RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Baptists have urged the U.S. Congress to resolve the country’s immigration crisis and have rejected proposals by their own state government to privatize its Alcohol Beverage Control commission.
The two resolutions were among four adopted Nov. 10 by messengers attending the annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia.
Virginia Baptists urged Congress “to address seriously and realistically the immigration crisis in a way that will restore trust among all persons in our society.”
“… [W]e urge Christian citizens to follow the biblical principle of caring for the foreigners among us (Deuteronomy 24:17-22) and the command of Christ to be a neighbor to those in need of assistance (Luke 10:30-37), regardless of their racial or ethnic background, country of origin, or legal status; and … we encourage all Virginia Baptists to make the most of the tremendous opportunity for evangelism and join in the mission to seek and to save those who are lost among the immigrant population,” the resolution says.
It also encourages “all Christian churches to act redemptively and reach out to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of all immigrants, to start English classes on a massive scale, and to encourage and assist them on the path toward legal status and citizenship.”
In opposing the privatization of liquor sales, Virginia Baptists have weighed in on an issue that has roiled statewide politics since Gov. Bob McDonnell introduced it earlier this year. Since the end of Prohibition, beer and wine may be sold in private stores, but liquor and spirits can be bought only in government operated outlets.
McDonnell says selling the Alcohol Beverage Control commission would provide revenue for the state’s burgeoning transportation needs. His critics say it will relinquish an important source of funding.
Virginia Baptists’ resolution noted that “past studies of similar proposals to privatize ABC stores have shown privatization provides fewer dollars for the state general fund and local services.” They also maintained “the abuse of alcohol constitutes one of our Commonwealth’s greatest social ills, bringing tragedy to families, robbing industry of productivity and saddling taxpayers with the burden of funding redemptive programs.”
They expressed their “belief that the current ABC concept is an acceptable and valid way of controlling liquor sales in the Commonwealth of Virginia and should not be privatized” and urged the state’s Baptists “to express their concern to their local legislators.”
A third resolution expressed Virginia Baptists’ concern for a “silent crisis” among church leaders, which “often creates spiritual lethargy, impedes church leadership, and causes some to explore vocations outside of ministry” and “is intensified by our difficult economic and turbulent cultural times.”
They encouraged Virginia Baptist pastors to consider participating in 21-C, an annual evangelism conference sponsored by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board and to “discover other means of encouraging their longevity in ministry.”
They also urged churches to “express greater appreciation and care for those who work steadily on their behalf.”
Virginia Baptists also adopted a traditional expressing of appreciation for hosts and organizers of the annual meeting.
Robert Dilday is managing editor of the Religious Herald.
Complete texts of the resolutions follow:
Resolution 1: Appreciation
With praise and thanksgiving to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we have gathered, and to whose glory we consecrate our work together,
We the messengers of the 187th meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, meeting at Hampton, Virginia, November 9-10, 2010, do hereby make it known that:
We express our gratitude to the City of Hampton, Virginia, its Mayor, Molly Ward, to the staff of the Hampton Convention Center, and to local businesses for their gracious hospitality.
We commend the Peninsula Baptist Association, and all the volunteers for all they have done to facilitate this annual meeting.
We give thanks to the program committee for planning and conducting this meeting.
We commend all the program participants for their positive contributions. We are grateful to the staff of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board for their faithful and thoughtful preparation of this annual meeting. We cherish their continuous, committed service to Virginia Baptists, our churches, ministers, and lay people. We especially appreciate the capable leadership of Dr. John V. Upton, Jr., our Executive Director.
We convey our appreciation for the heritage of a free and unfettered Baptist press and to James White and staff for their ministry with the Religious Herald. We value the Herald’s continued support of the BGAV in its goals. We respect their faithfulness in reporting Baptist news to our churches.
We commend the service and contributions of our First Vice-President, Bob Bass; Second Vice-President, Kevin James; Clerk, Frederick Anderson; Assistant Clerk, Wayne Hannah; and Parliamentarians, Richard Bidwell, Beth Fogg, and Raymond Duke.
We appreciate the dedicated effort of Tim Madison, our President, for his valuable and tireless leadership.
