Editor’s Note: The views below are those of two key leaders at Ginter Park Baptist Church in Richmond, who, in the absence of a pastor, have administrative and pastoral care responsibilities for the congregation. The two leaders have pointed out that this is not an official response of the church to the recent request from the Virginia Baptist Mission Board’s executive committee that the congregation withdraw its membership from the Baptist General Association of Virginia.
For 96-plus years, the members of Ginter Park Baptist Church have lived out a calling to follow the life and example of Jesus Christ. This has not changed. We continue to live out this calling while steadfastly respecting the free church tradition and the autonomy of the local church to make its own decisions. We respect the right of other churches to make decisions that differ from ours. We hold sacred the foundation of our Baptist belief in the priesthood of the believer and the God-given right of fellow believers to agree and sometimes disagree on issues of faith and interpretation of Scripture. On these core principles we will not defer.
The Baptist General Association of Virginia has requested that GPBC disassociate from the BGAV because we have exercised our right as a free church to ordain to the gospel ministry a man who felt God’s call to ministry. As is Baptist tradition, this call to ministry was nurtured and examined by ministerial staff and lay leaders of our church. The candidate was mentored by us and he fulfilled the rigorous academic requirements for a master of divinity degree. All this was completed while in the process of fulfilling his call to ministry while a member of GPBC. In the end, GPBC agreed with his calling and ordained him to the gospel ministry. We stand by this decision.
We respect the right of the BGAV and others to differ with our decision, but we ask they honor Baptist tradition and respect the decision as ours and ours alone. We hope to continue our partnership and association with the BGAV for the purpose of fulfilling our united call to the life and example of Jesus Christ.
Vickie Hall is moderator and Raymond Cady is chair of deacons at Ginter Park Baptist Church in Richmond.