HIGHLAND, Calif. (ABP) — With the exception of several bylaw changes concerning the relationship of the California Southern Baptist Convention to its agencies, messengers to the convention's annual meeting approved a number of routine items with little debate.
Messengers also approved a $10.8 million budget, re-established a resolutions committee and elected officers to serve for the coming year.
The majority of business transacted Nov. 9-10 came from the Agency Relations Committee, appointed at the 2003 annual meeting to study the relationship of CSBC entities. In all, the committee presented 11 recommendations — two related to the convention's constitution, seven to the bylaws, one to the Executive Board bylaws and another from the floor.
Most of the recommendations dealt with convention committees and boards — the Executive Board, California Baptist University board of trustees and California Baptist Foundation board of directors. The recommendations ranged from organization of the boards to terms of service.
With the exception of a bylaw recommendation that would have detailed procedures for the committee on board nominations, all recommendations considered this year carried. Only one other recommendation allowing two members from a church to serve on either the university or foundation board garnered debate.
Two constitutional and one bylaw recommendation from the Agency Relations Committee were introduced and will be considered at the 2005 annual meeting.
With no questions or debate, messengers approved a $10.8 million budget with a Cooperative Program objective of $7,702,201. The total proposed budget is an increase of 1.36 percent over the 2004 budget of $10,663,671. Of the $7.7 million, the Southern Baptist Convention will receive 27 percent for worldwide missions.
The revived resolutions committee chose to present only one resolution, dealing with the right to life, family values, purity in marriage between a man and a woman, and the raising of children.
Encouraging California Southern Baptist churches and members to pray for these issues and “for our country to move forward in unity as one nation under God,” the resolution also encouraged the convention president and executive director to notify the president of the United States concerning the resolution and “our support of him in prayer.”
During miscellaneous business sessions, Los Angeles-area pastor Wiley Drake presented motions to “encourage” the CSBC executive director and president to send letters of encouragement to American Veterans in Domestic Defense, now touring the United States with the 10 Commandments monument placed by Judge Roy Moore in the Alabama judicial building in 2003; to Norma McCorvey, “Roe” in Roe vs. Wade, who has reversed her stance on abortion; and to the Texas Justice Foundation as they file suit to overturn the landmark abortion legislation. The motions carried.
In a continuing decline of attendance at state convention annual meetings, messenger registration totaled 586. Last year's annual meeting in San Diego drew 610 messengers.
Tom Stringfellow, pastor of First Baptist Church in Beverly Hills, was elected president with 51 percent of the vote over Steve Davidson. Ken Patton, pastor of Palermo Baptist Church in Palermo, was elected first vice president by acclamation. Jim Gregory, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Escalon and a student at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, was elected second vice president by 78 percent over Wiley Drake.