REMARKS TO THE BGCT EXECUTIVE BOARD

Charles Wade, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas,made this address on Feb. 26, 2002, at the historic Texas executive board meeting that approved and launched a transition fund for missionaries who cannot sign the BF&M.

February 26, 2002

Within one week, the week before the Texas Baptist Evangelism Conference, I was in three churches—two celebrating ten years as two of our 2000 new church starts, and another just moving into a new building. One was African American in Missouri City, another a multi-racial middle class church in the United community of north Laredo, and another in East Arlington where social difficulties abound and Grace St. church will mediate grace and mercy, salvation and hope to broken and lost lives.

What Texas Baptists are about every day—365 days a year—is reaching out to people, praying for and seeking the lost, starting new churches, creating ministries of compassion, caring for families, strengthening our 23 institutions that prepare our young people for lives of excellence and Christian service and leadership, that minister to children who have been thrown away, that care for the aged, that minister physical and spiritual healing to the sick, assisting our churches to be vital, healthy, grace giving communities of faith, working with associations as they equip their churches to fulfill the Great Commission, and to sum up: assisting the churches and related ministries to be the presence of Christ in the world.

During this time, preparing for the Evangelism Conference and visiting in our churches, came the word—A letter from the SBC EXBD chief executive officer has been received in our churches asking them to change their giving to favor the SBC against the BGCT, and then within just a few days, a letter came from some missionary friends telling me of the letter from the IMB president urging them to sign the 2000 BF&M in order to protect them from charges of heresy and to strengthen the mission board.

They were hurt and afraid. What can you do to help us and others who will not be able to sign this document? To be candid, I was dismayed and frustrated. Why now? Why do they continue to push us to defend ourselves and to speak up for what is right and fair in Baptist life? Why would the president of the IMB do something he had promised us he would not do? Pastors began to call and email, how can this be? I thought it would never come to this. My church needs a way to help the missionaries.

What can we do about this? The letter from the Executive Director of the SBC, Executive Committee asked Texas Baptist churches to choose a 50/50 split in cooperative program giving. This was unprecedented. I express appreciation to the Texas W.M.U. for publicly asking the EXCOM of SBC to refrain from seeking to directly influence our Texas Baptist Churches in their decisions regarding the giving of funds.

Interestingly, when the Cooperative Program was established in 1927, the goal was for the states to raise approximately one dollar for Southern Baptist causes for each dollar they raised for their state mission program. That is, they were hopeful for a 50/50 division of mission dollars. But the document specifically called for the dollars raised in the two mission offerings— Lottie Moon offering for Foreign Missions and the Annie Armstrong offering for Home Missions—to be counted in that 50/50 ratio.

The truth is that for many years, the BGCT has, when the two large mission offerings are counted in, contributed 50% of our offering receipts to Southern Baptist causes.

Not one word about that in the letter.

Just this past year, in spite of the distractions, in spite of a rebel convention siphoning off support from our cause, the BGCT contributed 46% of our total offering receipts to Southern Baptist causes.

We have been generous in our support. We have supported more institutions than any other state, out of the generosity of our Texas Baptist people and their churches.

Such an attack on the integrity of our Texas Baptist adopted budget was improper, mean-spirited, and ungrateful. To add to the wrong, a four-color promotional piece was included in the letter touting the competing convention in Texas. And all of this was paid for out of Cooperative Program funds which our own Texas Baptist churches had helped to give.

Now, permit me to say a word about the letter from the President of the IMB to the missionaries. In this letter the missionaries are urged to affirm the 2000 BF&M. “There are many who feel strongly that those being supported by the denomination should be willing to pledge affirmation and support for the current BF&M, especially those serving with the mission boards. Failure to ask for this affirmation is creating suspicion that there are IMB personnel whose beliefs and practices are inconsistent with those represented by Southern Baptists.

“…there have not been major changes to the document… Signing this affirmation protects you from charges of heresy behind your back while you are overseas and cannot defend yourself.”

The next week in an attempt to soften the tone of the first letter, the president of the IMB, speaking to state Baptist editors said it was “pure speculation” that missionaries would have to resign if they would not sign the BF&M. They will not be fired for noting their exceptions to the BF&M. However, he said that the IMB leaders have not determined what the consequences would be for missionaries who cannot sign the statement of affirmation. “We may have to deal with that in the future.”

He continued by saying that he hopes no “minor detail of disagreement” would prevent someone called by God from fulfilling his or her missionary assignment. “To me, it is untenable that a person would be disobedient to their call….”

We have no reason to feel comfortable that the missionaries are not now under serious attack from their own administrators and board. We have reason to believe that the IMB trustees will press to remove these missionaries if the President does not do so. After all, we have the example of what happened to one of the regional leaders who had to resign because he would not sign. But it is not just what we read when we read the letters and remarks. It is what the missionaries believe is being said to them. You will hear later some of the appeals of the missionaries in their own words. Words that compelled us to call the MRIC together to study this matter and prepare a report to the EXBD of the BGCT.

We would be happy if the IMB should respond to our call for them to pull back from this forcing upon faithful, long term missionaries a confession of faith which is being used as a creed. But we must put in place a response mechanism now. We will not meet again until late May. We need to begin to build a fund to help these missionaries who are saying to us they will have to resign or take early retirement under this pressure.

