Oklahoma church cancels vote about baptism

EDMOND, Okla. — Elders of Henderson Hills Baptist Church, Edmond, Okla., decided against proceeding with a churchwide vote July 30 on a proposal to remove baptism as a requirement for church membership. The proposed change had stirred interest in Southern Baptist circles across the nation in recent weeks.

Henderson Hills Baptist pastor Dennis Newkirk, in an extended entry on his Web log July 31, stated that the church’s 16 elders are “no longer in consensus that we are ready to move forward.”

Unanimity is required for Henderson Hills’ elders to put a proposal before the congregation, Newkirk wrote. “At least one of us has an issue that has not been resolved.”