June 17, 2002

Graham discusses the future of SBC & Texas Baptists
___By Marv Knox
___Editor
___ST. LOUIS--Now is the best time to be part of the Southern Baptist Convention, Jack Graham said shortly after being elected SBC president.

Jack Graham Justin Veneman/BP

___"Being a Texan, I'm confident in thinking big," Graham said. "The opportunities of the world are bigger and greater than ever before for Southern Baptists. There has never been a better time, a better opportunity than right now for us to get the message of the gospel around the world."
___Graham is pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, a Dallas suburb. He was elected to the SBC's top post by acclamation, succeeding James Merritt as leader of the nation's largest non-Catholic denomination.
___During a news conference, Graham discussed a range of issues facing the convention:
___ Missionaries. Principles of integrity and accountability support the request that SBC International Mission Board missionaries sign an affirmation of the 2000 version of the Baptist Faith & Message statement, he said.
___"It's a good idea to ask missionaries to affirm" the Baptist Faith & Message, he noted. "Baptists are not a creedal people, but we are a confessional people."
___Graham compared the request--presented to the missionaries early this year by IMB President Jerry Rankin--to accountability required of employees in the workplace.
___The Baptist Faith & Message is an "instrument of doctrinal accountability," he explained, quoting the document's description of itself. And just as employees in business are expected to be accountable to the corporations that employee them, missionaries should be willing to accept accountability to Southern Baptists, who send them to the mission fields, he reasoned.
___"All who serve us will share our faith," he said. "It's a matter of integrity."
___The "vast, vast majority" of IMB missionaries will sign--and indeed already have signed--the affirmation of the Baptist Faith & Message, he said. "This will be resolved quickly, and the International Mission Board will move forward in the world and get the job done."
___Asked about his personal feelings regarding requesting missionaries to affirm the Baptist Faith & Message, Graham said: "It's a matter of integrity to me. ... No one should serve Southern Baptists without accountability."
___Graham differentiated between a creed, which he described as "a dogma required of the system itself," and a confession, which explains "what we believe."
___"All of this is about how much diversity is there," he said. "Where do you draw the line" and remain a Southern Baptist?
___ Evangelism. A reporter asked Graham how he feels about Merritt's stated concern that the SBC is losing its passion for evangelism, and the new president said he shared that burden.
___"The natural drift for Christians ... is to drift away from evangelism and missions," he acknowledged, lamenting the fact many Baptist churches never baptize any new Christians.
___"To get people to pray and share their faith is one of the most difficult things to do as a pastor," he said. However, he affirmed the SBC is on the right track toward greater evangelistic zeal.
___"The laity are being unleashed," he said. "One of my duties as president is to continue to encourage, exhort and equip saints for the work of the gospel."
___ Empowering Kingdom Growth. Graham affirmed Empowering Kingdom Growth, an initiative approved at the St. Louis meeting that calls on the SBC and its churches to "seek first the King and his kingdom."
___"I have the heart of an evangelist," Graham said, noting he wants to encourage churches to "get the good news of Jesus Christ out."
___"Sometimes we're known for what we're against," he said. "We want to be known for what we're for."
___ Muslims. Immediately before the convention meeting, former SBC President Jerry Vines told participants in the SBC Pastors' Conference that Mohammed, the founder of Islam, was a "demon-possessed pedophile."
___In his news conference, Graham said Vines' statement is accurate. Mohammed had 13 wives, and he married one wife when she was 6 years old and consummated the marriage when she was 9, Graham said.
___The account given by Vines and Graham was contested in the Dallas Morning News June 12 by Syed Ahsani, chairman of the American Muslim Alliance. He said Mohammed had nine wives, and the youngest was 18.
___Even though Muslims may protest Vines' remarks, they should know the facts regarding their faith and its founder, Graham contended.
___In contrast to Islam, Christians worship "a pure and perfect Savior," he said.
___"I believe all religion apart from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is works salvation," he added. Christians have a duty to God and to the world to proclaim that message.
___ Texas Baptists. In a paper distributed in the convention hall, Florida Baptist Witness Editor Jim Smith said the question is "not if, but when" the Baptist General Convention of Texas would leave the SBC and form an alternate convention. Graham said any movement in that direction reflects BGCT leadership, not the churches.
___"The leadership of the BGCT is distancing itself from Southern Baptist work," he said. "But what I am seeing is many churches are supportive of Southern Baptist Convention work.
___"I believe the rank-and-file Texas Baptist ... wants to be part of global missions strategy" through the SBC, he said, pledging to work as president to encourage Texas churches to remain faithful to the SBC.
___Graham's church is now dually aligned with both state Baptist conventions in Texas, the BGCT and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Within the past year, Prestonwood has given the largest share of its missions contributions through the SBTC rather than the BGCT.
___ SBC and two-convention states. A motion presented at the annual meeting encouraged the SBC to relate to only one Baptist convention in a state. Three states--Missouri, Texas and Virginia--have two conventions each. The SBC relates to the older, more moderate conventions in Texas and Virginia, as well as the new, fundamentalist conventions there. However, it has determined not to relate to the new, more moderate convention in Missouri.
___Asked if he thought the SBC would approve the one-convention-only proposal, Graham said, "That's a decision that will have to be made by the Executive Committee of the SBC," predicting it will be "based on due diligence."
___ Broader inclusiveness. Asked if he would reach out to a broader Baptist constituency, Graham focused his remarks generationally.
___"One of my goals especially would be to reach to the new generation," he said, noting those people "were not here 20 years ago" in the early years of the SBC controversy.
___"It is my prayer I will be able to listen to those who want to know who we are as the Southern Baptist Convention," he said.
___"The unity of this convention is very strong. I'm convinced there's never been a better day to be part of the SBC."
___

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