September 3, 2001

EDITORIAL:
Why we can't shut up & go away
___"If the Baptist Standard would stop fanning the flames, this Baptist controversy would simmer down to nothing."
___Those words--in one form or another-- echo across Texas. People who speak them claim the Standard is the fount of all fighting, the cause of all conflict, the source of all incivility among Baptists. If the paper would just shut up and go away--or at least refuse to report on convention conflict and only carry happy news-- then everything could get back to normal. "Normal," of course, is a euphemism for peaceful. But we can't shut up and go away for at least three reasons.
___First, our mandate dictates otherwise.
___The purpose of the Standard, adopted in 1915, is to conduct "a printing and/or publishing business to aid and support the Baptist General Convention of Texas and to interpret events and movements that affect the welfare of the people of God." Like them or not, the developments of the current controversy "affect the welfare of the people of God," and we are bound to report them promptly and factually. We would be derelict if we failed to do so.
___Second, Baptist theology compels us.
___For almost four centuries, traditional Baptists have championed soul competency, the notion that each person is competent to stand before and answer directly to God. As a corollary to this idea, Baptists have functioned democratically. Our churches, associations and conventions determine their futures through the voting process. In order for these competent souls to make wise decisions, they need good information. We provide that information because we must--because we trust God's design of soul competency.
___Third, we stand on the side of history.
___Critics who complain about our contentious content seem to think Baptists did not engage in conflict prior to 20 years ago, and the Standard did not report conflict until the latter half of the past decade. They are wrong.
___Any comprehensive history of the Baptist movement and Southern Baptists reveals a succession of conflicts and controversies. Although each controversy was painful, it also was defining. It shaped both thought and behavior, not only for the combatants, but for succeeding generations. Controversy has been an abiding feature of Baptist life.
___Controversy also has been a feature of Texas Baptist life. Texas Baptists even managed to fight over some issues that did not develop among the larger body of Baptists. A century ago, Baptists battled for the soul of Texas. J.B. Cranfill, the first editor of this paper, resigned in 1904 after he engaged in a gunfight with the editor of a competing newspaper as they traveled on a train bound for the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. At least this editor has not shot anybody.
___Critics also fault the Standard for standing with the BGCT and not editorializing as if the competing convention were a moral equivalent. Again, this is not new.
___In his memoirs, "Ten Years in Texas," Standard editor/statesman J.B. Gambrell wrote in 1909: "When this writer came to Texas as a tender-foot, he found a great battle on. ... (The Standard) stood unflinchingly by ... the Baptist General Convention, which appointed the board and outlined the policies. The other paper was in sharp conflict and was waging war with great zeal and no little ability. The woods were afire all over the state, and it was a question of saving what could be saved and holding things for a better day. The plan of attack was by ceaseless assaults on the board, its workers and on the convention itself. The accusations were as ceaseless as the tides of the seas."
___And so the Standard stood with the BGCT --defending against detractors and waving a banner of vision, commitment and courage. Later, Gambrell noted, "I did not entertain a doubt that the principles of democracy in the denomination would be vindicated." The Standard approached its task faithfully, providing a free flow of information about the issues of the day, because it stood for truth and a free press, he said, adding, "It ought to give assurance to the public everywhere that in the ongoing of things, ordained by the Lord of glory, truth, in the open field, will win."
___The unfolding events of history vindicated Gambrell's confidence. Under God's grace and guidance, Texas Baptists witnessed a century of progress, transforming countless lives and communities across the state and far beyond with the good news of Jesus Christ.
___The witness of Gambrell and other heroic forebears beckons us to follow. They endured calamitous times and ceaseless attacks. They stood for righteousness. They waved a big banner. And God honored their faithfulness.
___Duty demands that we do no less. May Texas Baptists a century from now look back and find us faithful stewards of these days.
___ Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com


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