MOBILE, Ala. (ABP) — Messengers to the Alabama Baptist State Convention's annual meeting Nov. 13-14 quietly adopted a record budget and re-elected their officers.
Members of the state's largest religious group also moved forward with work toward a future relocation of the offices of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM) – the convention's day-to-day operating arm — extended the state convention's international partnerships and adopted resolutions addressing hate-crimes legislation and alcohol.
Messengers, who convened at Cottage Hill Baptist Church in Mobile, adopted a base budget of $44,585,000 for next year. The total is a 1.5 percent increase over this year's budget, with a challenge budget of $1 million more.
A total of $18,859,455 (42.3 percent) of the figure is marked for Southern Baptist Convention ministries.
In an August State Board of Missions meeting, Executive Director Rick Lance explained that the SBC causes receive the single largest percentage of budget receipts. The board of missions itself receives roughly 28 percent, and educational and benevolent institutions related to the convention share another 28 percent.
“We don't present you with a budget that we don't think we can reach together,” Lance told messengers during the annual meeting.
According to State Board of Missions official Bobby DuBois, the recommendation dealing with the convention's property is intended to plan for future building needs in a way that will protect missions funds from being used for building maintenance.
As the convention looks toward future relocation from its current headquarters in south-central Montgomery, its first proposed step to convention messengers was the sale of another property the board owns. The parcel, bought years ago with future building needs in mind, cost more than $17,000 this year in property taxes and is at its peak real estate value, according to DuBois, who is the board's associate executive director.
“If we are going to sell the property, now is the time,” he said. “We believe it's good stewardship.”
The recommendation called for the funds from the land sale to be used to purchase five to 10 acres along the Interstate 65 corridor near Prattville, Ala., just northwest of Montgomery. That area is more centrally located, and thus more easily accessible, for state Baptists, DuBois said.
All remaining funds from the land sale would be invested in the Baptist Foundation of Alabama to draw interest that will be used to retire the debt on the current building, he said. Once that debt is paid off, the balance, plus any additional interest earned, would be available for use for construction on the new property in future years.
The strategic plan tentatively proposes a building similar in size to the current one, plus a storage building for the convention's disaster-relief ministry, DuBois said.
In other business, messengers voted to extend the convention's partnership with Baptists in Guatemala and Ukraine until December 2011. The partnerships both began in 2006.
Messengers also approved resolutions on hate-crimes and alcohol, as well as one dealing with child sexual abuse, without debate.
The hate-crimes resolution urges Congress to dispose of a provision in the current defense bill that extends federal hate-crimes statutes to include sexual orientation. It said that its aim was to protect the First Amendment right of ministers “to preach and speak biblical truths” about God's views on “homosexual activities.” The resolution further urged President Bush to veto the bill – H.R. 1585 – if it emerges from Congress with the hate-crimes provisions intact.
“We need to make sure we have the right to speak out, which is what resolutions themselves are about — they are a tool to speak out,” said Joe Godfrey, chairman of the resolutions committee. “The free-speech issue in this legislation is very important.”
The legislation contains language specifying that it should not be used to prosecute religious institutions or leaders for exercising their First Amendment right to speak against homosexuality. However, some religious conservatives have said the bill would nonetheless be the first step down a slippery slope toward criminalizing such expressions.
Another resolution expressed “moral outrage and concern at any instance of child victimization” and urged the state's churches to “exercise moral stewardship” by performing background checks on employees and hiring in a responsible manner.
The resolution also stated that a task force appointed by Lance has written guidelines for Alabama Baptist churches to use when dealing with sexual misconduct.
“It is not yet complete but the information, when finished, will be provided to the churches as guidelines for doing due diligence in protecting children by means of background checking, etc.,” Lance said, noting that attorneys have served as advisors as the panel was writing the guidelines.
The alcohol resolution commended Gov. Bob Riley (R), a Baptist, for reversing a decision by the state's Alcohol Beverage Control Board to allow the opening of a state-run liquor store in Birmingham during Sunday sporting events. It affirms Alabama Baptists' “long-standing objection to the sale and use of alcohol as a beverage.”
Messengers re-elected, without opposition, the convention's officers. They are president Roger Willmore, pastor of Deerfoot Baptist Church in Trussville, Ala.; first vice president Jimmy Jackson, pastor of Whitesburg Baptist Church in Huntsville, Ala.; and second vice president Mike Shaw pastor of First Baptist Church of Pelham, Ala.
-30-
— Based on reporting by The Alabama Baptist. Robert Marus contributed to this story.