EDITORIAL: Good words for BGCT: ‘Oh, behave’

Posted: 10/26/07

EDITORIAL:
Good words for BGCT: ‘Oh, behave’

Cinema’s silly superspy, Austin Powers, doesn’t have much to offer Texas Baptists. But one of his taglines suggests sound advice as we convene for our annual meeting this year: “Oh, behave!”

The behavior of Baptist General Convention of Texas messengers isn’t typically open to serious speculation. We tend to be a rather sober lot. Actions at our annual meetings lean toward the predictable and humdrum. We would do well to pray for humdrum this year.

Speculation regarding behavior revolves around rumored motions and possible responses to those motions as BGCT messengers gather in Amarillo Oct. 29-30.

According to Baptist polity—arguably among the most democratic forms of governance anywhere—any registered messenger has the right to present motions on matters of concern to the convention. Since we affirm the twin doctrines of soul competency and the priesthood of all believers, we affirm the value of individual inspiration. Throughout our long history, Texas Baptists have benefitted from ideas individuals and small groups have placed before the full convention. And since we are composed of a collection of individuals who function together in community, we vote on those motions and let the group decide which ones merit adoption.

Sometimes, however, motions have a way of taking on lives of their own, no matter how they are disposed. Like last year in Dallas: A proposed motion would have called on the convention to ask legal authorities to investigate a church-starting scandal in the Rio Grande Valley. A parliamentary ruling declared the motion out of order, to the dismay of many messengers. This non-motion became the focal point of the annual meeting and a flash point of controversy that continues a year later.

This episode illustrates the importance and power of motions, even when they do not receive the messengers’ approval, much less when they don’t stand a ghost of a chance of passage. They enter into the BGCT consciousness and linger, long after the parliamentarians rule and the messengers vote and their makers go back home. Just like epithets shouted in a family fight, words spoken in anger at annual meetings inflict harm that cannot be undone.

That’s why concern has been heightened regarding behavior at this year’s annual meeting. Blogs and other conversations have fueled speculation that messengers may present motions that can only be characterized as vindictive. Take, for example, a possible motion to fire Charles Wade, the BGCT’s executive director. Some Texas Baptists are concerned about his handling of the Valley church-starting scandal, convention reorganization and recent staff layoffs. But he already has announced his retirement, effective in three months, which will conclude almost his entire adult lifetime of service to Texas Baptists, including not only eight years as executive director, but 23 years as pastor of First Baptist Church in Arlington, a stint as convention president and many other positions of trust and responsibility. Punitive action at this point is petty and vindictive and will harm and embarrass the convention much more than it will hurt Charles Wade.

Fortunately, Texas Baptists also can look forward to positive proposals in Amarillo. Ed Jackson, a layman and Executive Board member from Garland, intends to ask messengers to authorize a study of key convention strategies. This is exactly what we need to be doing during a time of churning change and leadership transition.

The key to how we will evaluate this year’s annual meeting—what we said as well as what we didn’t say, what we did as well as what we didn’t do—is how we behave while we are together.

Let’s pray we, as well as all of Texas, will see the reflection of Christ in the messengers in Amarillo.