Archive for the ‘Baptist Issues’ Category
Burleson / Corbaley Feud Comes to a Head…
October 23rd, 2007 | 5 Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues
According to Wade Burleson’s blog, Jerry Corbaley is asking the IMB Board of Trustees to remove him as a trustee for the “gross and habitual sin” of gossip / slander.
Here’s the 153 page letter that Jerry submitted to the Board.
*SIGH*
Here’s my proposed solution to this mess… how about Jerry and Wade both submitting to Christian conflict resolution prior to the next Trustee meeting, facilitiated by a trained Christian mediator?
I don’t expect that to happen, but it certainly makes sense to me.
MBLA Endorses Candidates… or Not.
October 12th, 2007 | 2 Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues, In the News...
I hate to take up more space on this site about MBC politics, but the saga has taken another turn this evening. There was incorrect information passed on previously here, and it must be corrected.
Remember a few days back, when I posted news from David Krueger (originating on the Missouri Baptist list) about a new set of candidates for Missouri Baptist Convention officers? Well, supposedly, they were endorsed by the Missouri Baptist Layman’s Association (MBLA).
This evening, David informed the list that his “sources” were in error. Although the candidates he announced were spot on, the endorsement didn’t actually happen. David conveyed that, per a conversation he’d had with Kerry Messer (MBLA president), that MBLA has not met, that they did not endorse the candidates, and that they have no plans to do so.
Given the deluge of debate and argument on the list over endorsements for candidates since the announcment on Monday (there have been so many messages, I can’t hardly keep up with reading them all), the sudden news that these endorsements didn’t really happen is certainly interesting, to say the least. It raises quite a few questions in my mind, but to vocalize these publicly and imply that there was anything other than misunderstanding involved in this wouldn’t extend a bit of the grace to David and his “source” that I would hope for were I in their shoes.
(BTW, Rodney? You’ll probably want to correct your post, or create a new one clarifying the matter.)
More Missouri Baptist Nominations…
October 8th, 2007 | 2 Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues, In the News...
This seems to be the week for MBC announcements. This evening, e-mail on the Missouri Baptist list from David Krueger (reprinted here as it’s of interest to all Missouri Baptists) announced the following:
A number of fellow Missouri Baptists have announced that they will be nominated as officers for the Missouri Baptist Convention at the annual meeting in Tan-Tar-a. They include:
- Mike Green, for a second term as President. Mike is the DOM of the Twin Rivers Association.
- Jay Scribner, for 1st Vice President. Jay was a long-time pastor of FBC, Branson and is now retired.
- Roger Moran, for 2nd Vice President. Roger is a layman and a member of FBC, Troy.
- Jerry Williams, for Recording Secretary. Jerry is the DOM of the Barry Baptist Association.
All four have received the endorsement of the Missouri Baptist Layman’s Association.
Obviously, the same things I wrote about the “Save Our Convention” nominees apply here as well… I hope Missouri Baptists will prayerfully consider each of these, and vote as God leads.
I do hope, given the announcements of the last few days of candidates endorsed by each group, that the convention doesn’t decay into a political battle, with SOC on one side and MBLA on the other. Fireworks will accomplish nothing aside from further fracturing of the MBC, and we know who that will benefit… no one.
Reprinted… an Open Letter from David Baker
October 8th, 2007 | No Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues, In the News...
There was an interesting submission to the Missouri Baptist Mailing List today… an open letter from David Baker, pastor of Heartland Church. Given that it’s an open letter, and that it may be of interest to Missouri Baptists, it’s reproduced in its entirety below.
Save Our Convention?
Baptist are, after all, an intriguing lot. Bible believing, strongly conservative, Missouri Baptists struggled for years to reclaim the Missouri Baptist Convention from those who no longer emphasized the inerrancy and infallibility of Holy Scripture. Many good Pastors and Laymen suffered isolation, rejection, and marginalization because they aligned themselves with others of like conviction to challenge the status quo and bring about meaningful change. Many of us felt that real change would not occur, but it did.
Through God’s grace and prevenient mercy, these strong conservative folks ware able to bring genuine revolution and revitalization to Baptist life, even throughout the Southern Baptist Convention. In Missouri, we were the first state convention of Baptists to reclaim our executive board and staff. The price tag high; there were many wounded; and five of our state institutions were stolen before conservatives could gain access to boards of trustees. In asking the civil courts to determine who actually owns these entities, we have become embroiled in lengthy and expensive litigation.
