ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, September 17, 1996 TAG: 9609170102
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
With neither a vote nor a voice in dissent, a group of conservative Southern Baptists voted Monday to create a new state convention of their denomination in Virginia.
Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia, a 31/2-year-old organization of churches and individuals dissatisfied with the Baptist General Association of Virginia, formally declared themselves a separate state affiliate of the Southern Baptist Convention.
And the group quickly voted its unanimous consent to resolutions condemning homosexuality and abortion.
At the first meeting of this group in Lynchburg in January 1993 - when its leaders were calling it a "complementary" organization to the Baptist General Association - two similar resolutions were passed as part of its first order of business.
The Baptist General Association's refusal in November 1992 to pass resolutions calling homosexuality and abortion sinful were catalysts of that first meeting and, as evidenced by Monday's vote here, remained a sore point for many.
The resolution on "a Christian response to homosexuality" went beyond the usual condemnation of homosexual practice, describing "even a desire to engage in a homosexual relationship" as "always sinful, impure, degrading, shameful, unnatural, indecent, and perverted," basing that language on a passage from the first chapter of the New Testament book of Romans.
It called on Southern Baptists "to pray continuously for those enmeshed in this abhorrent practice" and to seek "to bring them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ." It also called for opposition to government "promotion" of homosexuality and, "while recognizing the autonomy" of every Southern Baptist congregation and organization," contended that "no practicing homosexual is qualified in God's eyes to fill any responsible denominational post."
The abortion resolution encouraged members "to support those candidates for public office who are committed to pro-life positions." It also resolved to "start and/or support ministries that serve unwed mothers and save babies' lives."
Across the nation, Southern Baptists have been divided into "moderate" and "conservative" factions, whose disagreements have centered on the nature and authority of Scripture. In the last two decades, conservatives have assumed control of the national denominational structure, while moderates have remained in control of some state organizations, notably in Virginia.
The vote to become a new state convention had been expected, but its ease - and the lack of any debate or discussion of the recommendation from the floor - surprised even its supporters.
T.C. Pinckney, an Alexandria layman who is widely credited with a pivotal role in organizing the conservative faction in Virginia, estimated that approximately 500 were in attendance Monday at Grove Avenue Baptist Church.
Approximately 150 churches in the state - and a few dozen individuals - have sent financial support to the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia in the past year, said Doyle Chauncey, the group's executive director and treasurer. Individual donors were automatically qualified to be "messengers" or voting representatives to the meeting. Contributing churches could send between two and 15 messengers, based on their financial support of Southern Baptist causes.
There are still relatively few member churches, which must formally petition the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia for membership and be approved by a three-quarters vote of the current members.
Many churches choosing to join the Southern Baptist Conservatives in Virginia are expected to retain their membership in the Baptist General Association of Virginia, at least for the time being. The Baptist General Association has 1,500 member churches.
Details in such areas as pastors' retirement annuities, pass-through funding for mission projects supported by the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board, and local associational relationships have yet to be worked out.
In other business Monday, the conservatives approved a budget of $774,000 for next year and elected Terry Harper, pastor of Colonial Heights Baptist Church, as their new president. Harper was ordained by Roanoke's East End Baptist Church.
In a prayer of thanks after the vote to become a new state convention, outgoing president Bob Melvin of Fredericksburg compared the group's journey to that of the ancient Israelites out of Egypt into "the Promised Land."
The members "have no desire to fight with anybody," but want to bring converts to Christ and "stand heart-to-heart with the great Southern Baptist Convention," he prayed.
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