SBC meeting with BWA

[Matt Richard]

http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/7025/53/

Curious as to why either of these groups would go through the motions of meeting with each other. Perhaps it isn't a bad thing, but I don't see much coming from it.

[Stephen Fox]

I think Carro was a 1st VP of the BWA. Would be interesting to follow his as well as Marc Olson's thoughts as this proceeds.
One thing the SBC needs to be clear about is the relationship of Peace Committee member and influential Southern Baptist Charles Pickering and his Allied Defense Fund.
I don't see how ADF ideology and witness on church state in the public arena will square with historic mainstream Baptist view.
Maybe St. Timothy George will resolve the underlying tensions.

[William Thornton]

Very astute observation, Matt. May I note that I noted the same thing in today's ?

Read that for more, but the SBC's attempt to replace the BWA with Bobby Welch probably didn't fly around the world, although Welch did many times.

One notes that Baptist Press is silent about the meeting, even though it was in Nashville, probably at the XComm's offices.

[Matt Richard]

[Sandy]

It's dialogue, which, in the world of religious groups and Christian denominations, is a very low level way of drawing minor denominational media attention to some kind of nebulous activity to give the image of "doing something" without really doing anything or accomplishing anything.

Press releases can talk about how many Baptists are "represented" by the BWA by collectively adding up the total membership of the various Baptist groups that drop a tip in the jar. But the very nature of Baptists precludes a claim of "representation." What this looks like, straight up, is that the BWA is having cash problems since their largest contributor moved on.

I don't really think the SBC needed to take their BWA contribution and pay Bobby Welch to try to set up a parallel organization. Most national Baptist unions and groups around the world depend on the SBC's IMB for missionary personnel and theological education already, and that's not going anywhere anytime soon. It's not really necessary for them to make some kind of "statement" by signing on to a worldwide, SBC-backed alliance or to replace the BWA. Some did follow the SBC in withdrawing, but overall, little has changed. What this looks like is that the BWA may be feeling a little bit pinched for cash and their own constituency, despite the lofty numbers, isn't providing it.

[William Thornton]

[Stephen Fox]

This BWA matter significantly in my interpretation of this matter. www.baptiststoday.org blogs

[Stephen Fox]

See the Nelson Price guidelines in the Shorter Petition Thread