We also demonstrated a lack of wisdom by bringing leaders into our state who had good intentions, but did not fully comprehend the history and inner dynamics of the situation. I do believe these men had good intentions but were overwhelmed by the complexities of a very fragile, as well as loose knit, coalition of conservative leadership.
The results have been regrettable. I feel badly for Dr. David Clippard and others who have paid the price for our lack of wisdom. Even though I am aware that they are fully responsible for what ultimately took place, I also believe that such an outcome may have been inevitable no matter who would have been put Into positions of leadership. Remember, the Liberal/Moderate group left us with a mess.In 2002,I was put on the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board to serve out an unexpired term, My election to the board sent shock-waves throughout our state. Within days of the first meeting I attended, nine Liberal/Moderate members of the board resigned. One of them commented to me, “If you are now a member of this board, the battle for the convention is over.” In just a short time later, a search committee brought a recommendation to a special called meeting of the board to hire a new executive director. The board voted to call David Clippard. Many of us were uneasy with the timing and the process, but we had no apparent reason not to move ahead. In retrospect, I wish I had been more vocal about my own concerns.
Within days we were faced with a real crisis. While our books showed significant cash reserves, in reality, we did not have the money to move our new Executive Director onto the field. Through a series of convention and board actions, previous convention leadership had made a series of loans, transfers, and expenditures which literally stripped the convention of its reserves. It Is my own belief that these leaders were attempting to prevent the convention from asking for a legal judgment on ownership of the five renegade agencies. Certainly, we were left in a precarious financial situation. We had no Idea how were going to fund any legal action.
The next year, I was placed on the MBC Executive Board Administrative Committee. In the spring of 2006,I served on an annual review committee to evaluate our Executive Director. Convention by-laws call for an annual evaluation of all staff. An appointed Executive Board committee evaluates the Executive Director each year. In these positions, I had access to the developing conflict which arose between David Clippard, Roger Moran and some members of the Executive Board. From that vantage point, I want to comment on the “Save Our Convention” movement new afoot among some Missouri Baptist Convention.
First, there is no need to ‘save’ the Missouri Baptist Convention. There is no secretive ‘good ole’ boy’ network that controls Missouri Baptist life. Baptists are notoriously independent. Getting conservative Baptists even to agree on anything is like herding cats.
Second, I do not know of any Executive Board member who has been overtly influenced to do anything. When I served on the board, people from all across our state called me and offered their opinions on a wide variety of issues. Virtually all of them wanted to tell me what they though I should do. I have the same experience as a Pastor. I listened to each one and tried to be kind. Then I did exactly what I had prayerfully determined to do.
Third, every member of the executive Board, at least while I serve, seemed thoughtful and sought to be well informed. None walked in lock-step with any particular group. I believe they were mature and prayerful Christians who sought to do the right thing. I sometimes questioned their judgment, but never their integrity.
Forth, Roger Moran is not the devil. Roger is a good man with a heart to do the right thing. He is also a gifted researcher, organizer, and advocate. Roger and I have not always agreed. But I have a deep respect for this good man. We own him much for helping the conservative movement. We should not turn on him because we fear his influence.
Fifth, we need to love and trust each other. The liberal/Moderate brethren are rejoicing in our division. They are convinced that those of us who are conservative in our theology will ultimately turn on each other and destroy our own movement. We must prove them wrong.Finally, we should be aware of false teaching in our midst. Conservatives are not immune from the influence of fad Christianity. We must hold to the old truths of our faith rooted in solid biblical exposition. We must also hold ourselves to a higher standard morally and ethically. We must strive for genuine righteousness combined with compassionate service. We must proclaim the Gospel to the lost with great intensity. And in the midst of it all, we must be kindly affectionate towards one another.
Dear friend, let us have a great Missouri Baptist Convention annual meeting in Tan-Tar-A on October 29-31. Let us lift up every local church in love and commit ourselves to live humbly at the foot of the cross.
God Bless You,
David Baker
Pastor, Heartland Baptist Church
Most of you know I haven’t been a believer for as long as troubles amongst Baptists in Missouri have been going on… but I’ve been around long enough to know that the fighting between “liberal/moderate” Baptists and “conservative” Baptists here has left a LOT of people on both sides damaged and scarred, and has left those amongst the public who have been paying attention to our squabbles with a somewhat less than favorable impression of Missouri Baptists.
My simple hope, as a member of an MBC church, is that peace returns to the MBC, and that the two resultant groups from the past few years of conflict (the BGCM and MBC) can each move on and go about furthering God’s Kingdom in their own ways. God knows that neither group is perfect, but I’m fairly certain He’s big enough to use both for His glory… assuming we’ll let Him.
