A BT Bonus

Somewhere in the neighborhood of 4,000 churches are counted as members of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSC). The level of commitment to the BSC varies among the churches and shifts with the changing currents of BSC life.

Though some move along on the shoulders of inertia and never pause to think about the relationship, others pay closer attention. And, as the BSC has taken an ever-sharper turn to the right, many churches have begun establishing denominational relations committees or assigning to their deacons the task of becoming more informed and helping church members to make decisions that appropriately reflect the relative positions of the church and the convention.

As a service to the churches, Baptists Today is making available a file that combines a series of three articles on "The Changing Face of the Baptist State Convention." The articles initially appeared in the March, April, and May 2008 issues. In their combined form, they may be freely downloaded, duplicated, and distributed to committee or church members who are interested.

The purpose of the articles is not to encourage churches to leave or to distance themselves from the Convention. As they learn more about where the BSC has come from and where it appears to be headed, some moderate Baptists will certainly feel less at home than before. On the other hand, more conservative churches, on reading the same information, may shout "Hallelujah!" and choose to raise their level of giving to the BSC.

Our job is to inform, and here are various ways to get the information:
1. Go to www.baptiststoday.org and click on "The Changing Face of the BSC" link, just above the box where the Baptists Today blog appears.
2. Click this link and go directly to the same download.
3. The articles are also posted on the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina website, and can be downloaded from this link.

The articles cover the period from 1980 through April 2008. Things continue to change rapidly, however, as one can see from a recent article in the Biblical Recorder, and this related blog. A more comprehensive column on developing changes will appear in the July issue of Baptists Today.

We believe that a more informed Baptist is a better Baptist, and remain committed to providing the kind of information that good Baptists need, not just in North Carolina, but across the Baptist world.

Does one Baptist speak for another?

A decade ago, I was leaving the pastorate to become editor of the Biblical Recorder, and giving up my seat on the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina's (BSC) General Board (now Board of Directors) in order to do so.

A highlight of my truncated term on the General Board had been an assignment to serve on the Council on Christian Life and Public Affairs (CCLPA), admirably led by Doug Cole. I was delighted to learn that the BR editor was considered an ex officio member of the CCLPA, so I continued to participate in some measure for the next nine years.

One of the things I quickly learned -- and appreciated -- was the ground rule understanding that the CCLPA did not presume to speak for North Carolina Baptists. Instead, the council's role was to investigate matters of ethical, social, church-state, and environmental concern, and speak to the Convention as a voice of conscience.

CCLPA leaders were assigned the task of relating to the legislature, working with other Christian groups and focusing mainly on social and humanitarian issues affecting the poor and disenfranchised. Representatives opposed easy access to alcohol, for example, and worked against government-sponsored gambling through the lottery, which adversely targets the poor. Long before environmentalism was widespread, the council urged N.C. Baptists to be good stewards of the earth: I often bag my own groceries in an "Earth Stewards" bag distributed years ago by the CCLPA.

The CCLPA also served as a clearinghouse for hunger funds contributed through the BSC, processing applications from Baptist-related soup kitchens or food pantries and distributing available money to them.

In the years I spent on the CCLPA, a number of changes took place. Cole's position was "downsized" in a restructuring of the BSC staff. He was replaced by fellow-staffer Steve Sumerel, who continued the work in the same spirit as before.

As council members became increasingly more conservative, however, meetings sometimes became fractious. It was evident that some members wanted the council to shift directions and become a moral watchdog rather than a social conscience. Sumerel eventually resigned from BSC work, in part because of the competing visions and the clear direction in which council membership was going. There is no longer a full-time staff person assigned to the work of the council.

The CCLPA page on the BSC Website still says (as of today) "The Convention stipulates that the Council will always speak to our people rather than for them," but that is apparently changing in a big way.

According to informative reporting by Norman Jameson of the Biblical Recorder, the CCLPA has engineered a complete about face in its approach. Roy Varner, pastor of Falling Creek Baptist Church in Goldsboro, recently spoke to the Board of Directors about the council's work, and said “it's just starting to get good.”

“We’re talking about a shift from just talking ‘to’ North Carolina Baptists, to talking ‘for’ North Carolina Baptists in the public forum,” Varner reported.

For example, the committee had discussed the issue of global warming, Varner said, and “the council wants the world to know that we never stop worshipping the creator and start worshipping mother earth.”

Next up, according to the Recorder's report, the council plans to publish a public statement that “will define and defend marriage according to scripture.” Beyond that, it plans to address racism in the Southern Baptist Convention, what British pastor Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) could teach 21st century Baptists about politics, and stem cell research.

Of all the transformative shifts in BSC life, this is one of the most troubling, because it is the least Baptist.

One Baptist does not speak for another. We may speak to each other, and even about each other, but it is not in the nature of authentic Baptists to speak for each other or instruct each other on matters of conscience.

There’s a reason why Baptists are numbered among the Protestants.

WMU-NC looking forward

Ruby Fulbright began her executive director’s report to Woman’s Missionary Union of North Carolina (WMU-NC) with a single word: “Whew!”

After a topsy-turvy year in which WMU-NC lost its office space and all Baptist State Convention (BSC) financial support as the price of preserving its autonomy, Fulbright said the organization – the largest state WMU in the country – is still growing, adding 138 new mission organizations in the past year. The announced attendance of 1,343 was the largest since 2002.

