DALLAS (ABP) — Procedural and constitutional concerns prompted the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board to reject a study committee’s proposal to change how the BGCT handles messenger-seating challenges at its annual meeting.
At the 2009 BGCT meeting, Kyle Henderson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Athens, recommended a process to deal with messenger-seating challenges in advance of convention meetings.
His proposal would have amended the BGCT bylaws to require any messenger challenging the seating of another messenger to contact that messenger’s church at least 18 days before the annual meeting. He also proposed that a statement of intent to challenge the seating be presented to the BGCT credentials committee at least one week prior to the meeting.
Henderson’s proposal was referred to the BGCT Executive Board, and the board created an ad hoc study committee chaired by Bob Fowler of Houston.
The committee felt the proposal would be inappropriate, Fowler said, because it also mandated a church respond to allegations made by any messenger. However, he noted, the committee saw merit in providing some advance notice of a messenger-seating challenge.
The study committee modified Henderson’s proposal, recommending an amendment to the BGCT bylaws that would have said, in part: “Any messenger intending to challenge the seating of another messenger should verify the grounds upon which such a challenge is being made. At least two weeks in advance of the convening of a meeting of the convention, the challenging messenger should present the challenge to the Committee on Credentials, including steps taken to verify the basis of the challenge….”
The credentials committee would then provide the information it received from the challenger to the challenged messenger and his or her church.
Fowler noted the “should” language in the committee’s proposal, saying the change was “aspirational in nature,” providing a more orderly process while preserving the right of any messenger to challenge the seating of another messenger during the meeting.
“Our committee does not view these changes as critical to the success of the convention, but we do believe these changes would improve the process,” he said.
Van Christian, pastor of First Baptist Church in Comanche, noted he appreciated the original intention of the proposal, but he was concerned the recommended change violates the BGCT constitution and bylaws. The only requirement for a messenger currently is that he or she must be duly elected by a church in good standing with the convention, he noted.
But the proposal would put the credentials committee in the position of determining the churhc’s standing, Christian said.
The credentials committee only should consider the constitutional requirement for messengers, reserving the assembled convention’s right to accept or reject messengers, Fowler agreed.
Royce Measures of Pasadena noted the convention is composed of elected messengers, and the convention only exists for two or three days a year. “To be able to challenge messengers before there is a convention is contradictory,” he said. “It is moving from being messengers to being delegates.”
Fowler acknowledge the complexity of references to messengers, noting they become prospective messengers when elected by a church, they become registered messengers when they sign in at the annual meeting, and they become seated messengers when the convention takes that action.
BGCT Executive Director Randel Everett noted the convention is dealing with two related but distinct issues — seating of messengers and determining whether a church is affiliated.
Noting he could speak only as an individual board member and not for the study committee as a whole, Fowler agreed the recommendation could have unintended consequences.
“We are not in a parliamentary or constitutional crisis at this time,” he said.
The proposal grew out of concerns related to an anticipated challenge at the 2009 BGCT meeting involving messengers from Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth. The Southern Baptist Convention had cut ties with the church earlier in the year on the basis of its perceived acceptance of homosexual members.
The anticipated challenge was defused last year when Broadway decided at the last minute not to send messengers to the BGCT annual meeting. The congregation recently voted to sever its historic relationship with the BGCT.
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Ken Camp is managing editor of the Texas Baptist Standard. Standard Editor Marv Knox contributed to this story.
Related ABP stories:
Broadway Baptist Church informs BGCT it will 'discontinue' relationship (9/13/2010)
Board distances BGCT from gay-affirming Dallas church (5/25/2010)
Broadway Baptist decides not to send messengers to BGCT meeting (11/15/2009)
UPDATE: SBC messengers sever ties with Texas church over gay members (6/23/2009)