Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 29, 1993 TAG: 9301290261
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Medium
CONSERVATIVES FORM SUBGROUP
Virginia's conservative Southern Baptists found a voice Thursday - and they raised it to condemn homosexuality and abortion.Almost 700 clergy and lay people jammed into Old Forest Road Baptist Church to create a new organization they call Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia.
While declaring a level of independence, the group overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to break away from the moderate-controlled Baptist General Association of Virginia.
The Rev. Tommy Taylor of Virginia Beach, elected the group's first president, said after the meeting that he doesn't see a split with the state association in the immediate future.
"We want to be one big happy family again," Taylor said. But "we'll have to see how the [state association] responds to what happened here today."
Taylor said he hopes his new group will focus on educational programs and "soul-winning," and that it can be "complementary" to the state association.
A split will happen "only if Virginia Baptists continue to move further away from the Southern Baptist Convention."
In the last decade, conservatives have gained control of the national Southern Baptist Convention, while the state group has continued to be dominated by moderates.
Taylor said he hoped Virginia conservatives would focus on their own agenda and not be seen as merely reacting to the Baptist General Association.
However, in its first public pronouncement, the group spoke up on an issue the state association declined to address at its annual meeting in November.
The conservatives adopted a resolution declaring that "homosexuality is a sin" and calling on practicing homosexuals to "repent . . . and put their faith in Jesus Christ."
The resolution went on to say that "we deplore hate crimes against homosexuals."
The Rev. Ashton C. Smith of Falmouth, who offered the resolution, said "we do not hate those who practice homosexuality, but call them to repentence." He wants to "see them saved and on their way to heaven."
The resolution was passed without debate and with only one hand raised in opposition on the main floor of the meeting.
Conservatives contended that the state association's decision to remain silent on the issue was tantamount to an endorsement of homosexuality.
Stan Denham, a member of Taylor's church and a Navy officer, also urged conservatives to fight President Clinton's proposal to remove the ban on gays and lesbiansin the military.
Clinton's proposal "crosses the line between tolerance and condoning," Denham said.
The conservatives also spoke out against abortion, another social issue they believe moderates have failed to condemn strongly enough.
They modified the original language of the resolution to make clear that in affirming "the biblical prohibition against the taking of human life" they were not condemning capital punishment or those who kill in wars.
Participants at Thursday's meeting did not establish any membership qualifications and all in attendance were allowed to vote.
They elected officers and a 20-member steering committee, then gave them a year to incorporate the organization and propose a constitution.
The group did not adopt any funding mechanism, though Taylor said some churches already are setting aside money for the fledgling organization. Eventually, conservatives may set up their own evangelism and church-growth conferences, he said, and would likely upgrade their publication, "The Baptist Banner."