While grieving the deaths of former presidents Mabel Claire Maddrey and Dorothy P. Allred, Fulbright cited multiple reasons to celebrate. Those included the ongoing construction of a new unit lodge at Camp Mundo Vista, continued growth in Restorative Justice and Christian Women’s Job Corps ministries, and advances in multi-cultural work. For the third year in a row, North Carolina has a national Acteens panelist and Baptist Nursing Fellowship marked its 25th anniversary as a new Professional Christian Women’s Network gets underway. A number of women-only mission trips are also being planned.

In reflecting on the challenges of the past year, Fulbright said WMU-NC’s decision to ensure its autonomy had been applauded by many, but had “caused confusion and miscommunication among others.”

“Some things have been said that are absolutely not true,” Fulbright said, things that have caused hardship in some churches. “We want to express our apology for any difficulty you have gone through or may be going through,” she said, “and to remind you that WMU was born in adversity. Faith and obedience and being true to our calling is costly.”

“I hope you will hear that WMU-NC is still committed to missions,” Fulbright said, “to working alongside all North Carolina Baptist churches and associations in Christ-centered and Bible-based missions.”

WMU-NC still loves God and wants to share that love with all the world, and is still committed to working together with BSC leadership.

“In all honesty, that relationship still needs work,” she said. Fulbright pointed out that BSC officials have removed any mention of WMU-NC from the UpClose audio-video magazine and the “Church Leader” page designed by the BSC for publication in the Biblical Recorder. Likewise, a reference to WMU-NC has been left out of articles on BSC website concerning who to contact about the Annie Armstrong and Lottie Moon missions offerings – even though the partnership arrangement with WMU national requires that such materials be distributed by state WMU organizations.

“Those decisions were made by Baptist State Convention leadership, not WMU,” Fulbright said. “We will discover new ways of communicating with you,” she said, and “we’re still committed to working with the Baptist State Convention or others who want to do missions with us.”

After WMU-NC was excluded from the BSC’s North Carolina Missions Offering (NCMO), the Heck-Jones Offering used prior to advent of the NCMO was reestablished. Fulbright reported that more than $336,000 has been contributed thus far. “It’s not enough, not yet, but God is providing for our needs in other ways,” she said.

Fulbright thanked those who had helped pack boxes, donated furniture, sent notes, or encouraged the staff in other ways. Stopping her report, Fulbright, the WMU-NC staff, and members of the WMU executive board donned cowboy hats and went throughout the audience to say “thank you” while country artist Tracy Lawrence’s “Find Out Who Your Friends Are” played over the sound system.

WMU-NC’s new office suite is now ready, and nine staff members will be relocating during the week of April 14, Fulbright said. “Moving will be no easy task, but it will cost less than we ever thought possible, and donations have been overwhelming,” she said.

“We’ve had our lions and tigers and bears this year, but that tension can help us,” Fulbright said: tensions between dependence and independence, frontiers and boundaries, quality and quantity, present and future.

“We are laborers together with God, radically involved in the Great Commission,” she said. “Some think we’ve been radical this year, but I’m more concerned with our radical faith from here on out. With this faith women will be lifted from the pit of despair to the mountain of hope … Children will be blessed … Young people will sow the seeds of missions around the world … We will cement in Baptist history a union that is self-supporting and blessed by God.”

WMU will teach, pray, and go together as God has commanded, Fulbright concluded. “I believe we are following God’s orders, and accountable to God for how we handle this opportunity. History is on our side in believing that WMU-NC will go forward.”

[WMU-NC's new physical address is 1200 Front Street, Suite 110, Raleigh, NC 27609. The location is near Wake Forest Road, just inside the I-440, the Raleigh "beltline."]

BSCNC exploring new "women's ministry"

Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina (WMU-NC) has yet to leave the building, but the Baptist State Convention's (BSCNC) executive committee has already voted to establish a task force to explore the development of a new women's ministry.

Executive director Milton Hollifield has said more than once that, if WMU-NC leaves the building, there would be a need for some sort of women's ministry to replace it.

Executive committee member Lisa Horton, whose husband David is a former BSCNC president, made the motion at the Dec. 11 meeting, calling for something broader than what she described as WMU-NC's primary focus on missions education and fund-raising. It should be modeled on the N.C. Baptist Men organization, she said, "'active, vibrant, well rounded, very broad,' and more hands on," according to Norman Jameson's report on the Biblical Recorder website.

It's no surprise that the BSCNC is pursuing other options for women's ministry, because the administration has consistently indicated little interest in partnering with a WMU-NC that is not located within the Baptist Building and the BSCNC organizational structure.

It should be noted, however, that WMU-NC's work has been vibrant and varied all along, and is not limited to missions education and fund-raising for missions, as valuable as those functions are. WMU-NC folks actively promote the doing of missions in a variety of ways. Christian Women's Job Corps, for example, has helped many struggling women in very difficult situations to get back on their feet with job training, discipleship, and mentoring provided through WMU-NC. A similar program for men (also coordinated by WMU-NC) is growing.

For many years, WMU-NC has been actively involved in prison ministries. Women across the state have sent in contributions for the "red box" Christmas program that provides a little something special for incarcerated women at Christmas. The women who contribute to, assemble, and deliver the boxes -- along with those who receive them -- all testify to the blessing received through the project. WMU also reaches out to the children of women who are in prison.

There is more, but that's enough to point out that the ideas of discipleship and pro-active ministries for women is nothing new for WMU.

Narrower road, smaller load

When Jesus spoke of the narrow gate and hard road that lead to life (Matt. 7:13-14), he was talking about the highway to heaven rather rather than the path of doctrinal conformity or denominational accountability. During the 2007 annual meeting of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina Nov. 12-14, the consequences of the Convention's continuing shift to a narrower, more conservative stance came to the fore.

Like an overloaded truck that has to shed part of its load to get through a tight place, the BSCNC left the annual session in Greensboro with a much lighter load. By meeting's end, one church had been voted out of fellowship, the five affiliated higher education institutions had taken another step toward a severing of accountability ties, the departure of Baptist Retirement Homes reached a closure of sorts, and North Carolina Woman's Missionary Union was effectively removed from the Convention's budget process.

Despite pre-convention predictions of a larger than usual attendance, the number of registered messengers continued a steady decline. The messenger total was 2,549, with 54 percent of those being pastors or church staff employees and their spouses.

Myers Park Baptist Church disfellowshipped

During a pre-convention meeting of the BSCNC Executive Committee on Nov. 12, Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte sent a delegation to ask for a ruling on its membership status. Pastor Steve Shoemaker acknowledged that the church welcomes gays and lesbians into both membership and leadership, which puts it at odds with bylaw changes adopted by the BSCNC in 2006. The bylaw changes declared any church that condones or endorses practicing homosexuals to be out of "friendly cooperation" with the Convention. Both Shoemaker and deacon Nancy Walker, an attorney who identified herself as being lesbian in orientation, asked that the church be allowed to remain in fellowship with the BSCNC.

The Executive Committee ruled against them, but allowed church representatives to appeal to the Convention. That appeal took place on Nov. 13, when messengers voted overwhelmingly to hear their appeal, then just as strongly to deny it, despite appeals from Shoemaker and Walker. "Open your hearts to all who seek to worship God," Walker asked messengers. "Reach out to people who have experienced pain and spiritual isolation."

"No matter your vote today I will be a witness in the world for love, compassion and reconciliation," Walker said.

Board of directors president Allan Blume said the Convention had no choice but to abide by its bylaws, and opponents pointed to biblical passages that condemn homosexual acts. The Convention's vote served to officially "disfellowship" the historic Myers Park church from the BSCNC (see stories from the Biblical Recorder and the Charlotte Observer).

Although the church had "self-reported" its policies last spring and invited Convention officials to visit, there had been no response from the BSCNC, which does not consider ousting a church unless at least two people file a formal complaint. For Myers Park, the church's appeal forced the issue.

Colleges and Convention step toward severance

A measure designed to officially sever relationships with the five Baptist colleges that still have BSCNC ties passed the first stage of its journey: it must be approved again at the 2008 annual meeting. If the motion is given final approval at next year's annual session, the five institutions (Campbell University, Chowan University, Gardner-Webb University, Mars Hill College, and Wingate University) will officially sever ties with the BSCNC and enter a less formal relationship through which the schools will elect their own trustees and forgo funding over a four-year period.

Funds now received are used for student scholarships. If any BSCNC scholarship funding remains available after 2008, students will have to apply directly to the Convention to receive it (see stories from the Greensboro News-Record and the Biblical Recorder).

Appeal made to Baptist Retirement Homes

In a final-morning session that was much better attended than usual, a committee appointed to study the Convention's relationship with BRH made its report. BRH asked in August 2005 for a new relationship in which it would begin electing its trustees and surrendering BSCNC funding over a four-year period. The Executive Committee approved the motion at that meeting, but later rescinded it after the Convention attorney said the change amounted to a severance and violated the bylaws. Rather than continue negotiations, BRH trustees voted in December 2005 to become self-perpetuating.

Joan Mitchell, a Durham attorney who chaired the committee, said the committee had heard much sentiment calling for legal action against BRH, but recommended that no legal action be taken, with the parties seekig to work out their relationship as Christians who want to present a good witness in the world.

The committee's findings were released in a 29-page report that made three recommendations (the full report can be downloaded from this page). In short, the proposals called for BSCNC to: (1) Encourage BRH to reverse course and go through the BSCNC bylaw-approved process for severing its relationship to the BSCNC and ask for a new one, (2) Provide some pro-rated funds from escrow to BRH, assuming that it complied with the first recommendation, and (3) Study other options for ministries to the aging beyond those provided by BRH.

An amendment designed to make the release of funds more clearly contingent upon BRH's willingness to go through the process was approved.

BRH was given an opportunity to respond, but neither BRH president Bill Stillerman nor any other BRH representative appeared to speak to the proposals, indicating an apparent lack of interest in further negotiations.

The action appears to bring some closure to the matter, with the BSCNC having made an effort to reach a more amicable resolution, and BRH apparently set on pressing forward with its current course.

WMU-NC removed from budget

Most pre-convention tension had related to an anticipated showdown over WMU-NC's exclusion from the North Carolina Missions Offering, approved by the Convention's Board of Directors at a special meeting October 29.

When the budget was presented, committee chair Larry Burns said WMU-NC had been eliminated from the proposed North Carolina Missions Offering budget for 2008-2009 because all WMU-NC staffers had announced plans to resign or retire as BSCNC employees by Dec. 31. That meant WMU-NC would have no further direct connection to the BSCNC, Burns said, though he acknowledged WMU-NC's professed intention to remain supportive of the BSCNC and to continue working with BSCNC churches.

"In the past, NCMO has only funded things with direct connections" to the BSCNC, Burns said. Continuing to include WMU-NC would set a dangerous precedent, he said, as any independent ministry could ask to be included in the NCMO.

But, Burns said, because of the Convention's appreciation for WMU-NC, the Board of Directors had "agreed to support a special offering for WMU as an autonomous and independent missions organization."

Former executive director Roy Smith said WMU-NC would need additional funding during its transition to financial independence, and made a motion that the NCMO goal for 2008 be increased by $500,000 to $2.5 million, with the additional funds to be allocated to WMU-NC (WMU-NC is slated to receive more than $850,000 from the 2007 NCMO).

The motion generated considerable debate, with all speakers agreeing that WMU is a beloved and cherished organization in BSCNC life. Several speakers who opposed to the motion criticized WMU-NC's leadership and its Executive Board, which one said had "messed up." After a number of speakers pro and con, the motion was defeated by a substantial but not overwhelming margin, leaving WMU-NC to rely entirely on its reserves and a revival of its "Heck-Jones" offering, beginning in 2008.

Convention seeks "Great and Wondrous Things"

Despite the appearance that the BSCNC might be fragmenting in some ways, business went on. Rick Speas (pstor of Old Town Baptist in Winston-Salem) was elected president, Leland Kerr (Director of Missions for the Wilmington Association) was elected first vice president, and Phil Ortego (pastor of Scotts Hill Baptist in Wilmington) was elected first vice president.

A series of speakers promoted various aspects of the convention theme, "Great and Wondrous Things." Executive director Milton Hollifield recalled difficulties early Baptists faced, and how they reached out to each other to build associations and conventions. Guest preacher Jim Henry, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, called for unity. Outgoing president Stan Welch called for the Convention to have higher expections, and Mark Harris, in the convention sermon, called for messengers to "rebuild the walls" of the BSCNC even as Nehemiah had led returning exiles to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Harris, hoarse from his exhortations, extended an altar call Tuesday evening, and hundreds responded.

The BSCNC is somewhat lighter and walking a narrower road, but gave every indication that it intends to march onward on with high hopes for a more cohesive future.

As moderates continue their gradual disengagement with the Convention, those hopes may well be realized.

[Photo courtesy of BSCNC. More BSCNC photos from the annual session available here].

More from Greensboro

In brief, the morning session of the BSCNC was much better attended than usual, probably because of interest on both sides regarding a report concerning Baptist Retirement Homes (BRH) and Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina (WMU-NC).

After some discussion and a largely meaningless amendment, the BRH proposals passed by overwhelming margins. The proposals were, basically, to: (1) Encourage BRH to back up and go through the BSCNC bylaw-approved process for severing its relationship to the BSCNC and ask for a new one, (2) Provide some pro-rated funds from escrow to BRH, assuming that it complied with the first recommendation, and (3) Study other options for ministries to the aging beyond those provided by BRH.

BRH, whose trustees voted in December 2005 to become self-perpetuating, sent no representative to speak to the proposals, indicating an apparent lack of interest in further negotiations.

On the other hand, considerable interest and support was expressed for WMU-NC. When the budget was presented, committee chair Larry Burns said WMU-NC was eliminated from the proposed North Carolina Missions Offering budget for 2008-2009 because all WMU-NC staffers had announced plans to resign or retire as BSCNC employees by Dec. 31. That meant WMU-NC would have no further direct connection to the BSCNC, Burns said, though he acknowledged WMU-NC's professed intention to remain supportive of the BSCNC and to continue working with BSCNC churches.

"In the past, NCMO has only funded things with direct connections" to the BSCNC, Burns said. Continuing to include WMU-NC would set a dangerous precedent, he said, as any independent ministry could ask to be included in the NCMO.

Burns said that, because of the Convention's appreciation for WMU-NC, the Board of Directors had "agreed to support a special offering for WMU as an autonomous and independent missions organization."

Former executive director Roy Smith made a motion that the NCMO goal for 2008 be increased by $500,000 to $2.5 million, with the additional funds to be allocated to WMU-NC.

After a number of speakers pro and con, the motion was defeated by a substantial but not overwhelming margin.

For more details, check out the stories posted on the Biblical Recorder website, and on the BSCNC's dedicated annual meeting site. This blog and the previous one will be revised, combined, and updated in a more comprehensive blog to be posted later this (Wednesday) evening.

How the mighty have fallen!

When King Saul and his son Jonathan died on Mount Gilboa following a battle with the Philistines, David wept and cried "How the mighty have fallen!"

The Philistines themselves might have said the same thing a few years earlier when a younger David whipped their giant champion, Goliath: "How the mighty have fallen!"

Fans of Kentucky basketball might be singing that same lament after the fabled Wildcats were chased out of Rupp Arena by the Runnin' Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb University, one of five institutions of higher education affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSCNC).

The story may seem hard to believe, but it's true: upstart Gardner-Webb waltzed onto Kentucky's home court Nov. 7, got off to a 14-0 start, and never trailed en route to an 84-68 victory.

Another story making the rounds in North Carolina is easier to believe, but, to my knowledge, far less true.

On Nov. 13, during the BSCNC's annual meeting, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina (CBFNC) will hold a dinner meeting, something the organization has done for several years. Since a fair number of CBF supporters still attend the annual BSCNC meeting, it's a convenient time for the state organization to hold a fellowship gathering. Since so few of the participants tended to return to the Tuesday evening session of the Convention, CBFNC leaders decided to extend their program a bit this year.

That plan has been in place for many months, and I've seen or heard no evidence that it has any other purpose than to promote the fellowship and programs of CBFNC.

Multiple conservative spokesmen, however, have been raising an alarm of late, claiming that the purpose of the CBFNC event is to attract messengers and pack the house for the Wednesday morning BSCNC session, when there may or may not be an effort made to reverse the BSCNC Executive Committee and Board of Directors' decision to remove Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina (WMU-NC) from the annual North Carolina Missions Offering, beginning in 2008.

In an article on the Conservative Carolina Baptists website, budget committee member Steve Hardy concludes his analysis of Convention issues by saying "CBFNC has planned a major rally on Tuesday evening in Greensboro so they can flood the Convention with messengers on Wednesday morning."

Yadkinville pastor and frequent blogger Tim Rogers said in a recent post:

I received this information in an email and you need to know that it is reliable information. The person I received this from certainly would know about this political move.

NC Baptists need to know that the WMU will try to reverse the Board’s recent action which excludes them from the NC Mission Offering. THIS WILL TAKE PLACE ON WEDNESDAY MORNING!! In the past conservatives have not been faithful to attend on Wednesday morning and we MUST not let that happen this year!!

Rogers goes on to say "The CBFNC (moderate/liberals) are having a huge gathering on Tuesday evening in an effort to get their messengers in Greensboro to be ready for the Wednesday AM budget presentation."

It seems a bit strange to me that I'm on the CBFNC mailing list and in fairly close touch with CBFNC leaders, but I've not heard a word about any "get out the vote" rally on Nov. 12.

If the information is truly reliable, and CBFNC has indeed decided to abandon its longstanding purpose for the meeting in favor of an all-out effort to pack the BSCNC house on Wednesday morning, the organization has done a mighty poor job with publicity, because it appears that only conservatives got the memo.

In truth, it's one of the state's leading conservatives who sent the memo to supporters, incorrectly portraying the CBFNC meeting as a political rally for WMUNC.

I don't doubt that many of those who attend Tuesday's CBFNC meeting will be registered BSCNC messengers who will also attend the Wednesday morning meeting, but there is nothing new about that. They will do so because they are faithful Baptists who are interested in their Convention, not because they were called out to Greensboro by a CBFNC meeting.

That you can believe.

Cutting off your nose ...

There's an old idiom used to describe a prideful person who has trouble maintaining relationships: "he'd cut off his nose to spite his face."

I couldn't help but recall that adage when reading about the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSCNC) executive committee's decision to cut Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina (WMU-NC) completely out of the budget loop while adding funds for what appears to be a replacement program.

According to stories posted by the Biblical Recorder and on the BSCNC website, the executive committee voted, in a called meeting on Oct. 29, to "authorize" WMU-NC to receive its own special offering in 2008, while dropping WMU-NC from the combined North Carolina Missions Offering (NCMO).

The committee's offer to sanction a special WMU-NC offering -- something that existed for many years before WMU-NC voluntarily gave it up to participate with other entities in the combined NCMO -- was conditioned by WMU-NC's agreement to work with the BSCNC to choose an acceptable date and "to provide BSCNC with financial information detailing its income and expense data.”

If the BSCNC is providing nothing to WMU-NC other than its official approval of the offering, I can't imagine why WMU-NC would be obliged to turn over its accounting records.

That's not the most important piece of this evolving puzzle, however. It appears that the executive committee intends to supplant WMU-NC's primary role of missions education and promotion, as well: while the proposed 2008 NCMO budget contains zero dollars for WMU-NC, it contains a new item of $384,695 for "Missions education and promotion."

That large sum replaces a $40,000 item in the current 2007 NCMO allocations for "NCMO Missions Education and Support," an item that was introduced several years ago to help finance promotion of the NCMO.

Removing WMU-NC while replacing the modest NCMO funding with an almost-tenfold $384,695 allocation for "missions education and promotion" sends a clear signal that the executive committee intends for the BSCNC to take over the role traditionally played by WMU-NC and to divorce itself from the ever-faithful organization of missions-minded women. It's possible, I suppose, that the BSCNC could use some of that money to contract with WMU-NC for services, but is that likely?

Budget committee member Steve Hardy, according to the BSC website, said the committee's action was "the culmination of a long sequence of events leading to the final resignation of the WMU-NC from the Baptist State Convention."

WMU-NC has consistently denied that it wants to "resign from," "leave," or otherwise separate from the Convention, stating a continuing desire to cooperate with and support the BSCNC and its mission partners. To suggest that WMU-NC wants to "resign" from the BSCNC is a bald-faced twisting of the truth.

The real rub, it appears, is that WMU-NC also wants to provide missions education and support to other groups, including the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, which many of the current power brokers see as anathema.

"Many of us in this room and across the Convention see the CBF as the most destructive force in the history of the Southern Baptist Convention," Hardy said, according to the Recorder.

Several years ago, while throwing up a smokescreen of untruthful distortions to hide its true intent, the SBC divorced itself from the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), mainly because the BWA was willing to accept CBF as a member.

Did WMU-NC's open willingness to work with CBF play a similar role in the BSCNC executive committee's 18-1 vote to turn WMU-NC's coming change of address into a full-fledged divorce?

I'd say the answer is as clear as the nose on their face ... if it hadn't been cut off.

Artful dodging

Charles Dickens' classic Oliver Twist includes a young rascal known as "the artful dodger" because of his ability to pick someone's pocket and make a quick getaway. The most accomplished "artful dodgers," I've observed, are politicians or other folk who twist things just enough to give the wrong impression and mislead the public while dodging the truth.

Informed readers are accustomed to seeing that sort of thing in denominational public relations channels like Baptist Press. Such behavior is not limited to the national scene, of course. There have been several examples relative to the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSCNC) recently. I'll mention only two.

One regards the situation with Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina (WMU-NC), which is moving out of the Baptist building because that is the only way, under the current administration, to fully preserve its autonomy with regard to hiring and having final supervision over its staff.

While WMU-NC has taken great pains to insist that it is changing its address, but not its core mission to serve BSCNC churches as a missions resource and missions offering promoter, people who should know better have made it sound as if WMU-NC is "separating," "resigning," or "leaving" the BSCNC.

That is a clear twisting of the truth, and WMU-NC executive director Ruby Fulbright confronts some of the misleading information in an article now posted on the WMU-NC website. The BSCNC's official position can be found in this press release.

A second and equally serious matter relates to the BSCNC's mounting budget crisis. Budget receipts have been down throughout the year. For months, BSCNC leaders blamed the lower receipts on the calendar, saying the financial year started a week later than in 2006. As I have pointed out several times, that is only because 2006 contained 53 Sundays, a calendar anomaly that won't happen again for a while. The 2006 budget was fully funded only because of that extra Sunday.

As long as the budget deficit remained around $700,000, the amount needed in an average week to meet the roughly $37 million budget, the argument carried some credibility and kept members of the BSC Executive Committee and Board of Directors from asking too many questions.

The deficit has continued to grow, however, reaching more than $1.8 million at the end of September, three quarters of the way through the financial year. Giving is down most notably in Plan C (20 percent) and among Plan A and Plan B churches that exclude the Southern Baptist Convention (32 percent and 29 percent, respectively). None of the plans showed an increase. Even those favored by the most conservative churches are down: the traditional Plan A by almost 2 percent, and Plan D by 0.22 percent.

The total is 6.57 percent below budget needs for the year, and 3.22 percent behind last year's totals.

Here's what should be making budget planners nervous: many churches begin their fiscal year in October, and it is highly likely that many more of those churches will be decreasing their gifts to the BSCNC rather than increasing them.

That means the traditional positive bump the budget gets during the fall may not materialize. BSCNC leaders acknowledged the budget uncertainty by postponing approval of the 2008-2009 from the regular meeting of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors in September to a special called meeting Oct. 29 -- an event that will cost thousands of extra dollars in itself.

What concerns me most is that budget planners have sought to lay the blame for budget uncertainy on lower receipts to the North Carolina Missions Offering (NCMO), which was down about 26 percent through September. WMU-NC and North Carolina Baptist Men are the two largest beneficiaries of the NCMO, though some money also goes for church planting.

Two things should be said here: if the BSCNC hadn't quibbled so much about its support for WMU-NC and the assurance of WMU-NC's place in future NCMO budgets, there wouldn't be such a deficit in NCMO giving. Some churches are choosing to give directly to WMU-NC instead of contributing to the NCMO.

A second thing to note is that the real budget problem is not with NCMO, which could potentially come up several hundred thousand dollars short, but with the BSCNC's primary budget, which could easily face a deficit of $2 million or more.

Please understand -- I really hope I'm wrong about this. I would love to see the BSCNC make and exceed its budget. I just don't think it's going to happen.

And the reason it won't happen is not because WMU-NC chose to leave the building. The reason has been building for years. Convention after convention, as the BSCNC has approved motions that show greater intolerance for diversity and lower support for beloved institutions, loyalty to the BSCNC has eroded. That is likely to continue.

When the churches that don't begin their fiscal year in October start a new budget cycle in January, I suspect they will reflect even less support for the BSCNC giving plans.

BSC budget planners have hoped to increase the 2008 budget by more than three percent, to nearly $39 million, with most of the increase going to church planting.

With prospects for meeting the current budget as dismal as they appear, proposing an increase for the next cycle will be a tough sell -- but it won't be due to WMU.

A fundamental love of beer?

Let me begin with a disclaimer: I despise beer, and for a number of reasons, beginning with the fact that our daughter Bethany was killed by a beer-swilling drunken driver. Other innocent people die every day from the same cause. As a boy, I saw what havoc my great uncle's alcohol abuse wrought on my great aunt's face, and I know that millions of spouses and children continue to suffer abuse from people who love alcohol but can't handle it. Some people tell me that nothing tastes better than a cold beer, but its cloying smell and urine-like appearance have no appeal to my senses. In short, my personal view is that I can find no redeeming qualities in beer or any good reason to drink it.

Given that disclaimer, I'm aware that beer has been around since Sumerian times (3rd millennium B.C.), and isn't going away anytime soon. The powerful beer industry is virtually immune from lawsuits, and will continue to recruit new drinkers (and imperil new victims) until Jesus comes.

