ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, June 12, 1996 TAG: 9606120056
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
CHURCH MEMBERS gave final approval to a broad restructuring of their $650 million-a-year programs.
Southern Baptists on Tuesday gave final approval Tuesday to a broad restructuring of their $650million-a-year national program, condemned the recent arson attacks on black churches in the country, and elected a president who seems open to official recognition for a rival organization to the Baptist General Association of Virginia.
Some conservative Southern Baptist churches in Virginia have become alienated from the moderate state association in recent years, with the state group distancing itself from the national convention. For a decade and a half, the national denomination has been controlled by a conservative faction insisting that denominational employees profess a series of doctrinal positions including belief that the Bible contains no errors and is thoroughly reliable in matters of history and science as well as theology.
The Virginia association has remained firmly in the control of moderates, who say they revere Scripture but generally do not insist that one must believe in such doctrines as the inerrancy of Scripture or the virgin birth of Christ, for instance, to hold a denominational office.
Members of a relatively new group calling itself Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia cut back funds to the state association, which retaliated by changing its rules to limit conservatives' participation in its annual meetings
The new president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Rev. Thomas D. Elliff of Del City, Okla., declined to answer directly a question about whether he would be willing to recognize the dissident Virginia group. He said he "would not encourage a division or split" but would encourage a Southern Baptist who is dissatisfied with his church's distribution of funds to send money directly to the national convention.
He then said blame for any splits at the state level were not the fault of conservative groups, but of state associations "that take money from churches and send it to non-Southern Baptist agencies."
The state association works with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, a national organization of moderate Southern Baptists, to employ missionaries and conduct other evangelistic work. It still maintains some ties with the Southern Baptist Convention.
T.C. Pinckney, an Alexandria layman who has been a leader in the state's conservative movement, said after Elliff's news conference that he has seen increasing sentiment for the establishment of a separate state association.
The Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia last year voted not to try to constitute themselves as a separate state convention, but Pinckney and others say that is likely to change at the group's annual meeting in September.
Pinckney said the legal counsel for the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee has concluded that the conservative group need only declare itself a separate state agency and forward money to the national convention to be recognized as a state association.
It is not clear exactly how many churches might join such a new organization in Virginia, but Pinckney said more than 200 churches were adversely affected by the moderate group's rule changes a year-and-a-half ago.
Earlier Tuesday, however, the outgoing president of the national convention, the Rev. Jim Henry of Orlando, Fla., specifically advised against the "road of secession" - forming secondary state organizations. "The long-term effect will not be healthy, and we will see the demise of our [denomination] as we know it."
In other action Tuesday, the 13,000 "messengers" approved a broad restructuring of their $650million-a-year national program. The plan will reduce the number of denominational agencies from 19 to 12. The restructuring is projected to save the denomination as much as $40million over five years.
There also were repeated condemnations of the arsons that have claimed two dozen predominately black congregations in the last year and a half. The convention will take up a special offering tonight to be distributed to those churches, and will offer other assistance, including teams of carpenters.
A series of resolutions were offered as well, including several that would condemn Walt Disney Co. for what some messengers see as the company's abandonment of "family values."
The resolutions committee is expected to offer a proposal to postpone a vote on a boycott of Disney products for a year, while encouraging Southern Baptists to become better informed about the issues that have generated objections. Those include the sale of group tickets to gay and lesbian organizations for "gay days" at Walt Disney World in Florida, and the company's policy of offering spousal benefits for same-sex relationships.
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Elliff. color.by CNB