Voices: Clarifying cooperation

First, I want to thank Joseph Barrett for making his voice heard, both as a Texas Baptist pastor and as a member of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board. He wrote his article in response to Ryan Gilbert, but he included me in the conversation as well. So, I feel invited to respond.

Barrett invoked the days of the conservative resurgence, reminding us of when platform speakers were allegedly asked to wear bulletproof vests. Thankfully, our present disagreement is considerably less dramatic. If this is a fight, at best, it is a pillow fight.

My argument is that Texas Baptists should be able to clearly identify the theological boundaries of our cooperation and trust those boundaries actually mean something. I am not asking the BGCT to adopt my theological standard. I am asking the BGCT to clearly state its own. “Can two walk together, unless they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3)

So rather than continuing to speculate about where conservatives might take this conversation next, I would love to hear straightforward answers from BGCT leadership to three questions:

1. What are our theological boundaries? How does a church, ministry, or institution know it fits within Texas Baptist cooperation?

2. Who do those boundaries apply to? Do they apply only to churches, or do they also apply to the institutions, ministries, and organizations that receive our money or benefit from a relationship with the BGCT?

3. What happens when those boundaries are crossed? If an organization we fund or partner with teaches or practices something outside our stated beliefs, what does the BGCT actually do about it?

Those are the questions I am asking. Clarification on these does not require Texas Baptists to adopt my theology. These questions require the BGCT to be clear about its own doctrinal standards.

Not seeking control

Barrett is concerned that calls for greater theological accountability may eventually lead to narrower and narrower standards or greater institutional control. I understand that concern, but it is not the question I am asking.

Before we debate what standards Texas Baptists might adopt in the future, other pastors and I would like to know what the standards we already have are.

There is a continued insinuation of conservatives wanting control. I have no desire to control these ministries. I want clarity about the accountability for the ministries we cooperatively support.

If a ministry operates within our confession, I am glad to fund it. If it operates outside our confession, I do not want our cooperative dollars funding it until they repent and return to that which we have agreed.

How is that control? I am not trying to make a ministry believe anything. I am asking us to steward our cooperative funds, so we are not supporting ministries that may have the right words on a page but do not actually live by them or teach them.

The response about the need for “moderates,” whatever that means, to stay in control reveals the heart of the issue: control.

If we are connected by confession, then let us be concerned with our confession as we advance the gospel together. But if we are consumed with control, then how “effective” can we really be?

Institutional influence is Monopoly money. It only matters to those playing the game. I am not in the game and don’t want to be. I don’t want position or control. I want to know, in clear language, what our accountability measures are.

Seeking accountability

Recently, it has even been argued the complexity of a broad confessional convention is “way too complicated and diverse to be reduced to simplified creedal formulas.” Maybe it is. I tend to be unrefined and rough around the edges. So, break it down for a knucklehead like me.

For those called upon to lead such a complex organization, surely someone in leadership can put it on the bottom shelf for someone like me. What accountability is there when those commitments are violated?

Funding without accountability sounds like a sweet gig, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work in a household, church, or major organization.

Cooperative Program giving continues to decline, and BGCT leadership projects a potential $3.6 to $4.1 million deficit this year. It might be time to give Texas Baptists some clear answers.

A desire for accountability is not about control. The entities I have brought motions concerning have aligned themselves in practice with LGBTQ groups. In my estimation, supporting ministry that allows LGBTQ groups to do ministry with us is a distortion of the gospel, and we are not guarding the deposit entrusted to us, as our participation is affirmation.

Seeking clarity on faith statement

Last year, when I raised questions about the GC2 Summary of Faith, I received a response from the BGCT Executive Board explaining why the statement was created. They wrote:

“It is our understanding that the GC2 Summary of Faith was crafted because the leadership felt entities and organizations seeking affiliation must understand our beliefs. As you are aware, there are many organizations that benefit from a relationship with the BGCT that are not churches. Because they were not churches, this GC2 Summary of Faith was crafted to bring understanding and clarity to these organizations.”

That was news to me, and I bet it was news to many readers. That response is one of the reasons I brought my motion to the annual convention.

I took the Executive Board at its word. I did not create a new standard and then demand everyone else submit to it. The Executive Board told me the GC2 Summary of Faith was created to give entities and organizations clarity about what Texas Baptists believe. My logic is simple: If that is the case, then let’s use it.

If that statement exists to provide theological clarity to organizations that participate with us, surely it is reasonable to ask what that means for those organizations in practice. I am not asking the BGCT to apply my standard. I am asking the BGCT to apply its own.

Clarity can strengthen cooperation

This is where I think Barrett’s concern about trust and my concern about accountability may actually meet.

If distrust grows when we are unsure about what others are trying to accomplish, then clarity can help.

Barrett should not have to wonder whether I am trying to impose an ever-narrowing set of theological preferences on Texas Baptists. I am not. Churches like mine should not have to wonder whether the theological standards we have agreed upon actually mean anything for the work we support together.

That is why I believe clarity can strengthen cooperation. If our standard is the GC2 Summary of Faith, then let it be the standard and apply it. If our standard is the Baptist Faith and Message 1963, then be clear about what that means. If our standard is something else, help us understand what it is.

And if BGCT leadership believes some of our stated convictions are not meant to shape our institutions, partnerships, funding, or participation, then help us understand where those lines are drawn. We might find there are no real parameters for some of these relationships, and that is fine; it is at least something I can share with my church to set expectations for participation.

Seeking confidence in cooperation

Churches are already making decisions because of these concerns. Ryan Gilbert’s church has publicly explained it redirected approximately $170,000 in annual giving away from the BGCT and expects to redirect another $120,000 in 2027 because of concerns about the convention’s direction.

Gilbert is willing to say publicly why his church made that decision. Many churches will not. They will never bring a motion to the floor or step into the public arena. They will simply redirect their giving, change their affiliation, or gradually disengage, because they are no longer convinced we are walking in the same direction.

I do not want that. I want good for this convention. I believe in many of our ministries. I love our churches. I believe deeply in the mission that has brought Texas Baptists together for generations: sharing the gospel, training pastors, supporting churches, providing theological education, and seeing the cause of Christ advanced in our world. For these reasons, I believe clarity matters.

Clearly stating what we believe and applying those standards will give churches confidence in their cooperation.

Kody Alvarez is lead pastor of Oak Grove Baptist Church in China Spring. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.