Declaring “our total opposition to the … consuming of alcoholic beverages,” Southern Baptist Convention messengers adopted a strongly worded resolution on the issue June 14.
Messengers adopted 15 resolutions presented by the SBC Resolutions Committee on issues ranging from genocide in Sudan to “human species-altering technologies.” In a resolution on public schools, messengers opted not to call for a wholesale “exodus” into Christian schools.
But the resolution on alcohol was the only one to spark extended debate.
Cole of Dallas cautioned that abstinence is “not an essential for unity and not an essential for the proclamation of the gospel.”
Cole, one of the more prolific bloggers among younger pastors, insisted abstinence “is not a matter to die on.”
Committee member Dwayne Mercer countered that Southern Baptists “have always stood for total abstinence.”
Warning that some believers advocate drinking alcohol “under the guise of freedom in Christ,” Mercer added that committee members “feel that the SBC ought to address this and be aware of what is going on all across America.”
Jim Richards, executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, proposed an amendment — later adopted — urging that no one be elected as a Southern Baptist entity trustee or committee member who “is a user of alcoholic beverages.”
Citing the need to “stand for holiness and purity in our walk,” Richards said, “The use of alcohol as a beverage can and does impede our testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ. Our leaders should take the high road in our walk with the Lord Jesus.”
Tom Ascol of Fort Myers, Fla., spoke against the amendment. “I do not think that we can be more holy than Jesus Christ,” he said, adding that “Christ turned water into wine.”
Citing Proverbs 23:29-35, the resolution noted that “years of research confirm biblical warnings that alcohol use leads to physical, mental and emotional damage.”
Warning that “some religious leaders are now advocating the consumption of alcoholic beverages based on a misinterpretation of the doctrine of ‘our freedom in Christ,' ” the resolution commended “organizations and ministries that treat alcohol-related problems from a biblical perspective and promote abstinence.”
Messengers approved the measure on a show of ballots.
A proposal on “engaging the direction of the public school system” drew brief discussion.
Voicing concern about public schools teaching “dogmatic Darwinism” and acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle amid a pervasive “humanistic and secular orientation,” the resolution urges churches to solicit members to seek election to their local school boards and exert “their godly influence upon these school systems.”
The measure also affirms “the hundreds of thousands of Christian men and women who teach in our public schools” and encourages young people “who are seriously considering the teaching profession as a possible calling of God to pursue that calling.”
Resolutions adopted without debate included:
• Marriage Protection Amendment. Declaring that “the sacred institution of marriage is now under destructive attack in some state and federal courts and state legislatures,” messengers urged the U.S. House of Representatives “to vote affirmatively on the Marriage Protection Amendment at the earliest possible moment and to represent the convictions of the vast majority of Americans, who believe that marriage should be only the union of one man and one woman.”
• Nomination and confirmation of federal judges. Noting that “our forefathers founded this nation under God, with freedom and liberty,” the resolution decries “certain unelected judges who, presuming to legislate from the bench, have issued decrees that subvert the very foundation of our democratic republic.” The measure encourages President Bush “to continue nominating strict constructionist judges” and calls on the U.S. Senate “to vote without delay” on current and future judicial nominees.
• China's treatment of North Korean refugees. Detailing the “savage brutality” against millions of North Koreans by the regime of Kim Jong Il, the resolution notes prisoners “are subjected to such barbaric acts as starvation, forced abortion, rape, severe beatings, gas chambers and death.” The government of China has refused to acknowledge the refugee status of North Koreans who have fled to China, the measure adds, noting that Chinese officials return the refugees to North Korea “where they face certain imprisonment, beatings and even death.” The resolution appeals to the Chinese government to acknowledge the North Koreans' refugee status and pledges solidarity with North Korean citizens, “especially the North Korean refugees who are persecuted for conscience sake.”
• Conflict in Darfur, Sudan. Civil conflict and ethnic cleansing have “resulted in 400,000 deaths, 2.5 million persons being displaced, and 3.5 million persons living in starvation,” the resolution states. It affirms President Bush and the U.S. government “for steadfastly pursing a resolution to this humanitarian crisis.” It also urges the president and government of Sudan to disband the Janjaweed militia and allow the United Nations peacekeeping force unlimited access to the Darfur region.
• Illegal immigration crisis. Urging the U.S. government to “enforce all immigration laws, including the laws directed at employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants,” the resolution calls on Christians to “follow the biblical mandate of caring for the foreigners among us.” It also encourages churches to “meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of all immigrants.”
• Human species-altering technologies. Declaring that God prohibits “human-animal reproductive species confusion” in Leviticus 18:23, messengers voted to “repudiate in strongest possible terms human species-altering technologies.” The measure calls on Congress “to pass as soon as possible a comprehensive ban on all human species-altering technologies.”
• Environmentalism and evangelicals. Stating that “some environmentalists are seeking to advance a political agenda, based on disputed claims, which … seeks to indoctrinate the public, particularly students in public institutions,” the resolution pledges to “resist alliances with extreme environmental groups whose positions contradict biblical principles.” Warning that “environmentalism is threatening to become a wedge issue to divide the evangelical community,” the resolution urges “all Southern Baptists toward the conservation and preservation of our natural resources for future generations while respecting ownership and property rights.”
• Off-campus biblical instruction. Messengers called on “all boards of education in all school districts to recognize and accommodate those parents, churches and faith-based organizations that wish to provide off-campus biblical education during the school day.”
• Bivocational, volunteer and part-time ministers. Noting that more than 30 percent of Southern Baptist pastors are bivocational, volunteer or part-time, messengers affirmed their ministry roles as “servants [who] function faithfully in the model of Christ the carpenter and Paul the tentmaker.”
Messengers also adopted resolutions expressing appreciation for Southern Baptist disaster-relief workers in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, pledging to pray for President Bush and the U.S. military, and recognizing LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center's 100th anniversary next year.