June 4, 2001
Ad series seeks to correct record
of 'false witness' by BGCT foes
___By Ferrell Foster
___Texas Baptist Communications
___The Baptist General Convention of Texas' Integrity Committee has written the Ninth Commandment on newsprint, not stone.
___"Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness Against Thy Neighbor" appeared in full-page advertisements May 27 in the newspapers of three Texas cities--Amarillo, Lubbock and Tyler.
___It is part of an ad campaign to counter false information being spread about the BGCT. The Integrity Committee, created by the BGCT Executive Board in 1999, placed the ads, which were paid by "concerned Texas Baptists." No Cooperative Program money was used.
___Two more ads are scheduled, said Howard Batson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Amarillo and a committee member. The ad series also is expected to run in other communities.
___Some Texas Baptists expressed support for the effort to inform more Texas Baptists of the problem. Others expressed dismay at taking the situation before non-Christians.
___The ad speaks about the "half-truths and personal attacks" being used to "divide and deeply trouble all Texas Baptists of good faith."
___"It's time the plain and simple, undistorted truth be made public," the ad says. It then lists eight "guiding principles" of the BGCT, including affirmation of the truth of Scripture and the priority of missions, as well as opposition to abortion and homosexual behavior.
___Similar concerns have been communicated through the Baptist Standard, but this is the first time they have been taken into the secular media via ads.
___"This approach allowed us to communicate to Baptist laity that we otherwise could not reach," Batson said. "We've really grown tired of the guilt by association and political innuendo that has come from Baptist Press and others."
___Robert Jenkins, a member of the Integrity Committee living in Plano and formerly of Tyler, said: "It's very unpleasant to answer accusations, but suspicion has been cast. We need to defend ourselves."
___Barry Peterson, a committee member in Amarillo, said there is a "great deal of current activity" in spreading incorrect information about the BGCT and "prominent individuals." Some people are "painting an inaccurate picture of what the Baptist General Convention of Texas stands for. ... They're spreading untruths."
___Running the ads in newspapers allowed the BGCT to "define ourselves" rather than be defined by "someone who doesn't even understand us or has purposely chosen to misrepresent us," Batson said.
___The ads, however, raised concern among some.
___"I think if you stand for certain things," people don't have to be told, they "know it," said Stan Coffey, pastor of San Jacinto Baptist Church in Amarillo, which is affiliated with both the BGCT and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, which he served as president.
___David Wilson, pastor of Southcrest Baptist Church in Lubbock, noted: "My first reaction was that of sadness. ... Why are we involving all of the lost community," people who "don't have a clue" about Baptist life? The ad "did a lot more damage than good."
___Some Southcrest members have connections to the alternative SBTC, but the church remains affiliated only with the BGCT. "My heart is I want to be a team player," he said. "We're trying our best to be a team player," but "putting that ad in the paper didn't help."
___"I agree with them trying to defend their position," but the problem is "airing it" in the public media, he said.
___Another pastor was saddened by the ads, as well. But Mike Massar still thought it was the right thing to do. "My first reaction was sadness" because it was a "reminder of the civil war that has been going on among Baptists for the past 20 years or so," said the pastor of First Baptist Church in Tyler.
___"I did not disagree with the need to do this, because there seems to be half-truths ... and blatant fabrications of the truth that swirl about," Massar said. "Unfortunately, the only way to handle that is to confront it."
___Asked if the committee was concerned about taking the conflict before the public, Batson said: "You always have that concern. Quite frankly, the tension has already been taken before the broader public. ... Every time the convention meets, there is news coverage."
___Paul Saylors, director of missions for Smith Baptist Association in Tyler, had a similar view. "The general populace is pretty well aware of the fact that Baptists are feuding with one another."
___The few people in the association who spoke to Saylors after the ad ran were "very complimentary of the way it was done." It was "not a vindictive thing," but rather an attempt to "present the truth in its best light."
___Roy Kornegay, director of missions for Amarillo Baptist Association, said, "I do not see how that ad is going to help our witness to a lost world."
___He used the acronym STOP to express his view--sick and tired of politics. "I think the more we can focus on our mission and less on our controversy, the more we will succeed in our mission, and that's for both sides."
___Kornegay added that statements about the BGCT supporting homosexuality are ridiculous. Both sides oppose abortion, he said.
___The ad campaign is being paid for by "different individuals," Batson said. They ran in Amarillo, Lubbock and Tyler because some "Baptist leaders in those areas wanted the ads to run." The effort will "spread out to other markets," but exactly where has not been determined.
___"We're always hurt that you have to go to this extreme" of using the public media, Peterson said. "Everybody would have preferred to not speak out and exhibit our dirty laundry.
___"We just felt like we're backed against the wall," he said. If the BGCT didn't respond, "perhaps the perception is there that you're guilty."
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