October 22, 2001
IMB regional leader asks missionaries to sign BF&M
___By Mark Wingfield
___Managing Editor
___RICHMOND, Va.--An International Mission Board regional leader acted on his own when he recently asked all personnel in Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands to sign a pledge of affirmation for the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message, according to IMB officials.
___Gordon Fort, regional director for the IMB's work in that region, sent an e-mail to the missionaries under his supervision in early October, asking them to take what he called a "proactive" step.
___"There continues to be questions from our SBC constituents at the annual SBC conventions concerning the dissemination of the current copy of the Baptist Faith & Message and the adherence to it by all entities of the SBC," he wrote. "I would like to send a strong message of support from the region of Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands."
___Such a message could be sent if each IMB missionary in the region would "sign a statement that they have read (the revised Baptist Faith & Message) and can affirm it."
___Even though newer missionaries may have signed the 2000 faith statement before appointment, Fort asked them to do so again in a show of solidarity.
___"My desire in asking for this signed statement is to send a strong message of support to our IMB leadership and its trustees," he wrote. "I would like to be able to take these signed statements to the IMB trustee meeting in November."
___In the e-mail, Fort urged those under his leadership to "follow-up with your personnel to be sure they have received this request and actively check to be sure action is taken."
___The statement he wanted missionaries to sign says: "I have read and affirm the current edition of the Baptist Faith & Message. In accountability to the SBC, its member churches and the trustees of the IMB, I will carry out my responsibilities as a missionary in accordance with and not contrary to the Baptist Faith & Message."
___Asked by at least one missionary for clarification, Fort later sent a second e-mail stating his request was "purely voluntary" and involved "no mandate from Richmond," meaning from IMB headquarters in Richmond, Va.
___Fort's request was not initiated by IMB administrators in Richmond, confirmed Larry Cox, IMB vice president for mobilization. "This was his own action, his own decision," Cox said, emphasizing that Fort had requested that "each missionary voluntarily sign the statement."
___"This was an action of a regional leader, not an action of the IMB administration or trustees," Cox said. "This was something he decided to do himself."
___Even though the request was stated to be voluntary, that may not be how it was received by some missionaries on the field, suggested a Texas minister who spent 15 years as an IMB missionary in the same region.
___"There is a compulsion about it, no doubt. If you don't sign, you're going to be stigmatized," said Bryan Houser, minister of missions at Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church in Dallas.
___"There is a general feeling that things are handled top down anyway, so this will be perceived in that light," he added. "Certainly anybody who didn't sign would feel like they were singled out. If I were on the field and I got the letter, I would think, 'If I don't sign it, what's going to happen?' Somebody somewhere is going to know, and they're going to ask why."
___While Houser said he and Fort are friends and he understands the positive intent Fort had, he believes the request has the potential to put pressure on veteran missionaries.
___IMB policy regarding missionaries remains the same as it has been since trustees clarified the matter in January, Cox said. At that time, trustees codified a longstanding practice of requiring missionary candidates to explain any disagreements they have with the Baptist Faith & Message. Missionary candidates also are asked to sign a statement saying they will carry out their work in "accordance with" the Baptist Faith & Message.
___Unlike some other SBC agencies, missionary applicants are allowed some variance if they have minor points of disagreement with the wording of the faith statement, trustees were told at the time.
___According to trustee action in January, previously appointed missionaries were not to be required to sign an affirmation of the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message.
___Cox declined to say what response IMB administrators in Richmond had to Fort's request of missionaries.
___However, as a former regional leader, he acknowledged he was allowed "to make decisions based on what the team I worked with and I felt like was best for our region."
___Fort insisted his intention was positive but acknowledged he "stepped into the minefield of perception."
___"For those outside our region, who have not had the opportunity to understand the context or positive intent of my request, I apologize for any misunderstanding this may have caused," he told the Standard in an e-mail interview.
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