Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 8, 1993 TAG: 9311080029
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
This year's gathering of the Baptist General Association of Virginia is expected to heat up for the second consecutive year over the issue of homosexuality.
The subject is being raised again because the Virginia Baptist General Board - which acts as the state association's executive committee - again has adopted a resolution calling homosexual behavior "sinful and unacceptable for Christians."
The resolution says the board "does not endorse those who practice it [homosexuality] to positions of leadership," and concludes by saying: "We seek to bring all people to a loving and redeeming Savior who alone will judge between the redeemed and the lost."
Delegates - called "messengers" - from the state's more than 1,500 Southern Baptist churches will be asked again to adopt the statement, something they refused to do last year.
That vote led to a deepening of the split between the denomination's two factions - conservatives and moderates.
Moderates, who tend to interpret Scripture more broadly than conservatives, control the state association and last year rejected both the statement on homosexuality and a move to amend the state constitution to exclude churches that "endorse" homosexuality.
The messengers did adopt a resolution asking Virginia Baptists "to minister redemptively to all persons . . . including homosexuals."
Conservatives wanted a strong statement condemning homosexuality based on their firm commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture. After last year's meeting in Virginia Beach, many conservatives were incensed by what they interpreted as a de facto endorsement of homosexual behavior by the messengers at the meeting.
At least one church bought advertising blasting the meeting's actions, which also have been widely credited with galvanizing the state's conservative bloc. Its members have not left the existing state association, but did establish an organization known as Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia with its own mission and worship objectives.
The Rev. Kirk Lashley, executive director of the Roanoke Valley Baptist Association, already has expressed concern about the resolution on homosexuality on the grounds that it seems to dictate policy to local churches. The autonomy of the local congregation - the notion that no outsider can dictate how its members are to worship or conduct business - is a fundamental principle of Baptist polity.
In a letter last month to the state Baptist newspaper, The Religious Herald, Lashley suggested that the resolution's language be amended to restrict its application to the state association. "The local church is capable of choosing her own leadership," Lashley wrote.
Messengers will deal with a variety of issues, including a proposed state budget, which - at $15.5 million - is about $1 million lower than this year's. The association's treasurer, Nat Kellum, last month reported that he expected only enough revenue to fund 92 percent of this year's $16.3 million budget.
State officials blame a "plateauing" of donations to Southern Baptist churches across the country, though some other observers cite a decline in contributions from conservative churches unhappy with the state's moderate leadership.
The election of new officers - one of the last things on the agenda - is likely to draw more interest than usual, because there will be at least three candidates for the association's presidency.
In a surprise move, two moderate candidates will run for the top office this year: Cecil Chambers and Ronald Crawford.
Chambers is running as a "middle of the road" candidate who says he hopes to draw moderates and conservatives together.
Crawford was believed last month to be the choice of moderate leaders in the state.
The conservative candidate is Vander Warner, a well-known evangelist in Southern Baptist circles.
All three candidates are from Richmond, which has led to some griping from Western Virginia Southern Baptists who say they are always left out of the running for the presidency.
by CNB