February 24, 1999
EDITORIAL:
Inspect threads of Texans' quilts
___Can we--should we--question motives?
___Motivation provides the fragile thread that pieces a quilt called reconciliation, which some Texas Baptists are struggling to spread over our beloved state convention. Motivation also is the thread that has bound another quilt called freedom, in which some Texas Baptists have wrapped this same convention. And motivation might be the thread that weaves these patchwork quilts together, providing both peace and liberty for all Texas Baptists.
___If motives are pure, the threads will be strong. And the prospects for securing reconciliation and liberty across the Baptist General Convention of Texas are excellent. But if the motives are false, the threads eventually will break, leaving the convention unprotected, exposed and vulnerable to cold winds of controversy.
___What would you do before buying a beautiful but fragile quilt? Examine the threads. For the sake of our Texas Baptist convention, we must do likewise.
___First, let's look at the reconciliation quilt. It's being pieced together by a 70-member "reconciliation forum," which has grown out of multi-partisan ministers' meetings held across the state. About 50 forum members met three weeks ago to consider their quest. While they spoke peacefully, they did not reach consensus on a precise definition of reconciliation.
___Some Texas Baptists fear reconciliation means mandatory affirmation of the Southern Baptist Convention and the "conservative resurgence" that has dominated it for two decades. They're afraid some advocates of reconciliation really want Texas Baptists to pretend nothing has happened in the SBC in 20 years and to embrace the SBC enthusiastically and uniquely.
___If that definition is true--and, for the record, no one is publicly claiming it right now--the reconciliation quilt is doomed to disintegrate. Texas Baptists, an independent lot by nature and nurture, consistently have resisted the authoritarian coercion that has marked the SBC's march to the right since 1979. Texas Baptists aren't inclined to surrender their autonomy for a blanket of so-called peace.
___If, on the other hand, reconciliation means a resolve to agree to disagree about national relationships and a commitment to inclusively cooperate on a wide range of common tasks--like winning this state to Christ, starting and strengthening churches, healing homes and educating tomorrow's leaders--then it very well may succeed.
___Next, let's look at the freedom quilt. Sewn together primarily by Texas Baptists Committed, this quilt has demonstrated its durability, providing protection from the "conservative resurgence"--what opponents have labeled a "takeover"--between the Red River and the Rio Grande. It consistently has provided the catalyst for charting a course for Texas that is autonomous from the SBC.
___Some Texas Baptists, however, fear this freedom quilt could suffocate. They include Texans who affirm the SBC's rightward shift. But they also include some Texas Baptists Committed supporters who worry the organization might coerce the BGCT away from its longstanding relationship with the SBC and toward a more formal, perhaps even exclusive, relationship with the moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. They fear Texans who do not agree with Texas Baptists Committed's goals will lose their liberty.
___If that scenario is true--and, for the record, no one is publicly claiming it right now--the liberty quilt will unravel rapidly. This would be a tragedy. Texas Baptists Committed's greatest challenge is to resist the temptation to become like its adversary. It steadfastly has fought authoritarian control; it must not yield to the seduction of mirroring its enemy.
___If, on the other hand, freedom means liberty for all Texas Baptists, then it will hold. If all Texas Baptists and their churches have unrestricted opportunity--make that unavoidable duty--to choose and support cooperative causes without reservation, then they will have pure motivation to work together toward eternal rewards.
___Can these quilts of reconciliation and freedom be woven together? Yes, if the motives of the weavers are pure. And if they will allow the Master Weaver, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to knit them together. That thread must be love--ultimately for Jesus and eventually for each other. It is strong. It is true. It will hold.
--Marv Knox
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