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History of the SBC in Outline Four basic freedoms have traditionally and
historically defined the Baptist faith. They are Bible freedom, soul
freedom, church freedom, and religious freedom. The Baptist Identity, a
Baptist primer by Dr. Walter Shurden defines these tenets of our faith.
The face of the Southern Baptist Convention has been shaken to the foundation of its historical roots and principles during the past twenty five years.. A large percentage of Southern Baptist church members have little knowledge of events that transpired. Freedoms that traditionally have been our greatest strengths have been challenged. Those who approve of these events would say they are part of "the conservative resurgence" within the SBC. Those who disapprove of these events in the SBC and MBC, would refer to "the Fundamentalist takeover" of the SBC and the MBC. You will need to decide for yourself: do these events signal a "resurgence" or a "takeover?" The following is a condensed outline of the step by step resurgence/takeover of the SBC by an element within the Convention. The material is from the book The Takeover in the Southern Baptist Convention, edited by Rob James and Gary Leazer. Its perspective is that there was a Fundamentalist takeover of the SBC. They record, "Fundamentalists have succeeded in their takeover of the SBC. They have the power and the will to act; however, they must prevent all who oppose their efforts from exercising their rights as Baptists." Dr. Leon McBeth, a noted historian, says fundamentalism "tends to be unable to tolerate diversity and often seems determined to 'rule or ruin' its group." In 1976 Paul Pressler, a Houston judge, and Paige Patterson, then president of Criswell College in Dallas, met in New Orleans and planned a political strategy to elect a president who would nominate like-minded people to the Convention's Committee on Committees. This Committee would nominate like-minded people to the Committee on Nominations. This second committee would nominate like-minded trustees and directors to Southern Baptist agencies and institutions who would hire only like-minded staff. Pressler called this strategy "going for the jugular." Fundamentalist candidates have won the Convention presidency every year since 1979. By early 1989 nearly every one of the SBC boards had a majority of takeover people on it. (In 1998 the same strategy was adapted to takeover the Missouri Baptist Convention.) Among Southern Baptists there is practically total unanimity concerning their commitment to the Bible as the divinely inspired, sufficient, certain, and authoritative guide for faith and practice. However, the Fundamentalists chose "biblical inerrancy" as the issue that no one can give rebuttal to without getting himself into controversy. It is like the question, "Have you stopped beating your wife?" Dr. Leon McBeth says, "Undoubtedly, history will record that the controversy was not really about the Bible." The 1984 Kansas City Convention adopted a strongly worded resolution against women in church leadership roles "because man was first in creation and the woman was first in the Edenic fall." In 1987 the president of Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, resigned after the trustees voted to only hire faculty who follow their interpretation of the Baptist Faith and Message. In 1988 the Baptist Faith and Message began being used as a creed rather than a guideline for the hiring of new staff. This is a stark deviation from historical Baptist roots. At the 1988 SBC Convention in San Antonio, a resolution was passed critical of the cardinal Baptist belief in the "priesthood of the believer" and "soul competency" and elevated the pastor to the position of authority in the church he serves. W. A. Criswell told a group of pastors that "the man of God who is the pastor of the church is the ruler." In 1990 Roy Honeycutt, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, was accused by a new and 25-year-old trustee of "not believing the Bible." A new president, Al Mohler, was appointed in 1993 and hailed as "a hero of SBC fundamentalism." In 1990 Al Shackleford and Dan Martin of the Baptist Press, the official news service of the SBC, were fired for "persecuting" the Fundamentalists in their news coverage. Don McGregor, editor of the Baptist Record Of Mississippi, wrote, "Today we have seen the final destruction of freedom of the press among Southern Baptists." Immediately the Associated Baptist Press was established to offer free-flowing, objective and accurate news coverage. At their October 1991 meeting, the Foreign Mission Board trustees voted to defund the Baptist Theological Seminary in Ruschlikon, Switzerland, which broke a contract the SBC had with the seminary. In 1992, after years of trying to please Fundamentalist trustees, Keith Parks, president of the Foreign Mission Board, resigned under pressure. In his 13 years as president, missionaries entered 40 new countries with a total of 3,918 missionaries. In 1992 Lloyd Elder, president of the Sunday School Board, resigned under pressure and was replaced by a Fundamentalist Texas pastor, Jimmy Draper. A total of 159 employees retired (voluntarily or involuntary) in November 1992 alone. In 1994 Russell Dilday, president of Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth for 15 years, was fired abruptly and trustees changed the locks on the president's office immediately and denied him access. The day before, these same trustees gave Dilday a favorable job performance evaluation. These trustees sent 40,000 letters to pastors and directors of missions t o explain their reason for firing Dilday. They said he failed to support the takeover in the Convention and that he "held liberal views of the scripture." The Seminary faculty refuted all these charges against Dilday. In October 1997, a forty-year staff member was fired at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for writing a private letter to the President of the SBC disagreeing with a statement he had made while speaking in chapel. Also in October 1997 a professor of Systematic Theology at Southwestern Theological Seminary was relieved of his teaching duties because he "voiced dissent about actions of the administration of the institution." Obviously there is still no room for diversity or disagreement. In June, 1998 Paige Patterson was elected president of the SBC without any opposition. The man who helped plot the takeover strategy of the Southern Baptist Convention is now its leader. Jerry Falwell, a long-time critic of Southern Baptists, attended his first SBC Convention as a messenger along with others from his church in Lynchburg, Virginia. Falwell has become the most visible SBC spokesperson. Also the SBC ammended its Baptist Faith and Message statement by adding a wife is to "submit herself graciously" to her husband. In 1998 the political battle moved into Missouri with the creation of Project 1000. Their five year plan was to elect a Fundamentalist president modeled after the SBC strategy. In 2000 the SBC adopted a new Faith and Message statement. It eliminated the preamble that had been part of the 1963 statement. Elevates the Bible to a position above that of Jesus himself. Downplays the doctrines of priesthood of each believer and local church autonomy. Used as a creedal statement by SBC agencies. October 4, 2001 Jim Hill, executive director of the MBC resigned stating, "it is clear that Project 1000 leaders are selecting those that will serve in our convention and are seeking to determine the future agenda for the convention and our staff. I do not agree with the Project 1000 agenda or the political process they have utilized to implement it." October, 2001 the 167th Missouri Baptist Convention meeting in Cape Girardeau escrowed $2.1 million in funds to five Missouri Baptist institutions (that had established self-perpetuating board during the previous year). Voted to hire legal counsel to pursue lawsuits against those five institutions. Ousted messengers from Second Church, Liberty, using a flawed interpretation that "an MBC church must be an SBC church." 2002 Jerry Rankin and the IMB trustees undermine missionary morale by requiring them to sign the 2000 BFM. August, 2002 the MBC Executive Board and six churches took unprecedented action in filing suit against five Missouri Baptist institutions. The filing asks a judge to determine who has the right to elect trustees for the agencies. The petition claims the five agencies violated the law when they changed their charters to make themselves, rather than the state convention, responsible for electing their boards of trustees. Representatives of the institutions said they made the changes mainly for fiduciary reasons, such as ascending liability, but also to shield the entities from denominational politics. December, 2002 The MBC faces a severe financial shortfall and crisis as churches respond to MBC lawsuits and escrowed funds. A new Executive Director (David Clippard) leads in enlarging the executive level of bureaucracy while at the same time terminating up to 19 employees who serve churches. William Jewell College emerged as the next target of Project 1000 leaders.
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