December 2, 2002
First Baptist Church of Dallas cites
support for pastor in BGCT pullout
___DALLAS--First Baptist Church of Dallas has voted to stop sending any missions money through the Baptist General Convention of Texas, signaling the church's likely move to unique alignment with the rival Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.
___"The inevitable is coming simply because of the direction the BGCT is moving in," Pastor Mac Brunson said. "The BGCT is making it increasingly impossible for churches who want to be with the Southern Baptist Convention to remain a part of the state convention. The BGCT is a denomination of their own in everything but title."
___BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade expressed disappointment with the historic church's decision and refuted Brunson's assessment about the ability of churches to relate to both the SBC and the BGCT.
___"I am afraid church members may not have been fully aware that at our last convention, we affirmed a Cooperative Program budget plan that reaffirmed our traditional relationship to the Southern Baptist Convention," Wade said. "The 2003 giving plan removes all the restrictions that the last two budgets had placed on gifts to the SBC. Any church giving through the BGCTcan fully cooperate with the SBC in every way."
"What the other convention is doing is unprecedented in its de-emphasis on the Texas mission field. Churches of the BGCT are committed to a comprehensive response to the needs of people in Texas and around the world."
--Charles Wade
___Brunson has been elected to the executive board of the SBTC, an action the church cited as a reason for its budget change.
___The motion adopted by church members stated: "In order to support our pastor as he assumes an important leadership position as a member of the Executive Board of the SBTC, that our church once again return to participating in the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention as it has been historically defined, by sending undesignated, all of First Baptist Church, Dallas, Cooperative Program gifts, including state and national missions offerings, to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention."
___Since 1999, First Baptist Church has been dually aligned with the BGCT and the SBTC.
___In the first three quarters of the current year, the church contributed $8,751 through the BGCT Cooperative Program and $3,249 for worldwide causes through the BGCT. In 1998, the year before becoming dually aligned, the church contributed $18,415 to Texas Baptist causes and $252,143 to worldwide causes through the BGCT.
___Brunson accused the BGCT of "building a new denomination, a different denomination."
___The BGCT allows churches to distribute Cooperative Program missions giving in a variety of ways. The convention's preferred budget still channels millions of dollars to the SBC annually. However, churches are allowed to exclude or limit funding to SBC causes if desired. At the same time, churches are free to designate a larger percentage of their gifts to be forwarded to the SBC as well.
___The SBTC offers one giving plan, which next year will send 52 percent of all Cooperative Program gifts to the SBC. Unlike the BGCT with its plethora of statewide ministries, the SBTC funds only one school in its Texas budget, Criswell College.
___"This church helped pave the way for many BGCT-related ministries, and it historically has been a strong partner with the BGCT in Christian education and benevolent work," Wade noted. "It is sad that the church seemingly would choose to defund ministries and institutions it has helped to create and sustain."
___However, Morris Chapman, president of the SBC Executive Committee, praised the Dallas church for its decision.
___"Once again, the church has made a convictional decision to increase its support of world missions," Chapman said. "In giving through the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, not only will spiritual needs be met in Texas, but 52 percent of the church's undesignated gifts will be forwarded to the Southern Baptist Convention for reaching to the ends of the earth with the gospel."
___Chapman added: "The recent action taken by First Baptist Church will help expand our convention's witness around the globe. I pray God will richly bless the ministry of First Baptist. Certainly she has been found faithful."
___Wade countered that churches like First Baptist that choose to support missions through the SBTC rather than the BGCT actually reduce the scope of their missions support.
___"What the other convention is doing is unprecedented in its de-emphasis on the Texas mission field," Wade said. "Churches of the BGCT are committed to a comprehensive response to the needs of people in Texas and around the world.
___"I would urge Texas churches to compare carefully where their Cooperative Program dollars are being used," he said. "I would respectfully suggest that if they want to make a difference in Texas as well as the world, their best way to do that is through the adopted budget of the BGCT."
___Missions needs in Texas remain overwhelming, Wade continued. "We need these funds to support our 23 Texas Baptist institutional ministries. We need these funds to support mission opportunities such as church starting--259 this year, with a goal of 777 over three years--as well as River Ministry, Mission Service Corps, Texas Partnerships, Texas Baptist Men and a host of other ministries. And we need these funds to help our existing 5,700 churches and missions be strong and healthy congregations."
___The reason the BGCT recently amended its preferred budget to keep a larger percentage of Cooperative Program money in Texas "is because some churches no longer support any of these ministries because they choose to give their monies through the other convention in Texas," he said.
___
Get printer-friendly version of this story
Send this story to a friend
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook