Nearly 5,000 Southern Baptist international missionaries won’t be forced to sign their denomination’s new faith statement but must commit to working “in accordance with and not contrary to” its teachings. New appointees, however, will be asked to sign the new statement.
International Mission Board (IMB) trustees voted Jan. 24 in Augusta, Ga., to “wholeheartedly” affirm The Baptist Faith and Message as revised by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) last June as the “standard for carrying out the programs and ministries” of the 155-year-old agency.
The IMB will also continue its tradition of requiring missionaries to carry out their responsibilities “in accordance with and not contrary to” the document even if they disagree with minor points.
A new IMB policy statement puts into writing a longstanding practice in processing missionary candidates. Under the policy, missionaries and staff are asked if they have read and agree with the current Baptist Faith and Message. If they answer “no,” they must explain why.
Either way, they must sign an affirmation that reads: “In accountability to the International Mission Board and Southern Baptists, I agree to carry out my responsibilities in accordance with and not contrary to the current Baptist Faith and Message as adopted by the SBC.”
Noting this is not a new policy, IMB trustee Billy Hudgins, pastor of First Baptist, Hokes Bluff, said, “IMB trustees affirmed the action of the convention and will communicate clearly to all missionaries our position.”
Trustee chairman Tim McCoy said, “We are simply affirming our historical practice and putting it into our policies.”
IMB trustee Herman Pair, associate pastor at First Baptist, Oneonta, said the unanimous vote came with positive reactions. “It made me proud to be Southern Baptist,” he said.
The Jan. 24 trustee action came in response to a motion at last year’s SBC annual meeting referred to all denominational entities that employees not be required to sign The Baptist Faith and Message. While convention boards must consider referred motions, they are not limited to voting yes or no. Other agencies considering the referral have opted instead to require employee adherence to what has been described as an instrument of “doctrinal accountability.”
IMB trustees described their new policy statement as an affirmation of The Baptist Faith and Message, board policy and current personnel, who will not be required to sign the statements.
Trustees, who meet every other month, discussed the issue at length before ultimately deciding there is no need to change the current practice, said board chairman McCoy, pastor of Ingleside Baptist Church in Macon, Ga.
“Our process has served us well in the past,” McCoy said in an interview.
McCoy said that given the IMB’s track record both for appointments and in dealing with theological aberrations that crop up after missionaries are on the field, trustees decided that the current practice is adequate.
During their application process, prospective missionaries write a statement of beliefs in their own words.
Administrators and then a trustee subcommittee review those statements and have an opportunity to discuss areas of concern before candidates are recommended for appointment. On top of that, missionaries are asked further to affirm The Baptist Faith and Message or indicate disagreements and pledge to conduct their work in accordance with it. Employee policies also forbid missionaries from repeatedly advocating views that are contrary to those outlined in The Baptist Faith and Message, McCoy said.
Before the unanimous vote approving the action, IMB President Jerry Rankin decried “time-consuming processes and restrictive policies” that might hinder missionary appointments.
“By what criteria should anyone be deprived of hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ?” Rankin asked. “By what justification can any people group or nation be denied the opportunity to know of God’s love and Christ’s saving power?”
The Baptist Faith and Message, Southern Baptists’ official faith statement first adopted in 1925, last summer underwent its first major rewrite since 1963. Some changes, including views that the Bible forbids women to serve as senior pastors and removal of a reference to Jesus Christ as the criterion for interpreting Scripture, have drawn criticism.
Rankin said in an interview that when missionary candidates in the past have indicated problems with The Baptist Faith and Message, it commonly was over articles that most Southern Baptists would consider secondary or nonessential doctrines. For example, he said, occasionally a prospective missionary will come from a church that has elders, but The Baptist Faith and Message says the biblical offices of church leaders are limited to pastors and deacons.
Rankin said senior-level administrators such as vice presidents and regional leaders would be required to affirm The Baptist Faith and Message. (ABP, TAB contributed)
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