The question is, when Jesus comes, will he be drinking a beer?

I confess to having a hard time getting comfortable with the whole idea of "theology on tap" -- the movement among many emerging churches to host discussion groups in bars where participants (including the church leaders) have a beer while engaging in conversation about God.

I have no problem with the idea of going where the people are or with hosting a discussion group in a bar or even (to a lesser degree) with participants imbibing a bit in their natural habitat.

What I can't get used to is the image of the pastor downing a Budweiser while discussing baptism.

While many emergent congregations tend to be moderate-to-liberal in theology, I find it surprising that some extremely conservative folk have endorsed the concept of beer-based evangelism, at least when so-said evangelists hold to a fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible in other areas.

For example a recent news article about a non-denominational Raleigh church called Vintage 21 revealed that at least one professor from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary is a great fan. Though he says the inclusion of beer drinking might not be the wisest choice, given widespread alcohol abuse, theology professor John Hammett told the News & Observer "Overall, I applaud what's going on at Vintage21," and described it as "a healthy church."

The church is acceptable, apparently, because it practices a very conservative approach to biblical interpretation on matters such as the place of women, and won't allow women to serve in the highest leadership positions.

Lucky for them the Bible doesn't mention beer by name, though it has a lot to say about the dangers of drunkenness.

Southeastern, in fact, is planning to join Vintage 21 -- part of the non-denominational Acts 29 network -- in co-sponsoring a "boot camp" for others who want to plant similar churches.

The thing I cannot fathom is the approach that a church can be so culture-friendly that its leaders will sit down with a beer to discuss theology, but won't allow women to sit at the table of church leadership.

There's something theologically cock-eyed about an approach that blithely ignores clear scriptural warnings against becoming a stumbling block to the weak, but holds fast to a few ambiguous texts that appear to limit leadership to men only.

If I could force down a few beers, maybe the conundrum would become clear. In the meantime, to this sober mind, it makes no sense at all.

(Image courtesy of PD Photo.com)

CBF of North Carolina embraces state WMU group, seeks emergency funds to help with transition

By John Pierce, Executive Editor, Baptists Today

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — On the heels of news that Woman’s Missionary Union of North Carolina (WMU-NC) is loosening ties with the Baptist State Convention (BSC) and taking on operating expenses formerly provided by the BSC, the coordinating council of the state’s Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBFNC) has announced a special offering to help fund the longtime mission-focused organization during the transition.

“WMU of North Carolina has been the missions backbone for Baptists in North Carolina for over 120 years,” said CBFNC Coordinator Larry Hovis. “… CBF of North Carolina wants to help ensure their legacy of missions leadership and empowerment will continue in the future, and stand with them in a special way during this critical time of transition.”

On Aug. 21, WMU-NC Executive Director Ruby Fulbright announced that the group’s executive board had voted overwhelmingly Aug. 16 to move their offices out of the state convention’s headquarters in Cary, N.C. In addition to finding their own office space, she said, WMU-NC would begin shouldering other expenses traditionally provided by the BSC such as employee benefits and automobiles.

Several entities related to the conservative-controlled BSC have been exploring ways to partner with the convention while retaining a large degree of independence to avoid the kind of takeovers that occurred — through trustee appointments — in all Southern Baptist Convention agencies and many other state conventions over the last two and a half decades.

In 2006, WMU-NC members voted to change governing documents to define the organization’s relationship with the state convention in terms of being a “cooperative partner” rather than an “auxiliary.” WMU leaders also sought to clarify that the organization has sole responsibility for employing staff.

But BSC Executive Director Milton Hollifield argued that, since WMU employees require his approval in order to receive benefits, they are technically employees of the BSC. Attempts at compromise failed to reach any accord on the central issue of hiring. Feeling that such an arrangement intruded on WMU-NC’s autonomy, the group announced plans to move out of its current offices and accept the additional financial burdens.

In quick response, CBFNC — which already provides some financial support to WMU-NC through the CBFNC Mission Resource Plan — has established an emergency fund and issued a call for churches to make a special offering to assist WMU-NC in the transition.

Hovis said gifts to assist WMU-NC can be sent between now and Oct. 31 to CBF of North Carolina at 8025 North Point Blvd., Suite 205, Winston-Salem, NC 27106.

In a statement, WMU-NC Executive Director Ruby Fulbright expressed appreciation for CBFNC’s concern and support.

“We are grateful for the partnership we share in missions education and involvement,” said Fulbright. “Now, I am overwhelmed by your kindness in helping us to meet practical needs — paying the bills.”

The primary source of funding for WMU-NC is the annual North Carolina Missions Offering that also supports North Carolina Men and other mission-related projects.

NC WMU opts to go office-hunting

Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina (WMU NC) is looking for a new place to live following an August 16 vote by its executive board that was made public August 21 after a meeting between WMU NC executive director Ruby Fulbright and Baptist State Convention executive director Milton Hollifield.

Neither of the parties really wanted to see WMU NC leave the BSC offices in Cary -- a move that adds another crack to fracturing relationships among BSC entities, and will require WMU NC to shoulder a heavier financial burden.

