Thoughts on Baylor
By David R. Currie
Executive Director

As all of you know, Baylor University has been in a major crisis for well over a year. Baylor is very special to Texas Baptists, as well as all Baptists. Baylor is the flagship institution in all of Baptist life in my opinion. I think that many of us who graduated from another Texas Baptist university also consider ourselves alumni of Baylor. In fact, I have an official “Alumni by Choice” diploma in my office. We root for Baylor in athletics. Watching the Lady Bears win the national championship was tremendous fun! Baylor is our Baptist University with a national reputation in academics. Baylor is special, certainly to me and I believe to many of you.

You have probably wondered why I did not speak out on the Baylor situation. Believe me it’s not that I didn’t think about it. I drafted press releases I never released. I wrote articles I never published. I wrote letters I never mailed.

Ultimately I did not speak out or offer a public opinion because I never could come up with any statement I thought would be helpful in resolving the crisis. Foy Valentine, my first mentor, taught me to always ask the question, “Will my words or actions accomplish something or simply make noise?” I thought long and hard asking myself if there was any role I could play in helping solve the Baylor situation, but I always concluded that any public statement I might make would simply “make noise.” So, for once in my life, I kept my opinions mostly to myself.

I also chose not to speak out because I knew that any action I took would divide Texas Baptists Committed. Just as the fifteen members of TBC who serve on the Baylor Board of Regents held various views on what was happening at Baylor, I knew our overall membership was divided as well.

But now I am ready to become involved in helping Baylor move forward and hope I can be a positive influence for Baylor in the days ahead. I am pleased with several recent events at Baylor.

I think Dr. Sloan’s new position as Chancellor of Baylor is a win/win solution to what had become a crisis, not only for Baylor but for the BGCT and TBC. I know emotions ran high for along time and there will be more sensitive moments to come, but I applaud Dr. Sloan for making this move and the board for approving this direction.

Since Baylor is moving forward now, I do not want to discuss possible reasons for the crisis, but I do want to say that I think Dr. Sloan will have a positive legacy at Baylor and that many things he started will have a lasting positive influence for Baylor’s future, if, and more on this later, Baylor continues to remain very connected to the BGCT, CBF, TBC and clearly maintain herself as a traditional Baptist University with NO Fundamentalist influence whatsoever.

While I do not claim to understand all the aspects of Baylor Vision 2012 I am impressed with much of what I know. I think a Baptist University should be intentionally Christian in everything it does. I think faculty should be active church persons. I think aspiring to be a world class university in research and teaching is a worthy goal.

I am pleased that a good search committee has been chosen to find a new president. The committee is inclusive of the various opinions on the Board of Regents and I am especially pleased that TBC board member Bill Brian, from First Baptist, Amarillo is chairing this important committee. Please pray for Bill and this committee as they seek to find God’s person for this highly influential position.

In thinking about Baylor’s future, I have a few other thoughts.

1. Baylor University must remain a leader in the battle against Fundamentalism. The future of traditional Baptists will in part depend on leadership from Baylor. While Baylor may have fundamentalist alumni as well as many non-Baptist alumni, it is critical to all of Baptist life that Baylor be clear in its stance against fundamentalism and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. I am totally convinced that the stronger Baylor stands with the BGCT and TBC, the more it will prosper both financially and spiritually. Traditional Baptists want to give their money and support to an institution they can count on and trust for the future.

2. Remember the words of the late (and great in my opinion) Billy Ray Parmer –“Perception is Reality.”” From the many letters and phone calls I have received over the last two years, many Texas Baptists have been concerned that Baylor was trending toward Fundamentalism. This perception must be dealt with through strong positive statements from current Baylor leaders. New Regent appointments must be persons with no relationship to Fundamentalism. The interim president must be someone clearly opposed to Fundamentalism as well as someone who has the trust and gifts to unite the various constituencies of Baylor. The new president should be a known opponent of Fundamentalism who will willingly provide leadership for Mainstream Traditional Baptists.

3. All of us must work at helping the Baylor family unite for the future. Trust must be built among regents, faculty, and alumni. Communication must be clear. There must be no hidden agendas. Everyone wants to believe in Baylor and Baylor’s future as a leader of traditional moderate Baptists.

Texas Baptists Committed and Baylor University have a long history together in fighting Fundamentalism and working to preserve historic Baptist principles and practices. I know this will continue in the future. Let’s all get behind Baylor with our prayers, our financial resources and our emotional support as Baylor helps lead us to a new glorious future apart from the Southern Baptist Convention and Fundamentalism.

Congratulations to the Lady Bears in their National Championship win!

April 2005