NASHVILLE (ABP) — A Baptist World Alliance fund-raising appeal directed to Southern Baptist Convention churches has drawn criticism from Morris Chapman, president of the SBC Executive Committee.
In a letter to BWA officials, Chapman claimed the effort violates denominational policy. That policy, however, is limited only to SBC-run agencies. The SBC voted to break all official ties with the worldwide Baptist organization in June, redirecting funding to its own planned international group.
The policy, included in the SBC's business and financial plan, specifies that “in no case shall any convention entity approach a church for inclusion in its church budget or appeal for financial contributions.”
BWA leaders voluntarily honored that policy when the SBC was affiliated with the BWA. The denomination ended its affiliation with the BWA after an SBC study committee charged that the group was too friendly with some Baptist individuals and organizations that SBC leaders deemed unorthodox.
The fund-raising letter, signed by BWA president Billy Kim and General Secretary Denton Lotz and dated Aug. 27, addresses the SBC's charges and also details the ministry of the Baptist World Alliance.
The letter notes that a gift of $250 will make a church an “associate member” of BWA, while a gift of $1,000 will make it a “Global Impact Church.”
In the Sept. 24 response, Chapman wrote, “In attempting to encourage Southern Baptist churches to include the Baptist World Alliance in their budgets, you are violating a policy by which our entities abide for the sake of Southern Baptist cooperative world missions.
Therefore, on behalf of the Southern Baptist Convention and its churches, I respectfully ask you to cease immediately any fund-raising appeals to our churches.”
Acknowledging that “Southern Baptist churches are autonomous and can voluntarily support the BWA financially should they choose to do so,” Chapman added that “solicitation of funds from our churches fails to honor the convention's cooperative plan for supporting missions, and thus, defies the spirit of working together with another Baptist body.”
Contacted by Associated Baptist Press for comment, a BWA spokesperson referred to a message that Lotz sent to Chapman in response.
In it, Lotz notes that the fund-raising letter was not sent only to SBC churches, but also to other United States congregations in denominations historically affiliated with the BWA. They included churches affiliated with the American Baptist Churches, Progressive National Baptist Convention and Baptist General Conference.
Lotz said that was because of a recent BWA bylaw change that allows churches, individuals and other Baptist bodies to join the organization as “associate members.” Only regional or national Baptist denominations or associations can be full members of BWA.
“A letter of invitation went out to most all North American churches, not only SBC churches,” Lotz said. “We are, of course, all sorry that as of Oct. 1, the SBC will no longer be part of the world fellowship they helped form. This is a great loss for all of us.
“We look forward in the years ahead to the day when the SBC will again take its rightful place at the table of Baptists around the world,” Lotz concluded.
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