But, times are changing among North Carolina Baptists, particularly in the area of trust. For the past two decades, at least, WMU NC, though an autonomous organization, has lived within the BSC structure and had offices in the Baptist Building. While salary funds have come through the North Carolina Missions Offering (NCMO), WMU employees have received their paychecks and benefits through the same system as other employees, with the BSC footing the bill for health insurance, retirement benefits, and fleet cars.

Through the years, however, WMU NC maintained a level of independence, including the right to hire and manage its own employees. Via both tacit agreement and a written letter of understanding, past BSC executive directors "signed off" on WMU employees to get them into the payroll system, but trusted WMU leaders to make good choices and voluntarily excused themselves from active involvement in the selection or management of WMU employees.

That system worked smoothly until the spring of 2006, when WMU NC members approved changes to its governing documents, opting to be known as a "cooperative partner" rather than an "auxiliary," and moving employment policies from the bylaws to the WMU NC employee handbook to allow for greater flexibility.

Newly elected executive director Milton Hollifield took exception to the changes, believing that they created new liability concerns for the BSC. As negotiations proceeded, Hollifield also staked out a position that WMU NC employees are really BSC employees, and therefore must be subject to approval by the executive director.

A stalemate ensued, with WMU NC determined to maintain control of its staff hiring and management, and BSC administrators equally adamant that the Convention's executive director must have ultimate authority over WMU NC employees so long as they technically remain BSC employees, too.

WMU offered to compromise in some areas, though not in the area of responsibility for its own staff, but the BSC Executive Committee rejected the offer.

Having reached an impasse with little hope that either side would budge, WMU NC's executive board decided that the only way to retain meaningful autonomy was to move out of the Baptist building and assume responsibility for its own finances. That could burden WMU NC with a heavy financial load, but its leaders evidently believe that freedom is worth the pain and the price required by the move.

This unhappy turn of events leads to a number of questions.

First, when will this happen? WMU NC has asked BSC administrators for a nine month transition period for financial matters, according to a press release, though Fulbright said it would not necessarily take that long to leave the building. Whether the transition period will be granted remains an open question.

Where will WMU NC go? The organization has received a preliminary offer of adequate office space in the Raleigh area at a very reasonable cost, Fulbright said.

Will there be any change in what WMU does or how it relates to the churches? Not according to Fulbright. "We intend to continue working with the churches. We intend to keep praying for, promoting, and supporting the offerings, as well as providing missions education resources and training," she said. "We also plan to continue participating and cooperating with North Carolina Baptist Men, church planting efforts, and other groups in doing missions."

How will WMU NC obtain needed finances? The organization hopes to continue receiving funds through the North Carolina Missions Offering (NCMO), an annual state-wide offering that provides funds for WMU NC, North Carolina Baptist Men, church planting, and a few other projects. If the 2007 NCMO reaches its goal of about $2.5 million, WMU NC would receive around $850,000 (33.6 percent) of the total.

For many years, WMU NC received all of its funding through an annual "Heck-Jones Offering." In 1977, however, the BSC voted to combine the offerings received by various entities into a single campaign, and WMU NC agreed to join the combined effort, which became effective in 1979. The social service agencies received less money and later reinstituted their individual offerings, but WMU NC has remained a supportive participant in the combined offering.

If worse comes to worst, WMU NC could resurrect the Heck Jones Offering. My guess is that many churches and individuals will be unhappy with the circumstances leading to WMU NC's impending move and almost certain loss of some BSC funding, and will contribute directly to the organization. Some churches are already asking if they can designate their gifts through NCMO.

Will WMU NC continue to support and work with the BSC? Fulbright says yes: "It has been our purpose and our joy to use our gifts and skills to be a resource for, a support of, and a helper to the Baptist State Convention in the cause of missions," indicating that WMU NC has no plans to change that. "Each entity gave to the other. Through the years, the relationship worked like it was supposed to work with an organization (WMU) that wanted to help the cause of missions and was allowed to do so." Fulbright said WMU NC wants to be perceived as an asset to the BSC, not as a liability.

How much cooperation WMU NC will have from the BSC is unclear. In a statement posted on the BSC website shortly after the meeting with Fulbright, Hollifield spoke of WMU NC's decision to move its offices as a "desire to separate" and of its interest in providing missions assistance to other Baptist groups (like the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship or other denominations affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance) to be "a clear departure from the historic focus of the mission and ministry of WMU of NC."

While Fulbright has made it clear that WMU NC wants to remain in partnership with the BSC, Hollifield implied an uncertain future, saying "rest assured there will be missions education ministries and women’s ministries provided through BSCNC with or without WMU of NC’s cooperation."

We may rest assured that if there is a lack of cooperation, it won't be on the part of WMU NC, unless "cooperation" is defined as "under BSC-mandated conditions."

Both Fulbright and Hollifield expressed mutual appreciation for the organizations they represent. "We wish to affirm an ongoing relationship," Fulbright said. "WMU NC is appreciative of the history and heritage of our relationship with the BSCNC. We are very grateful for the benefits that have been provided for us through the years."

For his part, Hollifield said "WMU of NC has taught generations of young people in BSCNC churches about missions and inspired many to answer the call to missionary service and to support and participate in missionary endeavors. ... WMU of NC has my deepest respect and appreciation for their past labors, and my commitment to pray for their future.”

Let's hope and pray that common commitments to Christ's call will win out, and all that mutual appreciation will lead to continued cooperation, without regard to WMU NC's mailing address.