Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 14, 1990 TAG: 9006140557
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE RELIGION WRITER
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS LENGTH: Medium
Making his first public appearance since the balloting, Daniel Vestal, an Atlanta pastor, told a group called Baptists Committed to the Southern Baptist Convention that he was particularly surprised by the margin of his loss.
He was defeated by Morris Chapman of Texas, who received about 58 percent of the 38,000 votes.
Vestal, the candidate of the moderate faction of the denomination, received the endorsement of the Baptists Committed group before the election and a warm response by about 1,000 members Wednesday.
"The election . . . was not about who believes the Bible is the word of God," Vestal said to applause and cheers. "All of us believe the Bible."
The fight has been over control, he said.
Ultraconservatives have said their only motive is to restore doctrinal purity to the denomination's agencies and institutions. That generally translates into stated adherence to the position of inerrancy.
They insist that denominational officials and employees should believe the Bible is literally true in all areas.
Vestal asked the Baptists Committed group to call a meeting with all the various associations representing the moderate faction to meet before fall to discuss their future.
He outlined several options for those who feel left out of denominational politics, but said it was now up to each of them to go back to their churches, local associations and state association to discuss and pray about what to do.
He called on Chapman to fulfill his promise to "enlarge the tent" of participation in denominational leadership.
Vestal said he would not rule out another bid for the presidency, but that his priority now was to return to his home church and go about business there.
Also Wednesday, Southern Baptists voted to fund their own religious-liberty lobbying group in Washington.
For the past 50 years, Southern Baptists and eight other Baptist groups have used the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs.
Southern Baptists approved a plan endorsed by the ultraconservative leadership to cut funding to the Joint Committee by almost 90 percent and to add religious-liberty responsibilities to the denomination's Christian Life Commission.
The commission already serves as the denomination's voice in matters of ethics and morality. It now also will be responsible for speaking out on issues of church and state.
Several motions from the floor to defeat the proposal were killed Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Southern Baptist Convention will continue to give the group $50,000 next year, but no longer will be its largest contributor. It will retain memberships on the Joint Committee's board.
Ultraconservatives in the convention have characterized the Joint Committee as too liberal for Southern Baptists.
The Joint Committee's executive director, James Dunn, told reporters Wednesday that he expected individual churches and associations would make up the lost $350,000.
Christian Life Commission executive director Richard Land said in a news conference Wednesday evening that he expected to be able to work cooperatively with the Baptist Joint Committee.
In fact, he said, he and a representative of the Joint Committee had worked together to help draft a resolution on child-care legislation that the full convention is scheduled to consider today.
Land said he expected the consolidation of duties to result in less duplication of effort before congressional committees than was the case when the Joint Committee was the only entity to represent Southern Baptists on religious liberty issues.
The annual convention's final session is today.
by CNB