The Baptist General Convention of Texas this week is expected to approve a new world-missionary agency, which critics say would be in competition with the huge missionary operation of the national Southern Baptist Convention.
Moderates say the proposed global-missions organization, to be voted on today during the annual Baptist General Convention state convention in Waco, isn't meant to compete with the conservative-led Southern Baptist Convention missions agency. The proposed organization would merely expand missions initiatives by Texans, including work in Mexico, they said.
But conservatives say the proposed Texas missions agency is another indication that moderates leading the 2.7 million-member Baptist General Convention of Texas are slowly pulling away from the 16 million-member Southern Baptist Convention.
"Despite all their public denials, this new missions organization clearly is being established to compete with the Southern Baptist Convention's missionary enterprise," said the Rev. Gary Smith, pastor of Fielder Road Baptist Church in Arlington and chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
"This is just another step toward their ultimate goal of establishing their own national denomination with Texas as its base," he said.
During their convention, through Tuesday at Baylor University's Ferrell Center, Baptists are scheduled to hear the Rev. Billy Kim of Seoul, South Korea, pastor of the world's largest Baptist church. Also, they are expected to re-elect the Rev. Bob Campbell of Houston as president. Rudy Camacho of Fort Worth is set to be nominated for first vice president and Debbie Ferrier of Houston for second vice president.
Also reflecting tension between the state and national bodies is a recommendation presented in a new $50.9 million state budget asking that the amount of church offerings remaining in Texas be increased from 72 percent to 79 percent. The amount sent to the national denomination would be reduced from 27.7 percent to 21 percent.
Moderate leaders said that is necessary because the Baptist General Convention of Texas has lost 1,000 church congregations to the rival Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, a breakaway state convention formed by conservatives three years ago to show support for the national denomination.
The 5,700 congregations affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas are autonomous and are not required to follow recommendations of the state convention.
Most congregations even ignored recommendations made two years ago asking churches to drastically reduce funding to the six Southern Baptist Convention seminaries and to terminate funding of the national denomination's Ethics & Religious Commission and its executive committee.
Responding to the action of the churches, those recommendations are withdrawn in the new budget and no limits are put on funding of the six seminaries and the national agencies.
Although they say the proposed new Texas missions agency isn't aimed at replacing the national denomination's mission board, moderates have been highly critical of the national agency, particularly in an appeal by Jerry Rankin, International Mission Board president, that all 5,000 missionaries sign the controversial 2000 Baptist Faith and Message Statement.
Texas moderates have rejected the revised faith statement, which says women should not serve as senior pastors and that wives should submit to the servant leadership of their husbands. The Baptist General Convention has also created a missionary transition fund, pledging to help missionaries who refuse to sign the faith statement and lose their jobs.
Also, moderate Texas Baptists have accused Southern Baptist missionary organization of moving away from medical and social missions and emphasizing planting new churches.
After the announcement that missionaries would be required to sign the 2000 faith statement, Texas Baptists appointed a special missions study committee, headed by the Rev. Clyde Glazener of Fort Worth, to decide whether support should continue.
The missions study committee, which conducted several forums across the state, recommended no change in the state convention's relationship with the Southern Baptist Convention mission board but also recommended establishing the new global-missions sending agency in Texas.