GERMANTOWN, Tenn. (ABP) — After a divisive and highly publicized debate about the role of elders in Baptist church governance, members of a large Memphis-area church have defeated a motion to switch from congregational polity to the elder system.
The May 7 vote at Germantown Baptist Church was 2,183-1,542 in opposition to the proposal, or nearly 59 percent opposed to elders. The new constitution and bylaws would have required a two-thirds majority to win.
Clark Finch, one of the founding members of a group organized to oppose the change, said while the outcome of the vote didn't surprise him, the winning ratio did. He and other opponents created a website, www.savegbc.org, to rally members against imposing elder rule on the 9,000-member church.
“We had a count of maybe 1,500 who we thought would vote against the motion, but I was just in awe that it was 2,183,” Finch told Associated Baptist Press. “To me, that says that God looks out for his children.”
Pastor Sam Shaw, who had encouraged the elder proposal, did not return an ABP reporter's phone calls requesting comment for this story.
The conflict spilled over into the local media, with the Memphis Commercial Appeal and other news outlets reporting on it. If the motion had been approved, Germantown likely would have been the largest Baptist congregation to adopt the Presbyterian-style system.
Finch, who attended the meeting, said the sanctuary was filled almost to capacity during the vote, but the atmosphere was surprisingly relaxed.
“It was as godly a meeting as you could expect to have,” he said.
As a result of the vote, the church may face an unknown future with regard to its leadership. Members plan to meet May 9 at nearby Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary to discuss future plans.
According to Finch, his group plans to “stay the course” and let “the staff” make the first move toward any future change. For now, he's just happy the church remained together during the conflict.
The proposed amendment would have allowed church members to nominate elder candidates, put them through a screening process by an elder interview team and then approve the interviewers' decision. Part of that interview team would have consisted of the church's present deacons and pastors.
Opponents to the elders said the men would rule instead of lead the church — something they saw as a dangerous departure from biblical descriptions of elders. In a May 3 ABP article, Finch said a close reading of Germantown's proposed bylaws revealed that elders would have the key decision-making power in the church.
Others, including Shaw and his supporters, said elders would be godly leaders devoted to shepherding the church in “spiritual and administrative matters.”
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