MBC Officer Nominees Announced
October 5th, 2007 | No Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues, In the News...
Looks like its time for MBC political life to gear up again (after all, the state convention is coming up soon). How so, you ask?
Well… I received an e-mail today, with recommendations for officers from “Save Our Convention”.
The text follows:
CONCERNED BAPTIST LEADERS RECOMMEND
MISSOURI BAPTIST CONVENTION OFFICERS* * * For Immediate Release * * *
Many Pastors, staff members, Directors of Missions, laypeople, and the Save Our Convention group, have expressed concern for the future of our beloved Missouri Baptist Convention. Wanting our churches to focus on missions and evangelism, and to emphasize funding these efforts through the Cooperative Program, we ask you to prayerfully consider electing the following slate of officers at our annual meeting at Tan-Tar-A, October 29-31, 2007.
President: Gerald Davidson, Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church Arnold.
(Nominated by his Pastor, Kenny Qualls)First V. P.: Bruce McCoy, Pastor, Canaan Baptist Church.
(Nominated by Bob Curtis, Pastor, Ballwin Baptist Church)Second V.P.: John Marshall, Pastor, Second Baptist Springfield.
(Nominated by Hosea Bilyeu, Pastor, Ridgecrest Baptist SpringfieldRecording Secretary: Chad Pendergraft, Split Log Baptist, Goodman
(Nominated by Bob Caldwell, First Baptist Arnold)
Unless I’ve missed it (I don’t subscribe to either our current or former state newspaper, and don’t recall seeing anything on the MoBaptist list), these are the first nominees to be announced.
I do hope that Missouri Baptists will not allow their feelings about “Save Our Convention” (or any other organization) to influence their prayerful consideration of any candidate. If we’re not choosing individuals for convention service based on their real qualifications in consideration of God’s direction, but instead simply basing our votes upon how we feel about them as a result of what others have to say about them, we’ve got problems.
Every Church Needs…
September 21st, 2007 | No Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues, Worth Reading
Every church needs at least one person like Ms. Grace.
Check out Roger Ferrell’s article over at sbc IMPACT!… I guarantee it touches your heart.
Inconvenient Truths?
August 23rd, 2007 | 1 Comment | Posted in » Baptist Issues, Devotions / Bible Studies, My Life
I hadn’t intended to write about Outpost, its detractors, or the like, but in light of the continuing buzz about the entire situation, I cannot get everything out of my head. All of it continues to weigh heavily in my heart, especially in light of Scripture, which often seems to present inconvenient truths.
Anyway, you’re only getting Scripture this morning… it’s sufficient to speak for itself.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8Love never fails.
Galatians 6:1-2
1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
John 8:1-11
1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
1 John 3:16-20
16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
Piling On…
August 20th, 2007 | 5 Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues
Last Friday, when Micah announced he was pulling out of SBC Outpost, there was quite a bit of discussion about the state of Outpost, the tone of blogging discussions, and the like. The bulk of discussion really simply amounted to a “piling on” of sorts, expressing regret about Outpost’s tone or congratulating Micah (as well as Darren Casper and me, albeit to lesser extents) for taking a stand against such. While issues may exist, I’m not certain what happened Friday (and over the weekend) was all that productive.
Of course, Sunday I posted my rationale for leaving Outpost. Looking back at what I had written, I see I didn’t do much better.
To the Outpost contributors that remain, I must apologize publicly. While I tried to be gracious in posting my reasons for withdrawing, I’m afraid I did all of you a disservice… my words, while well-intentioned, appear now to me to look as if I were simply piling blame on you guys. I did not clearly communicate that, while the tone of some of the things written on SBC Outpost did indeed bother me, the response from Outpost detractors seeking to discredit the site was just as instrumental in my departure as anything written by Outpost contributors. I had to distance myself from that, not only because I anticipate my church commitments increasing as we enter uncertain times, but also for the sake of my sanity… the controversy and conflict we Baptist seem to thrive on is simply maddening sometimes.
Anyway, this is the last I’ll write on the subject. I hope and pray that all involved in blogging discussions will do so in the future in as Christlike a manner possible.
Why I’m Done with Outpost…
August 19th, 2007 | 6 Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues, Church Stuff..., My Life, Prayer Requests
Many of you have been anxiously awaiting this post, wondering why I decided to leave SBC Outpost. Given the controversy centered around the site in the past few weeks, that’s understandable. I’ll tell you now, though… if you’re looking for continued controversy here, you’ll probably find yourself disappointed by what I’ve got to say. It’s not in my nature.
