Messengers participating in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, approved a $189 million Cooperative Program (CP) budget, finalized Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary’s name change and honored retiring national Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) executive director Wanda Lee.
These and other business items took place during the Executive Committee (EC) report led by EC President Frank S. Page.
The approved 2016–17 CP Allocation Budget of $189 million is up from $186.5 million in the current Oct. 1–Sept. 30 fiscal year. The CP budget maintains current allocations of 50.41 percent of receipts to the International Mission Board (IMB) and 22.79 percent to the North American Mission Board (NAMB), for a total of 73.20 percent for missions ministries nationally and internationally. The convention’s six seminaries will receive 22.16 percent.
The budget proposal maintains a 1.65 percent allocation to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), while the SBC Operating Budget will receive 2.99 percent.
Messengers first voted on Golden Gate Seminary’s new name — Gateway Seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention — in 2015 and finalized their approval this year, a two-year process required by SBC bylaws.
The seminary closed its main campus in Mill Valley, California, on June 3 to prepare for its 400-mile move south to Ontario, California.
Appreciation was given to Lee, noting her years marked by record missions offering and ministry expansion.
‘Our true heroes’
Also presented was the Bivocational Small Church Advisory Council report.
“You’ll notice that only five are present,” Page said of the council’s members, “and the reason is because most of our bivocational pastors are out doing a secular job, and very few can come to our convention. We hope and pray that they will hear how much we appreciate them.”
The report is “a compilation of several years’ work, of recommendations, how to deepen the involvement of our bivocational and smaller membership churches in our convention,” Page said.
“By the way, of our 46,498 Southern Baptist churches, over 30,000 are in this category of either smaller membership — probably 35,000 — or bivocational,” Page said. “They are our true heroes. They are getting the work done and we praise God for them.”
In other business, messengers neither adopted nor debated any motion despite receiving the most since 2010.
Ten of the 22 motions were referred to SBC entities for further study and for a report at the 2017 SBC meeting in Phoenix, Arizona.
Three motions were automatically referred to the appropriate entities:
- To the EC and all entities: That all entities examine their media policies.
- To LifeWay: Work with past SBC presidents to publish their memoirs.
- To the EC: SBC annual meeting registration materials and badges indicate military service.
Six motions were referred to the EC by messengers:
- That SBC bylaws be amended to require CP gifts percentage be included in the nomination speech for SBC officers.
- That the Constitution be amended to declare churches that practice racial discrimination are not in friendly cooperation with the convention.
- That the Constitution be amended to require cooperating churches to also cooperate with a state convention and local association.
- That the article referencing faith in the Baptist Faith and Message be studied.
- That the SBC consider affiliating with the National Association of Evangelicals.
- That SBC bylaws be amended to require earlier announcement of some nominees from the Committee on Nominations.
Messengers referred to the Committee on Order of Business a motion to allocate more time for the IMB and NAMB reports at SBC annual meetings.
Twelve motions were ruled not in order by the Committee on Order of Business because they sought to direct, rather than request, the work of SBC entities.
One motion was ruled out of order because it was presented in the form of a resolution and seven motions were ruled out of order because they proposed that the convention exercise authority beyond that of the SBC or messengers.
Two of the motions ruled out of order asked the convention to remove from their positions Southern Baptist “officers” and “officials” who support Muslims’ right to build mosques in America.
A separate motion asked the SBC to withdraw its amicus brief in a federal lawsuit involving the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge (New Jersey).
The Committee on Order of Business noted they were out of order because ERLC signed onto an amicus brief, not the SBC. IMB also signed the brief.
The discussion over Muslims’ right to build mosques in America came up again during the ERLC report.
A messenger asked ERLC President Russell Moore how any Southern Baptist can defend the right to build mosques in light of the fact some Muslims are terrorists.
Moore responded that part of “what it means to be a Baptist is to support soul freedom for everyone.” The gospel, not government coercion, is the answer to Islam, he said.
(Compiled from Baptist Press, TAB articles)
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