Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 10, 1990 TAG: 9006100053
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Tuesday will be election day for the denominational presidency at this year's annual meeting of the convention in New Orleans.
In the past year, the "ultraconservative" faction of the convention has virtually completed its goal of gaining majority positions on the boards of every agency and institution of the denomination.
Members of the opposing faction, usually referred to as "moderates," concede that even if their candidate wins the presidency at this year's three-day convention, it will take another decade of consistent victories to reverse the current trend of theological fundamentalism in denomination institutions.
Some moderates are even going so far as to say that schism may soon become inevitable, with the disaffected group either forming a new organization or going to other existing associations.
The ultraconservative faction first gained control of the national body's presidency 11 years ago and has grown in influence since by attacking perceived liberalism in agencies and institutions, particularly seminaries, and waging an emotional campaign to "purify" the denomination.
Much of the debate has centered on the issue of biblical inerrancy.
Both factions agree that the Bible as originally written is without error and is "sufficient for salvation." They disagree about whether a particular translation is definitive; whether the biblical record is to be taken literally, particularly in regards to matters of science and history, and frequently over matters of interpretation.
The Southern Baptist Convention was formed in 1845 primarily as a vehicle to combine funds for missionary work. Individual churches remain independent, and the action of the convention has no binding influence on them.
Those attending the convention eschew the title of delegate. They prefer to be called "messengers" who are not bound to be representatives of the congregations who elected them, but only to vote according to their own consciences.
The number of messengers any church may send is limited to 10 and is based on membership and donations to the denomination's Cooperative Program of missions giving. More than 70 percent of the 37,785 Southern Baptist churches are eligible to send 10 messengers.
There are about 14.9 million people listed on the rolls of the affiliated churches, but denominational leaders acknowledge that probably fewer than half that number are active in a church.
Most states have their own associations of Southern Baptist churches as well, few of which are dominated by the same ultraconservative faction that has risen to prominence on the national level.
Because of the convention's location this year deep in the Bible belt - and the intensity of this year's campaign for the presidency by both sides - a number of denomination officials are predicting that attendance could exceed the 1985 record of 45,519 in Dallas.
The site is within driving distance both of the more moderate East Coast state associations and the more conservative Midwest and Western associations.
In years past, some moderates have loudly decried the ultraconservatives' occasional tactic of busing in large numbers of messengers for the presidential vote on the first day of the convention and then busing them home the same night or next day.
This year, though, moderate coalitions also have arranged bus transportation and inexpensive lodging outside New Orleans to encourage participation from their churches.
As both sides have used increasingly sophisticated political strategies to get out the vote, the presidential balloting has grown ever closer in recent years, with the moderates cutting into the margin of victory.
When the current president, Jerry Vines of Jacksonville, Fla., was elected to his first one-year term in 1988, he won by only one-half of one percentage point. Even though no incumbent has ever been defeated for his second and final term in the office, Vines faced a serious challenge last year.
Daniel Vestal, 45-year-old pastor of Dunwoody Baptist Church in Atlanta, will repeat as the moderate candidate this year. The ultraconservative candidate is Morris Chapman, 49, pastor of First Baptist Church of Wichita Falls, Texas.
Vestal announced his candidacy in February and began an intensive church-to-church campaign to make his name and positions known. Vestal has been embraced by the moderate faction even though his theological positions are almost indistinquishable from those of his opponent.
He has attracted support in Virginia and other states dominated by moderates by pledging to name people of various theological positions to the convention committees that, in turn, appoint institutional boards.
Vestal also received the endorsement of more than 300 retired foreign missionaries.
Vestal charges that the ultraconservatives have attempted to enforce acceptance of what amounts to a creed of inerrancy and literalism in a denomination that has historically denounced creedalism.
He received a lot of attention in the denominational press - which includes numerous state association newspapers and a half-dozen or so independent national publications - when he charged that the ultraconservatives were being controlled by a "college of cardinals" composed of most of the convention presidents of the past decade.
He described a Caribbean cruise attended by that group and their deliberations to hand-pick Vines' successor and plan strategy for the presidential campaign.
Chapman has received endorsements from most of the ultraconservative leadership, including some well-known pastors who have not aligned themselves publicly with either faction previously.
Those include John Bisagno of Houston, who issued a statement in mid-February calling on the current leadership to "broaden the tent" to include more Southern Baptists.
Shortly afterwards, Charles Fuller, pastor of Roanoke's First Baptist Church on Third Street and former chairman of the denominational Peace Committee, issued a statement supporting the Bisagno plan but stopping short of endorsing Chapman.
Fuller's statement was quickly published, however, along with various endorsements of Chapman, in the handful of publications targeted at ultraconservative Southern Baptist audiences.
Fuller has denied having any political motive in issuing the statement other than to heal the divisiveness in the denomination. He also said he was not part of any leadership cabal and was not asked or pressured to issue his statement.
Although Vines said "the question about the nature of the Bible" was settled with his re-election last year, Chapman has told audiences this spring that the denominational controversy continues to be over the "authority of the Bible."
In addition to electing a new president, Southern Baptists this week will set a budget for their agencies and institutions. One of the most controversial proposals by the convention's executive board is to drastically cut funding of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs.
The joint committee represents a coalition of Baptist groups in the nation as a lobbying voice in Washington. Its positions frequently have not been conservative enough for the Southern Baptist leadership, which has argued that Southern Baptists pay a disproportionately high share of the agency's costs.
There have been unsuccessful attempts in each of the past several years to cut the agency's funding.
by CNB