In other words, this won’t be an expose on Outpost’s inner workings, the contributors, SBC politics, or the like. I simply want to state a couple things for the record about my motivation for hanging up my Outpost badge in order to prevent rampant speculation.
I must admit that at the time of my departure, I was disappointed and disheartened by SBC Outpost. I felt, in large part, that the site had missed the mark to which we stated we would aspire… “to provide interactive, substantive, and reflective dialogue for Southern Baptist churchmen and women to participate in shaping the future of the Southern Baptist Convention.” While there had been some tremendous dialogue on the site over the course of its existence, it appeared to me that for the most part, Outpost had become far less a tool for dialogue to build bridges of understanding, but moreso a wedge, widening the divide between Baptists. Heated passions, while good, appeared to result more often in cutting words than in iron sharpening iron.
All of this frustrated me immensely… division and discord are not something with which I deal well. It’s more my nature to try to bring peace in such situations, and I was simply discovering that I had neither time, energy, nor influence to do so… resulting in more frustration. Simply put, the site had been taking its toll.
The final straw, though, had nothing to do with the above. It’s the “teaser” I mentioned Friday afternoon here… Micah Fries, my pastor and close personal friend, is being lead by God to serve at another local church, Frederick Boulevard Baptist.
Don’t get me wrong… I’m happy for Micah. God has spoken clearly and directly about this to him, to the search committee at Frederick Boulevard, and yes, even to me. I’m completely at peace about the situation, even though it is a bit awkward, and though it presents a uncertain future for Missouri Valley Baptist.
I really don’t get it, because it’s really not my normal response to such situations. I’m one that likes to be able to take action… who needs to see the big picture so I can do my part. In this, though, all I can do is trust God and follow Him in whatever He asks me to do… and He’s given me peace about it. I’m quite excited, actually… we’ll be forced to walk by faith even moreso than normal, and I know from past experience that God shows up most powerfully in such times. Of course things will be difficult, but God is faithful and will see us through.
The reason this affects my participation at Outpost should be clear to you… I need to be free to focus on whatever it is that God wants me to do at my church.
It’s a blessing in many ways. With Outpost frustrating me, God made my response clear… to focus my energies elsewhere. God wants me to step away for a while, regain my strength, and see what’s He’s got for me next.
I don’t know for certain what this means about my future blogging endeavors. Toward the Goal will remain, of course, but other activities? I don’t know. I still believe firmly in the originally stated mission of Outpost. With talk going around about some sort of new collaborative blogging effort intended to fulfill that mission, I can potentially see God leading me to help in the effort in some manner. But I also know that God will have much for me to do at Missouri Valley in the coming weeks, regardless of the outcome of Micah’s call to Frederick Boulevard.
Time will simply have to tell, as God reveals His plans.
I will simply close with a request… pray, and pray hard. First on my mind is Micah (and his family). He’s like a brother to me, and he needs all of our prayers this week as he prepares to go to Frederick Boulevard in view of God’s calling… this has been anything but easy for him! Secondly, Missouri Valley. Micah announced the call this morning, and there are many in our church who are still processing this… some no doubt hurting. Lastly… Outpost. There is tremendous potential for God to use the site for good in our convention. Pray that God will work through it as He sees fit.
Thanks, and God bless!
(I said I’d close, but in re-reading this, I noticed that I left out one thing… please don’t get from this that I’m upset with anyone in particular in the SBC blog world, either at Outpost or elsewhere. I consider each of the contributors at Outpost a friend, and appreciate all of them, even if I don’t always agree with them completely. The same can be said of those who write in opposition to some of the postings at Outpost. Though I don’t know many of you quite as well, I know you are my brothers and sisters in Christ, and I appreciate what each of you are doing out of your love for our Savior. One day, we’ll all be gathered around God’s throne, and I would hope that we’ll all have a good laugh looking back on our silly disagreements here!)
Coming Soon…
August 17th, 2007 | 1 Comment | Posted in » Baptist Issues, My Life, Site News...
I know many of you are visiting Toward the Goal today, looking for the post I promised in a comment on SBC Outpost in regard to my reasons for leaving.
I hate to do this to all of you, but I’ve got to ask you to be patient… it will be a couple days yet. I plan to release it, at earliest, Sunday afternoon, although I may wait until Monday morning. My reasons for the delay will be apparent in the post.
How’s that for a teaser? 
Seriously, though, I do appreciate your patience!
