Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 21, 1995 TAG: 9506210119
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: Long
Tuesday, the descendants of those founders of the Southern Baptist Convention said their forebears had been wrong, and they apologized for an act that many believe has alienated blacks from the denomination ever since.
In an eagerly anticipated resolution before the 138th session of the Southern Baptist Convention, "messengers" or representatives said they "unwaveringly denounce racism, in all its forms, as deplorable sin ... lament and repudiate historical acts of evil such as slavery ... apologize and ask forgiveness of our African-American brothers and sisters ... and commit ourselves to eradicate racism in all its forms from Southern Baptist life and ministry."
A roaring standing ovation greeted the passage of the resolution as a giant TV screen showed Gary Frost, the black second vice president of the convention, embrace Charles T. Carter, the white chairman of the resolutions committee that drafted the statement.
Afterward, Frost said he could not speak for all blacks, nor even all black Christians, but "on behalf of those African-Americans who are committed to be obedient to Jesus Christ ... I accept your apology and extend to you our forgiveness."
He then called on those assembled to be sure that the "genuineness" of their vote was "expressed in attitudes and actions."
In addition to the issue of slavery, the resolution specifically addressed what it admitted was the failure of many Southern Baptists to support the "legitimate initiatives to secure the civil rights of African-Americans" in more recent times.
The resolution was widely heralded in the denominational and secular press even before a final draft was finished in the last week.
Though they were difficult to detect in the wide expanse of the Georgia Dome, there were a few votes in opposition to the resolution.
A Louisiana pastor said the resolution unfairly tarnished the reputations of the founders, who "did not start slavery." A messenger from Chicago lamented that the resolution singled out injustices to blacks at the exclusion of others, such as an Irish ancestor of his own who was sold as a slave in Colonial America.
After additional debate and the defeat of a motion to refer the resolution back to committee for further work, Mississippian Anita Renfrow called for a vote, saying the debate "makes it look like we're stalling ... and will not reflect well" on the convention.
As is the case for any Baptist resolution, the action specifically reflects only the opinion and will of the majority of those gathered for the vote and is not binding on individual congregations or members. Such lopsided votes, however, are widely considered to reflect the majority opinion of the denominations' 40,000 congregations and 15.6 million members.
More than 18,000 messengers were registered by mid-day Tuesday for the opening of this year's convention.
Earlier in the day, what generally had been considered the most controversial issue expected to come before the convention sailed through almost uneventfully after denominational officials made minor wording changes to mollify critics.
After an 18-month study, a program and structure study committee proposed sweeping reorganizations of the denomination's boards and agencies. The plan reduces the number of agencies from 19 to 12 and consolidates functions in five categories - missionaries, seminaries, Sunday school, ethics and religious liberty, and "facilitating ministries," which includes the powerful executive committee of the denomination and the annuity board.
The committee angered some program directors and many lay people who accused it of acting without consulting some of the agencies it recommended for extinction.
Also upset was a broad segment of the Women's Missionary Union, an independent auxiliary to the denomination. The original reports' lack of acknowledgment of the significant role of the women's organization in the support of missionaries both in the United States and abroad was widely read as a slap in the face.
The women's group and the denominational leadership sometimes have been at odds over the missionary union's refusal to commit itself to support Southern Baptist missions exclusively. The women's group last year did pledge to provide promotional assistance only to the Southern Baptists' two big annual missions offerings. But it continues to be willing to provide services to Southern Baptist churches that refuse to fund the national denomination's missionaries and other evangelical churches that seek its aid in promoting missions work, said its executive director, Dellanna O'Brien, in an interview after the vote.
An endnote to the report was amended Tuesday to "recognize and affirm the historic relationship" of the women's organization and "welcome its continued support."
Though some women thought the gesture amounted to "throwing a bone" to the women's organization, O'Brien said she thought the amendment would appease most of the report's critics.
After some other modifications to accommodate concerns of the current Home Missions Board, the report was approved by a 2-to-1 margin.
In other action Tuesday, convention President Rev. James B. Henry of Orlando, Fla. was re-elected to a one-year term.
The convention is scheduled to conclude Thursday with an address from the Rev. Billy Graham.
by CNB