Finally, we resolve to continue working together in our Baptist General Association of Virginia to advance the Redeemer’s Kingdom.
Resolution 2: Concern
Whereas, the messengers of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, express our concern for the welfare and spiritual vitality of pastors and church leaders; and
Whereas, there is a growing and often silent crisis of call and spirit affecting the ministry of many in our state. This crisis often creates spiritual lethargy, impedes church leadership, and causes some to explore vocations outside of ministry. This crisis is intensified by our difficult economic and turbulent cultural times; and
Whereas, Dr. Wayne Faison, of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board is commended for addressing this timely issue at the 2011 21-C conference.
Therefore, be it resolved that all Virginia Baptist pastors are encouraged to consider participating in the upcoming 21-C conference, and discover other means of encouraging their longevity in ministry; and
Be it further resolved, that the churches of our general association express greater appreciation and care for those who work steadily on their behalf; and
Be it further resolved, that the leadership of Virginia Baptist churches be called to support the spiritual renewal of their pastors and staff; and
Be it further resolved, that Virginia Baptists be called to prayer and to a heightened sense of awareness to those in ministry who may be in a time of need.
Resolution 3: Crisis of Immigration
Whereas, the crisis of immigration in the United States impacts tens of millions of people in many different ways; and
Whereas, Christians have responsibilities in two realms: as citizens of the nation (Matthew 22:21) and as citizens of the heavenly Kingdom (Philippians 2:20; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 2:9); and
Whereas, as citizens of the nation, Christians are under biblical mandate to respect the divine institution of government and its just laws, but at the same time, Christians have the right to expect the government to fulfill its ordained mandate to enforce those laws (Romans 13:1-7); and
Whereas, as citizens of the heavenly Kingdom and members of local congregations of that Kingdom, we also have a biblical mandate to act compassionately toward those who are in need (Matthew 25:34-40), love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:39), and to do unto others as we would have them do unto us (Matthew 7:12); and
Whereas, the federal government has failed in its responsibility in the area of immigration leading to the crisis we now face; and
Whereas, many of these hardworking and otherwise law-abiding immigrants have been exploited by employers and by others in society, contrary to James 5:4.
Therefore, be it resolved, that the messengers to the annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia meeting in Hampton, Virginia, November 9-10, 2010 urge the United States Congress to address seriously and realistically the immigration crisis in a way that will restore trust among all persons in our society; and
Be it further resolved, that we urge Christian citizens to follow the biblical principle of caring for the foreigners among us (Deuteronomy 24:17-22) and the command of Christ to be a neighbor to those in need of assistance (Luke 10:30-37), regardless of their racial or ethnic background, country of origin, or legal status; and be it further resolved, that we encourage all Virginia Baptists to make the most of the tremendous opportunity for evangelism and join in the mission to seek and to save those who are lost among the immigrant population; and
Be it finally resolved, that we encourage all Christian churches to act redemptively and reach out to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of all immigrants, to start English classes on a massive scale, and to encourage and assist them on the path toward legal status and citizenship.
Resolution 4: Privatization of Virginia ABC Stores
Whereas, the Commonwealth of Virginia has maintained the control of liquor sales since the late 1930’s through state run stores; and
Whereas, there has been a proposal in state government to privatize the state-run liquor industry to fund Virginia’s transportation needs; and
Whereas, past studies of similar proposals to privatize ABC stores have shown privatization provides fewer dollars for the state general fund and local services; and
Whereas the abuse of alcohol constitute one of our commonwealth’s greatest social ills, bringing tragedy to families, robbing industry of productivity and saddling taxpayers with the burden of funding redemptive programs, and
Whereas, a study of the most recent states to privatize their state-run ABC stores shows a clear increase in the per capita consumption of hard liquor even while the national trend is for lower consumption.
Therefore, be it resolved, that we, the messengers of the 187th meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia affirm our belief that the current ABC concept is an acceptable and valid way of controlling liquor sales in the Commonwealth of Virginia and should not be privatized; and
Be it further resolved, that Virginia Baptists be encouraged to express their concern to their local legislators.