The Georgia Baptist Convention (GBC) has decided to refuse gifts from a historic member church that last year called a woman as pastor. Messengers to the Nov. 9–11 annual meeting approved a policy change authorizing convention leaders to decline funds from churches “not in cooperation and harmony with the approved work and purpose” of the convention.
An administrative committee recommended the change. It was proposed, “as a result of questions raised regarding First Baptist Church of Decatur, who has a woman as senior pastor.”
The GBC defines membership as “messengers from cooperating Baptist churches.” A cooperating church is one that is in “harmony and cooperation with the work and purpose” of the convention.
But the new financial policy for the first time appears to tie “harmony and cooperation” with whether a church agrees with the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message. The Southern Baptist Convention’s confessional document includes the statement, “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”
“Our main mission at FBC Decatur is to love God and to connect as many men, women, teenagers and children as possible with God’s love for them in Christ,” said Julie Pennington-Russell, who took over as pastor of the church in 2007. “I guess (the GBC) will need to decide whether or not this is in harmony with their own mission.”
The new Georgia Baptist policy also addresses concerns over acceptance of funds and property that raise the risk of liability, involve donor restrictions not in line with convention priorities or reasons “not otherwise in the best interest of the convention.”
Robert White, executive director of the GBC, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the policy would not be enforced against churches that call women as deacons or members of their ministerial staff other than pastor but would give convention leaders discretion to refuse gifts from questionable sources, like alcohol distributors. (ABP)
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