There are many questions and not enough answers today. But the call to stand by those who are being asked to put either their calling or their conscience at risk cannot go unanswered. We must provide places of refuge and renewal, places of warm acceptance and dependable support, places where dreams of serving God can become reality again. I believe Texas Baptist churches and people want to do this and they want us to help them find a way to do it.

Bill Pinson wrote me last week and observed, “Opportunities often come to us disguised as challenges or problems.” I believe that is exactly where Texas Baptists stand now.

I have asked myself, Charles, if you do not stand beside these missionaries, if you do not speak up when they are being pressed down by this fundamentalist mind set that places heavy burdens down upon men and women’s shoulders, then you have no right to open your mouth again about how Baptists believe in the priesthood of the believer, soul competency, religious liberty, and the freedom of the Christian soul.

Where in the Scripture is it ever recorded that men and women were required to sign a confession of faith or a creed? We are called to give testimony.

We are required to give a reason for the faith that is within us. But there is nothing about signing some statement that a committee or a religious council has designed and insists you sign.

Here is the Scripture: I Peter 3:15-16a “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience….”

There are three other serious matters which I will only address briefly:

First, we have instituted a program of staff deployment in which we will be very active in being present in the field, working with our churches and associations.

We want the people and churches of Texas to know our hearts and to feel free to ask help of us in meeting the challenges of their communities and cities. We are calling this “Building Relationships: 2002.”

I have said to our staff, “I want somebody who works for the BGCT Executive Board to know somebody in every church.” We want to strengthen Director’s of Missions, Pastors and church staff, and the laity of our congregations by being there with and for you.

We want to link up with you not only the resources of the Baptist Building but the resources of our Baptist institutions across Texas. Tom Ruane has taken on this responsibility of enlisting, training, and implementing this ministry. Please pray for him.

Second, the resolution regarding the Scriptures will come from the Administrative Committee. You have in that report in your materials a wonderful statement about our Texas Baptist commitment to the Word of God.

Let no one doubt the joyful gratitude we express to God for his written Word. “It is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path.” (Psalm 19:105) “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8) It, “is the record of God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction.” BF&M, 1963.

Let no one doubt our adoration and praise to the Son of God, our Savior, who is the Living Word of God. (John 1:1,14)

When we open the Inspired word of God and handle with our trembling hands the holy Bible that it might speak God’s truth and the way of salvation to our hearts and minds, we listen to the Holy Spirit as He guides us into all truth, and we rejoice that the Holy Spirit teaches us through Jesus the Christ who becomes the hermeneutical standard, the norm for our faith, the criterion by which we know how God wants us to understand and interpret the Bible.

We have tried to be kind in our defense of the 1963 statement regarding the Bible, in comparison with the 2000 statement. But dear people it is simply wrong not to acknowledge what the Bible clearly shows—Jesus is the revelation of God to man, not the Bible.

The Bible is the, not a, not just any, but the inspired and written record of God’s revelation of Himself to man. But it is about Jesus that the Scriptures say: “…in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” (Hebrews 1:2-3)

We celebrate with reverence the gift of God to us in the inspired Scriptures. We believe the Book that is in our hands. We believe it so much that we need no man made summaries to take its place.

If you want a creed, it is perfectly right for you to write one. Review it with trusted Christian teachers. Refine it. Test it by Scripture. Live with it. Teach it.

But don’t put it down before another Christian brother or sister and insist that they say their faith exactly the way you say yours. Learn from one another. Challenge one another. Most of all really listen to one another. And in prayer God will teach us in Scripture more than we knew and enough to help one another know Christ and grow up into his likeness.

And, third, and finally: The Administrative Committee will bring a recommendation that we approve the establishment of a Chaplaincy Endorsement Board.

This has been in the works for some time because chaplains were being told that the NAMB would not continue to renew their endorsement if they would not sign off on the new BF&M.

For all the reasons mentioned above, they asked us for help. Just this past week, yet another restriction has been handed down. Any women chaplains who have been ordained to the ministry will no longer be acceptable for endorsement by the NAMB.

This means that women chaplains who serve in hospitals, the military, and in women’s prisons, e.g., can no longer serve as Baptist chaplains unless they can secure an endorsement from some other Baptist body. On this issue we were ready to move forward before we knew this particular decision would be made.

I am aware that we will be criticized by many for the stands we are being asked to take today.

Some will say that we are distancing ourselves from Southern Baptists. Let me say again, as I have said before, we stand ready to work with Southern Baptists.

We have not wanted the things that have happened in the last few weeks to happen. We are focused on a lost world that needs our Savior and His gospel.

Why these distractions? Why these extra requirements? If we or the missionaries, are heretics, show us by Scripture and we will repent. But if you cannot say we are heretics, then work with us for the sake of a world that needs Jesus.

And let us all thank God for however we heard the gospel and were saved, though it came from a man or a woman, from a Jew or a Gentile, from bond or free.

For when we miss hell and enter into glory we will want to find those who helped us know Jesus and thank them everyone and we will wonder then that we thought we could tell people what the Sovereign God could or could not do with their lives.

April 2002