June 23, 1999
EDITORIAL:
Doctrinal study dominates horizon
___The Southern Baptist Convention last week marked the 20th anniversary of its theological/political reformation by approving a proposal that could do to the convention's theology what the past two decades have done to its politics.
___Messengers to the SBC annual meeting voted to create a committee that will review the convention's Baptist Faith & Message doctrinal statement and bring possible recommendations next year.
___Although Baptists do not ascribe to creeds, the Baptist Faith & Message has been the convention's doctrinal benchmark since 1963. The document mirrors the Baptist Faith & Message statement drafted in 1925, which the SBC modeled after much older Baptist confessions of faith.
___Historically, Baptists developed such faith statements to resolve controversy. Southern Baptists drafted the 1925 BF&M to bring peace in the midst of the Modernist/Fundamentalist debates. The 1963 BF&M sought to mend a rift created in large part by debate over the interpretation of the Book of Genesis.
___However, despite more than a decade of calamitous conflict, the SBC managed to work through the politics of its latest controversy without drawing up a new document. To be sure, in 1987, the Peace Committee tightened the definitions of phrases regarding interpretation of the Bible. By last year, when a new article on the family marked the first revision of the 1963 BF&M, the SBC controversy already had been resolved, with so-called conservatives in control of the convention and so-called moderates either banished or marginalized.
___ But now that the controversy that dominated two decades of SBC life is all but over, the convention is going to take a new, serious look at its doctrinal statement.
___T.C. Pinckney, a prominent conservative leader from Virginia, proposed the BF&M study and offered its rationale: "I believe it is appropriate at this time that the Baptist Faith & Message be reviewed and that it be made consistent with the current stand of the Southern Baptist Convention."
___Pinckney's explanation begs a question with which the yet-to-be-appointed study committee must deal: What is the "current stand of the Southern Baptist Convention"?
___The BF&M study committee faces a vista of theological discussion.The document currently outlines historic positions on Scripture, God, man, salvation, grace, the church, baptism and the Lord's supper, the Lord's day, the kingdom of God, "last things," evangelism and missions, education, stewardship, cooperation, "the Christian and social order," peace and war, religious liberty and the family.
___Previously, Baptist confessions of faith have been consensus documents. They have assured Baptists of their common convictions and pulled Baptists together. Consequently, some sections of those statements have been open to interpretation to accommodate the consciences of Baptists who accept an essential unity but who do not walk in theological lockstep on important but secondary issues.
___Such is not the mindset of most SBC leaders today. That's why we've seen increasing numbers of motions, resolutions and statements that narrow the parameters of biblical interpretation, practical application and collegial relationship.
___The BF&M study committee's proposals will prove vital to the future of the convention. Not only will they define doctrinal convictions, but they also will circumscribe the parameters of relationship. That will impact the national convention's connections to the states, including Texas.
___In recent years, SBC leaders have criticized Texas Baptists for appearing to move "away from" the national convention. Many Texans, however, have asserted that they have not moved; the SBC has shifted away.
___If the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message is a narrow, exclusive document, it will validate many Texans' feelings of abandonment by the SBC. If it changes historic statements regarding Scripture, the nature of God, salvation, missions and evangelism, the church and religious liberty, it will erode the national convention's base of support. But if it continues the grand tradition of supportive, inclusive Baptist faith statements, it could go a long way toward convincing Texans that the national convention values them and wants to involve them in their common future. Next year, the proof will be in the proposals.
___ --Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@flash.net
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