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	Southern Baptists' Vote May Be Reformist Victory By Sam Hodges The Dallas Morning News June 13, 2007 http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/religion/stories/061307dnmetsbc.3850e90.html San Antonio – "Messengers" to the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting here took a vote Tuesday night that could lead to greater acceptance within the denomination of those who have a private prayer language, a form of speaking in tongues. But the results weren't to be announced until Wednesday morning. The question was whether to adopt a committee report stating that the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 is sufficient to guide trustees of SBC seminaries and other agencies. That faith statement doesn't address private prayer languages. But the SBC's International Mission Board has had a policy of disqualifying missionary candidates who speak in tongues in private prayer. And last year, trustees at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary said they wouldn't knowingly employ any professor sympathetic to "tongues." But there's been noisy protest against those policies from pastors and others who say Baptists should have freedom within the boundaries of the faith statement. The reformers pressed for the Tuesday night vote and were cheered when a show of hands suggested that they'd won. But SBC President Frank Page ruled that the results were close enough to require a vote by ballot. If that vote goes as the reformers predict, the denomination will be on record as saying boards shouldn't go beyond the doctrines laid out by the faith statement. "I think it's huge," said Wade Burleson, an Oklahoma pastor who helped lead the reform movement. Benjamin Cole, pastor of Parkview Baptist Church in Arlington and a close colleague of Mr. Burleson, said the vote would help create room for Southern Baptists who have a variety of views on what he called "secondary doctrinal matters." "The message is, 'Don't restrict what is or isn't a Southern Baptist beyond the Baptist Faith and Message,' " he said. In what seemed a somewhat contradictory move, the messengers elected as first vice president of the denomination Jim Richards of Fort Worth, executive director of the Southern Baptists Convention of Texas. Dr. Richards is closely aligned with the conservative establishment of the SBC, which has backed the International Mission Board and Southwestern Seminary. The reformers supported Dr. Richards' opponent, David Rogers, an SBC foreign missionary who shared their concerns that the "conservative resurgence" of the denomination has gone too far doctrinally. Nominating Dr. Richards was Mac Brunson, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Fla., and former pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, two conservative megachurches. "He's one of us," Dr. Brunson said in recommending Dr. Richards to the crowd. Dr. Richards won overwhelmingly, capturing nearly 69 percent of the vote. As expected, Dr. Page, a pastor from Taylors, S.C., was elected without opposition to a second one-year term as president. With support from the reformers, he was elected at last year's meeting over two better-known pastors endorsed by leading conservatives. Dr. Page called for unity among Southern Baptists in remarks Tuesday but also said the denomination shouldn't exclude anyone based on "secondary or tertiary" doctrinal matters. In other business, Mr. Burleson moved that the SBC study the feasibility of creating a database listing pastors and staff known to have engaged in sexual misconduct. Mr. Burleson said such a database, if made available to churches investigating job candidates, could help stop sexual predators moving from church to church. The motion was referred to a committee. But the mere fact that the SBC would take up the issue cheered Christa Brown, who leads the Baptist wing of the group SNAP, which advocates for victims of clergy abuse. "Southern Baptists have taken a step forward," Ms. Brown said. "We hope they will build on that." The number of registered messengers as of early Tuesday afternoon was about 8,500, considerably short of what had been projected. The meeting wraps up today. The SBC claims membership of more than 16 million, making it the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. Sam Hodges: samhodges@dallasnews.com
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