Texas Has Not Moved

Speech by Betty Rutledge, messenger from North Baptist Church, McKinney at the BGCT meeting in Austin, 1997. Editor's Note: Reprinted from December 1997 TBC newsletter.

The Effectiveness/Efficiency Committee has been given the challenge of dealing with a tragic reality that someone in Baptist life has moved off true center in cooperative sharing of the Gospel.

The Texas convention has not moved to exclude from planning and policy making those individuals and congregations whose generous contributions to Baptist work are readily accepted.

The Texas convention has not moved its leadership selection process to a self-appointed group of power brokers.

The Texas convention has not moved toward a purge of dedicated denominational employees through forced terminations and firings, because they held to convictions of conscience.

The Texas convention has not moved to a practice of closed meetings, security guard and restricted sharing of information.

It would be irresponsible of Texas Baptists to conduct our work in God's Kingdom as if nobody had moved, when someone has!

May 2000