DALLAS (ABP) — The Baptist General Convention of Texas is asking one of its affiliated universities to break off its “fraternal relationship” with a rival Baptist group in the state.
The BGCT Executive Board voted May 25 to ask Houston Baptist University to rescind the decision it made last year to relate to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention in addition to the BGCT.
Board members approved the recommendation with 12 of the 234 members voting against it. A proposed amendment to soften the language garnered about 19 votes.
The Executive Board also affirmed a decision to escrow most BGCT funds budgeted for the university beginning June 1. Money earmarked for students through “ministerial financial aid” will not be affected.
The BGCT budgeted about $750,000 for HBU this year, including about $169,000 for ministry students.
The action came in response to a September 2003 decision by HBU trustees to establish a “fraternal relationship” with the SBTC, a conservative body supportive of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The university made the decision almost two years after agreeing to “maintain a unique affiliation with the BGCT by not affiliating or establishing a formal relationship with other denominations, conventions, or religious entities.”
Houston Baptist and the BGCT now have differing interpretations of what the word “unique” means in the agreement. The university sees it as a one-of-a-kind relationship, whereas the BGCT sees it as one-and-only. A BGCT committee said the original agreement was not ambiguous.
Charles Wade, BGCT executive director, said the proposal involved “temporarily escrowing” funds “until some of these things can be worked out.”
“We intend to continue the dialogue,” said Ken Hall, BGCT president. “We need to be very, very careful how we move forward if we want to redeem this relationship” with HBU.
“This is a status report, basically,” Hall said. Negotiations will continue, and the “ultimate decision rests with the convention” when it meets in annual session to approve the BGCT budget.
Houston Baptist is the only BGCT-affiliated university with a relationship to the conservative convention, although most other Texas Baptist-affiliated schools reportedly have been approached about establishing similar relationships.
In order to affiliate with the conservative Texas convention, institutions and organizations must “hold a high view of scripture” and “be in basic agreement with Southern Baptist distinctives.”
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