DALLAS (ABP) — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary will not be allowed to exhibit at the Baptist General Convention of Texas meeting this fall — further fallout from the deteriorating relationship between the Texas convention and the Southern Baptist Convention.
A new policy governing exhibits at the annual BGCT meeting emphasizes ministries related to and supportive of the BGCT, one of the few state Baptist conventions controlled by moderate Baptists. As a result, Southwestern and the five other SBC seminaries will not be welcome at the November gathering in San Antonio.
Paige Patterson, president of the Fort Worth-based Southwestern, said he was “dumbfounded” by the decision. Leaders of the BGCT said theological changes in the SBC justify the move.
“Due to the disheartening changes that have occurred over the past few years and with the unsupportive direction of the Southern Baptist Convention toward the BGCT, we feel it is in the best interest of convention messengers to limit exhibitors to organizations and Baptists who are wholeheartedly supportive of the leadership and churches of the Baptist General Convention of Texas,” convention leaders said in a May 20 letter to Southwestern. “Therefore, we are unable to offer exhibit space to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and the other Southern Baptist Convention seminaries.”
John Petty, vice chair of the BGCT committee on order of business, which handles exhibits, said the more conservative 2000 Baptist Faith and Message doctrinal statement is the primary reason behind the committee's decision. The BGCT rejects that statement as creedal and cites the 1963 version as its accepted confession of faith.
In recent years, the BGCT has redirected millions of dollars away from the SBC and its agencies. The BGCT supports two theological schools, both connected to Baptist-affiliated universities in Texas — Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University in Waco and Logsdon School of Theology at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene.
“Due to the efforts we have made to achieve cordial relationships with the BGCT, we were dumbfounded by the revelation that we would not be allowed to display at the convention,” Southwestern's Patterson said in a statement. “This is a clear signal to Southern Baptists in BGCT churches that the present leadership of the BGCT fully intends to sever all relationships with the Southern Baptist Convention and its agencies. They apparently have decided to cut the dog's tail off one joint at a time.”
“The connection between the BGCT and the SBC is not based on convention space in an exhibit hall,” responded Ken Hall of Dallas, BGCT president and president of BCGT-affiliated Buckner Baptist Benevolences. “The relationship is built on something much more important and deeper.”
“I wish Southwestern the very, very best and success in their new way of doing theological education,” Hall said. “We're just saying people should be helping us fulfill our mission” if they are going to be part of the annual meeting.
Scott Collins, vice president for external affairs at Buckner, noted the Southern Baptist Convention and the SBC-supportive Southern Baptists of Texas Convention both have “exclusionary” exhibit policies for their meetings. Collins said Buckner had exhibited at the SBC annual meetings prior to 1997, when “I was told that we are not part of the Baptist family.”
Petty, the committee vice chair, lamented changes at Southwestern since he was a student there. “I spent three great years there studying under world-class professors who were committed to the authority of Scripture, the autonomy of the local church, the priesthood of all believers and the separation of church state,” he said. “Regrettably, this is no longer the case.”
Jack Terry, vice president of institutional advancement at Southwestern, said he did not understand the BGCT's desire to exclude Southern Baptist seminaries from its convention. He noted that many of the students who graduate from Southwestern would serve in churches affiliated with the BGCT.
“I also do not understand it because Southwestern Seminary was received warmly in the exhibit area last year in Lubbock,” he said, according to Baptist Press. “The messengers were friendly. We had many wonderful conversations and students who showed an interest in studying at Southwestern.”
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