The Georgia Baptist Convention (GBC) by an overwhelming majority voted Nov. 15 to sever its 172-year-old relationship with Mercer University in Macon.
The vote came after the relationship between the GBC and Mercer was inflamed by the discovery in October of a student-led gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender organization that had existed since 2002.
The group’s “coming out day” on Oct. 11, sponsored by the Mercer Triangle Symposium, galvanized Georgia Baptists to cast a vote of no confidence in the ongoing relationship. Just hours prior to the convention’s first session in Columbus, Ga., the GBC executive committee went into an executive session and agreed to present a motion to the messengers to sever ties with Mercer, frequently considered one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the South.
Mercer, the second-largest Baptist-affiliated educational institution in the world with 7,300 students, traces its roots with Georgia Baptists to its 1833 founding by Jesse Mercer in Penfield, Ga. Mercer relocated to its current Macon campus in 1871.
Just 72 hours prior to the convention, Mercer President Kirby Godsey released a memorandum in which he stated, “I have been deeply concerned about the problems that have arisen regarding the Mercer Triangle Symposium. In an effort to be sensitive to the concerns of our Baptist constituents, two actions have been taken: (1) The Mercer Triangle Symposium has been disbanded. (2) I have issued a new policy that the President’s Office reserves the right to review and to approve the creation of student organizations.”
Godsey told messengers, “We are educating the best and brightest of your young people. The Georgia Baptist Convention invests $3.5 million in the university and all of that goes to educate Georgia Baptist students. We have tripled that amount so that the total amount provided to educate Georgia Baptist students is $11.6 million.”
He added, “Much has been made of the Mercer Triangle Symposium. When it existed, it showed grace to those who were trapped in that lifestyle. Mercer University has never promoted, advocated or encouraged gay or lesbian behavior. Discussion, yes, but encouragement, never.”
GBC Executive Director J. Robert White, in addressing the 1,825 messengers present for the vote, cited issues of incompatibility over the past several decades. He declared that the stated purpose of the Mercer Triangle Symposium was contrary to the values of the convention and specified, “It is time to make this decision.”
(BP)
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