After Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) officials announced in late December their intent to pull funding from Baptist World Alliance (BWA), readers of The Alabama Baptist began sending letters to the state Baptist paper.
Readers reacted in a 20 to 1 ratio in support of BWA. But the letters delved deeper than a plea to continue funding the worldwide Baptist body. The majority of letters also questioned actions by SBC leadership.
Betty Barrett of LaFayette said, “I am now 71 years old, and I have never seen such spiritual arrogance among Baptists as I see now. The wheels of God grind slowly, but people with closed minds who presume to speak exclusively for God eventually come to personal catastrophe.”
Gilbert M. Lundy of Mobile said, “We have gotten some people in denominational leadership who want to isolate our convention from all our brothers and sisters in Christ who aren’t of our particular ilk.”
Bev Williams of Hope Hull said, “It is astounding to me that this committee with a personal agenda can jerk Southern Baptists around like this group does. … How can they lead us in winning the world for Christ when they have such disdain for their fellow Christians in their own country.”
Some readers do not believe Southern Baptists are being “jerked around,” however.
Michael Scotto of Marion pointed out that BWA’s decision to cooperate with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) was the problem not arrogant SBC leaders. “The SBC did not move away from the BWA, the BWA moved toward the CBF,” Scotto said.
And “until the BWA can explain the CBF’s lack of a clear doctrinal statement concerning the plenary and verbal inspiration of Scripture, its absolute authority and the exclusivity of Christ’s work on Calvary, it is best to separate,” Scotto noted. “The BWA is the one with the choice. Join with an organization that is not ashamed of clearly ‘contending for the faith’ (Jude 3) or align with an organization that would rather be ecumenical than dogmatic.”
David L. Johnson of Madrid (Ala.) said BWA’s General Secretary Denton Lotz is the one who is arrogant, pointing to Lotz’s statement: “I fear for the SBC because this decision follows a long line of other decisions that, I believe, will ultimately lead to the dissolution and self-destruction of the SBC.”
Johnson said, “Who do this man and the other so-called leaders of the BWA think they are? Does the BWA think that Jesus has to have them in order for His mission work to be carried out?”
But James Berry of Rainsville took issue with Johnson. “I guess that Jesus needs the BWA as much as He needs the SBC,” Berry said. “This type of arrogance has been the problem in the SBC for the past 25 years.
Jesse Pearce of Oxford said, “Our own SBC leadership has not shown much Christian charity and sensitivity when they would not admit that acceptance of CBF was the reason [for] the recommended pullout of BWA. I believe if the average Southern Baptist was more knowledgeable about what really is going on the recommendation would not be approved. I don’t think jealously is a Christian act.”
Alice Weaver Owens of Gulf Shores said, “Looking at what has become of our SBC maybe the answer is reconstruction — starting at the top. The power structure of the SBC long ago decided to rid the convention of ‘moderates.’ Now they would like to alienate and throw away, after 99 years, others of our faith in countries all over the world.
“In this day and age of global unrest, how does this decision make sense?” she asked. “We can only hope that the actions of the leaders of our convention have opened the eyes of those among us who have continued to support it after so much evidence that their main goal is one of power and control.”
Alicia Folds said, “For SBC to sever all ties with BWA is like cutting off part of ‘the body.’ Maybe everyone involved needs to look at this scripturally instead of who got their feelings hurt.” Pointing to 1 Corinthians 12:12–31, Folds said the body of Christ needs all parts to function. She encourages Southern Baptists to read this Scripture carefully and “pray fervently who should be in charge of withdrawing money from the BWA — man or God.”
Other readers also called Southern Baptists to pray about this issue and not take it lightly.
Ivan F. Smith said, “It is too serious a move to make merely on the rhetoric of a few. Look long and hard at the move to withdraw.”
Ralph B. Jernigan of Jackson’s Gap challenged SBC leadership to provide enough information to Southern Baptists to make an educated decision. “Most Southern Baptists I know have the mental, moral and spiritual capacity to consider the truth and make good decisions,” he said.
Along with debating the SBC/BWA issue, readers also commended The Alabama Baptist for reporting and editorializing on the issue. Some have said they would not have understood all angles of the story had they not read the coverage in The Alabama Baptist. Others have said The Alabama Baptist is one of only a few reporting the whole story rather than just one side.
Charles McFatter of Semmes said, “Thank God we still have some editors and journalists working for a few Southern Baptist state papers who will still report and comment on what is happening within the [SBC].”
This compilation of letters to the editor will be the last letters printed about the issue until after the vote at the SBC annual meeting in Indianapolis in June.
To read past articles written on this subject, visit www.thealabamabaptist.org, key word: Baptist World Alliance.
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