‘No confidence’ in Executive Board motion introduced

Posted: 10/29/07

‘No confidence’ in Executive Board motion introduced

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

AMARILLO—A motion expressing “no confidence” in the directors of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, as well as a competing motion objecting to it, were introduced during the Monday afternoon session at the BGCT annual meeting.

Michael Chancellor, pastor of Crescent Heights Baptist Church in Abilene, introduced the no-confidence motion, and Dan Malone from First Baptist Church in El Paso introduced the motion of objection.

Other motions included calls for:

• Naming a committee to cast its vision through the year 2020.

• The BGCT Executive Board’s administrative subcommittee to examine the chief operating officer’s position in light of staff reorganization to determine if it is necessary.

• The Executive Board to examine and evaluate the effectiveness of the Baptist Building’s service center.

In other business, messengers approved a $50.1 million Cooperative Program budget by about a two-to-one margin. Several messengers went to the microphones to raise questions about specific aspects of the budget proposal—particularly the decreased funding for the missions, evangelism and ministry section.

Gary Morgan from the Cowboy Church of Ellis County called the reduced funding for that area “almost unconscionable.”

Messengers also approved a special agreement with Baptist Child & Family Services to allow the agency to elect two-thirds of its trustee board and for the BGCT to elect one-third of the board.

In other business, messengers gave initial approval to a constitutional amendment that will clarify the decision-making authority of the convention in annual session.

The amendment to Article VII, Section 1 of the BGCT constitution says, “The Executive Board shall have charge and control, except when otherwise directed by the convention, of all the work of the convention, including missions, education and beneficence, in the interim between its sessions.”

The motion of clarification was prompted by outcry following a ruling by the presiding officer at the 2006 BGCT annual meeting, who said a decision by the Executive Board in a called meeting immediately prior to the annual meeting “pre-empted” action by messengers to the state convention.

Constitutional amendments require two-thirds approval at two consecutive annual meetings.