Editorial: What’s the BGCT? Show up to shape it

Our annual meeting is just a few days away. I say “our” because I am a Texas Baptist.

And by “Texas Baptist,” I mean I’m part of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Not because I’m the editor of the Baptist Standard. Baptist Standard Publishing is an independent partner of the BGCT, part of which means we have editorial independence and part of which means I am not a BGCT employee.

I’m part of the BGCT by virtue of being a member of First Baptist Church in Plano, a solidly BGCT church.

Since my family joined the church, I have been elected by First Baptist Plano to be a messenger to BGCT annual meetings. Before that, I was a messenger to BGCT annual meetings from the church I served as pastor.

Why am I a messenger? Because messengers vote. I want to have a voice in BGCT governance. I went to the annual meetings, and I voted. I will go and vote this year, too.

Before that, I attended BGCT annual meetings with my father-in-law Glenn Ward, who wouldn’t miss an annual meeting for the world, though he did miss one while undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer.

My father-in-law believed in the BGCT so much that he invested in it for decades—serving it as an Executive Board member, serving with it through missions, promoting it and supporting it.

He didn’t just talk about the BGCT. He lived the BGCT. He didn’t think the BGCT was perfect, but he absolutely believed the BGCT was worth his investment.

The BGCT needs a lot more Glenn Wards.

We can start by showing up to the 2025 BGCT annual meeting in Abilene Nov. 16-18. Beyond showing up, those of us who are messengers can shape the BGCT with our votes.

What’s to shape?

Over the last few years, messengers have voted on statements of faith, institutional relationships, ministry roles, board and committee makeup, budgets, and leadership. Messengers decided it all—from the most controversial and consequential to the most mundane.

In recent years, messengers decided motions on affirming women in ministry, a motion on whether to affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message, and a motion to amend the GC2 statement of faith. Even with these recent decisions, the same issues are still in play.

Two nominations for BGCT president are expected—Debbie Potter and Kevin Burrow. Anyone who’s followed the discussion on women in ministry within the Southern Baptist Convention, the BGCT and the Baptist Standard understands part of the significance of these nominations. For those who haven’t: Both are ordained. Both carry the title “pastor.” (See note at end of editorial.)

Some—like Kody Alvarez, pastor of Oak Grove Baptist Church in China Spring, dually aligned with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, and Jordan Villanueva, instructor of Christian Studies at Howard Payne University—still have questions about GC2 that may surface during the 2025 BGCT annual meeting.

Their questions revolve around denominational identity, doctrine, how GC2 is structured and language describing GC2—such as “centrist.” You can find a series of articles here on what “centrist” means.

Texas Baptists Executive Director Julio Guarneri has responded to questions about GC2, faith statements and women in ministry in his Oct. 15 and Nov. 7 weekly updates.

You can read his responses and decide for yourself if you still have questions. If you do, you can voice your questions during the annual meeting. If you are a messenger, you also can vote your convictions on these matters.

What to do

To vote our convictions on these and other matters, we need to know our convictions before arriving at the annual meeting.

We need to employ the historic Baptist principle of soul competency—“the God-given freedom and ability of persons to know and respond to God’s will,” as Bill Pinson defines it.

We need to read up on the issues. One way to do that is to read the various articles linked in this editorial. The linked articles don’t address all the issues, and they won’t answer all our questions, but they will provide some important information.

We need to study what Scripture says about the issues. We face these issues wanting to be obedient to Scripture, to walk in step with biblical conviction as guided by the Holy Spirit.

One of the reasons Baptists debate and even fight over some things—OK, so many things—is because we take the Bible seriously and want to be true to our understanding of it. Evangelism, missions, how we do church and how we do all of this together—we take these to be Bible issues, obedience to Scripture issues. So, yes, study Scripture before the annual meeting.

We need to pray—before and during the annual meeting. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to speak and to direct us. We need to ask for discernment, especially with the more heated issues.

We need to talk with others—those who agree with us and who disagree with us. We need to hear wise counsel from mature Christians.

We need to take all of this together, we need to show up, and we need to vote.

What I think

I have my opinions and convictions about the issues. It might be hard to believe, but not all Texas Baptists agree with my opinions and convictions. Thankfully, complete agreement isn’t necessary.

One reason I’m a Texas Baptist is because we who agree and disagree are going to meet together next week. We’re going to worship together, pray together, eat together, vote together, and my hope is we will leave together, not in lockstep, but still joined together in Jesus Christ and his Spirit to work together, communicating his gospel in word and deed.

May it be so.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Kevin Burrow commented on Facebook in response to this editorial, which is now published with permission as a Letter to the Editor. He correctly pointed out that I did not make clear his intentions for accepting a nomination for president of the BGCT.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.