Potential Issues for the Baptist State Convention
North Carolina Baptists are observing their 175th anniversary at the 2005 convention, today through Wednesday at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem. North Carolina Baptists represent the largest denominational entity in North Carolina, with 1.2 million members in 4,011 churches and missions. More than 4,000 "messengers" are expected to attend.
*Electing an Executive Director: George Bullard of Cary is the acting executive director-treasurer. He was associate exec before that and while many assumed he would retain the acting exec role, the second vice-president of the Baptist State Convention, Brian Davis of Statesville, has said he will nominate Mike Cummings of Lumberton to replace Bullard. The Executive Committee must either recommend Bullard or someone else to the full board of directors when each group meets today. Baptist "messengers" will vote on the candidate.
*Budget challenge: Ted Stone of Durham says he will again challenge the Cooperative Program Missions Giving budget and giving plans unique to North Carolina. He wants more money to go to the Southern Baptist Convention, and for churches to have only one giving plan option.
*Homosexual Prohibition: Bill Sanderson, pastor of Hephzibah Baptist Church in Wendell, has declared his intention to amend the bylaws to include a prohibition from membership of any church that supports homosexuality.
* Officer election. All current officers have completed their second one-year terms and are not eligible for re-election. Conservative Carolina Baptists is endorsing a complete slate of officers, who at this time have no announced opposition. They are: for president Stanley J. Welch, pastor of Blackwelder Park Baptist Church, Kannapolis for more than 20 years. He is a graduate of Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute and Luther Rice Seminary.
For First Vice President Ricky Speas, pastor of Old Town Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, since 1998. He is a graduate of Campbell University and earned both his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
For Second Vice President W. Barry Nealy, director of missions for Three Forks Baptist Association in Boone. He has been a consultant in church growth and church planting with the Baptist State Convention and was a missionary to Equatorial Brazil for six years. He earned his doctor of ministry degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and his Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
*Site Selection. The Program, Place and Preacher Committee will recommend the string of meeting 14 of the past 16 years in Winston-Salem come to an end, primarily because of the disruption caused by late scheduled Wake Forest University basketball games which preempted use of the main arena. The committee will recommend the annual meeting move to the Greensboro Coliseum Annex in 2006-07; the Raleigh Convention Center now under construction for 2008; and the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro 2009-11.
Source: Baptist State Convention of North Carolina Press Office.
Comments (3)
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"Homosexual Prohibition: Bill Sanderson, pastor of Hephzibah Baptist Church in Wendell, has declared his intention to amend the bylaws to include a prohibition from membership of any church that supports homosexuality."
How original. I wonder when they're going to get around to condemning all the other things condemned in the bloody book of Leviticus. Like cheeseburgers and cloth made of mixed fibers. And don't forget that oldie but goldie: eating shellfish.
And one can't help but wonder whether this bunch will make some sort of statement about teaching Intelligent Design Creationism in science classes. I know we're behind Kansas in the race to destroy science, but with a little hard work, we can overtake those Jayhawks on the way back to the Dark Ages!
Posted on November 14, 2005 10:06 PM
Eric, some thoughtful comments.
Sadly though, I am not totally surprised. As a former Southern Baptist (even an ordained SBC Minister), this type of thing has been on the horizon for many years.
This is the culmination of the hijacking of the SBC (National) that began in 1979. Much has been said, written, etc. regarding this. Now, it is time for the people who call themselves "baptist" to thoroughly look at the definition of that word and reconsider that name for themselves.
IMHO, there are really no TRUE baptist church's left in the Triad area. While there are some that have a picture of what a Baptist is, the wholeness is not there.
Therefore, stop promoting one's self to be what one is not!
Shalom
Posted on November 15, 2005 2:22 PM
The SBC may not be what it used to be, but you have to admit that it got where it is through a democratic process. If they have redefined "Baptist" from a denomination of self-determination and a certain freedom of thought into one of lock-step conformity and narrow-minded bigotry, you have to accept that this is what the majority of the people in the pews wanted.
The thing is that no religion stays unchanged over time. Folks want to believe it does, perhaps in search of the stability they naturally crave, but history shows it has never happened. In the end, that's probably for the best. Removing the chance for change leads inevitably into stagnation and death. But even if the Baptists have chosen such a path, it won't keep people of conscience from leaving their "fold" in search of better places and better groups to associate with.
Posted on November 16, 2005 9:35 AM