FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — The Baptist General Convention of Texas elevated to its highest office the son of a former president, deferred action on a proposed name change and approved a reduced budget for 2009 at its most sparsely attended annual meeting in nearly 60 years.
The Nov. 10-11 annual meeting drew 1,891 registered messengers from 550 churches. That is the lowest number since the 1949 BGCT meeting in El Paso.
David Lowrie, pastor of First Baptist Church in Canyon, Texas, garnered 53 percent of the votes for president, defeating Stephen Hatfield, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lewisville, 735-644.
Lowrie narrowly lost the president's race last year to Joy Fenner, retired executive director of Woman's Missionary Union of Texas. Texas Baptists Committed — the organization that mobilized political opposition to prevent a conservative takeover of the BGCT — had endorsed Fenner. This year, for the first time in two decades, the moderate group did not endorse a candidate. However, they also did not oppose Lowrie.
Lowrie, 48, becomes the first second-generation BGCT president. His father, D.L. Lowrie, the longtime pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lubbock, Texas, served two one-year terms in the early 1980s.
Carolyn Strickland, a deacon at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, won a contest for first vice president, outdrawing Ken Coffee, retired associate director of the BGCT State Missions Commission, 728-668.
Strickland's late husband, Phil, served 38 years with the BGCT Christian Life Commission, including about a quarter-century as director of the social concerns and public policy agency.
Messengers elected Bobby Broyles, pastor of First Baptist Church in Ballinger, Texas, second vice president by acclamation.
Hatfield, co-chair of the BGCT Future Focus Committee, presented a progress report from the strategic-planning committee created in response to a motion at last year's annual meeting in Amarillo.
Co-chair Andy Pittman, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lufkin, characterized the committee's task as helping to “move the convention into the 21st century.”
On behalf of the committee, Pittman introduced a motion that the articles of incorporation and constitution be amended to change the organization's name from “Baptist General Convention of Texas” to “Texas Baptist Convention.”
The committee on convention business recommended that the proposed name change be referred to the BGCT Executive Board for further study and deliberation. “We believe that every Texas Baptist deserves the time to consider the decision that for some may be easy, logical and simple and for others may be complex,” Hatfield said in support of the referral.
Messengers approved a $45,755,295 budget for 2009 — about 8 percent less than the one approved at the previous annual meeting and down slightly from the current adjusted budget.
A year ago messengers approved a $50.1 million budget for 2008. After the first quarter of this year, the convention faced a serious budget shortfall. Staff implemented cutbacks, and the budget was adjusted to $46,186,665.
Messengers this year also approved a recommendation that the adopted budget continue to be divided 79 percent for the BGCT and 21 percent to worldwide causes as directed by churches.
For churches that select the BGCT's “worldwide initiatives” giving option, that area will include two additional-global missions programs — intercultural international missions and Texas Baptist Men international ministries — along with continuing support for River Ministry/Mexico missions, the WorldconneX missions network, Texas Partnerships and the Baptist World Alliance.