reason Baptists have grown and are a vibrant denomination.
Therefore, it is sad to watch what is happening in the Southern
Baptist Convention and see an emphasis on conformity and a deliberate
effort on the part of SBC leaders to speak in a monolithic voice
for all Southern Baptists. We are losing the right to talk, to
think for ourselves and disagree as friends. Dialogue
Discouraged In
the modern SBC we are discouraged from having meaningful dialogue
about biblical and moral issues. There is no room for honest disagreement
and discussion anymore. The SBC passes resolutions (capital punishment
is a recent example) and amends the Baptist Faith and Message
to say women may not be pastors and refuses to even entertain
the thought that responsible people who love Jesus and the Bible
might disagree with their position. This is tragic because we
learn when we talk to each other. Did
you notice the statements made by SBC leaders in Orlando about
these issues? Hayes Wicker, chair of the SBC resolutions committee
said when questioned about the resolution on capital punishment,
"Everything we stand for is based on the infallible Word
of God." When
asked about the prohibition on women pastors, Richard Land responded,
"We don't really have a choice. I'm not in the habit of asking
God why he does things...I just say, "Yes, sir." The
fundamentalist leadership of the SBC assumes their position and
God's Word are always one and the same, and thus there is no possibility
for honest disagreement and discussion. There is no openness to
the idea that scripture must be interpreted. There is no openness
to the concept of the priesthood of every believer or acknowledgment
that we all have a right to read the Bible and think for ourselves. The
attitude of the SBC leadership is creating a climate where no
one can talk without being attacked. This is tragic because it
would be so healthy for Baptists to have open, free, respectful
dialogue on issues like capital punishment, women in ministry
or prayer in schools without the fear that someone would say "you
don't believe the Bible." Yet
the fact is, I will be attacked by some for even suggesting that
we talk about such things and that people who believe the Bible
might view all of these issues from a different perspective than
the leadership of the SBC. Unfortunately that is the reality in
the new SBC. Any
hope? Is
there any hope of meaningful dialogue with the leadership of the
SBC? No, none at all. Their attitude is carved in stone. As T.C.
Pinckney, leader of the fundamentalist group in Virginia, and
the man who brought the motion to create the committee to rewrite
the Baptist Faith and Message, said in Orlando, "The Southern
Baptist tent should be just as broad as God's word Ñ no broader,
no narrower. Scripture, not cooperation, is primary." What
Pinckney means is that he does not want to cooperate with anyone
who does not interpret the Bible just like he does. I
will not give my priesthood to T.C. Pinckney, Al Mohler, Richard
Land or anyone else. I'll keep thinking for myself and interpreting
the Bible for myself out of my relationship with Jesus Christ.
I hope that as Texas Baptists we will learn to respect each other
and dialogue with each other. Such dialogue benefits everybody
and challenges us to rethink our positions and grow. I thought
that was part of what it was supposed to mean to be a Baptist. |
