nineteen hundred and forty-six - Amazon Web Services

RELIEF AND ANNUITY BOARD 445
Farewell, Brethren Truett, Scarborough, Bowie, and Coleman, but not forever!
Faithful witnesses each; and, upon you preachers and laymen alike, who
have served in your God appointed spheres, it is fitting to pronounce the prophet's
encomium, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that
bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of
good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth!" Isaiah
52:7.
The Board has experienced a highly satisfactory year in its work in all its
phases, although we are not without problems yet to be solved. We feel that
we have new eras in our brains and hearts with reference to this sublimely
glorious task committed to us by the Southern Baptist Convention and the cooperating
Baptist churches of our Southland. We are minded to take a text
from which to draw suggestions of some very vital matters to be discussed.
The passage is in Isaiah 54:2, and the reading is as follows: "Enlarge the place
of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare
not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes." In the chapters surrounding
this classic passage, the great prophet dealt with the amplitude of the
divine plan of the ages for the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles. There is
room, according to Isaiah, in God's plan of salvation for all men, and that
plan is all sufficient for all believers. Thus, he envisioned a tremendous, yea an
infinitude, of provision by Almighty God for the redemption of the race. Well,
you may ask what has that to do with the work of the Relief and Annuity
Board. Much in every way. When the Southern Baptist Convention appointed
this Board and gave it its marching orders, it sent it on a truly major mission.
It set before it a mighty task; a task which comprehended the eventual coverage
for old age security of every denominational servant whether pastor or janitor,
whether teacher or executive, whether orderly or administrator, whether house
mother or superintendent, whether missionary, state, home, or foreign, whether
southwide or state worker, whether ordained or unordained persons. All were
embraced in its charter authorization, and the work was to be accomplished
under the aegis of the Convention and its vast number of cooperating churches.
Did the first Board, appointed by the Convention, and its Executive Secretary
understand that its work was to reach to the farthest limits of the Southern
Baptist Convention; that it was to function benignantly in all the spheres of
the Convention's operations? I answer yes, and the proof of this is to be found
in its charter, in which there is comprehended every salaried employee of every
church, of every institution, of every board and every agency of the Convention.
Even as early as 1920 we find the Board recommending to the Convention
that the churches make contributions to the annuity department of a
sum equal to 6% of the pastor's salary, and that this be made a regular budget
item of the churches. In this same report the Board recommended the inclusion
in its then infantile annuity plan, in addition to ministers, all the teachers and
workers in denominational colleges and seminaries, all field workers and secretaries
giving all their time to denominational work, including all missionaries of
the Foreign, Home, and state boards. This was in accordance with the provisions
of the Board's Charter as set forth in article 2 which reads as follows: "This
Association is formed as a purely public benevolent association, its purpose
being to provide relief, support, benefits and annuities for ministers of the
gospel of Baptist Churches within the bounds of the Southern Baptist Convention,
and for their widows and orphans and in like manner for missionaires of
such Baptist Churches and for such laymen and laywomen members of said
denomination as shall be giving all of their time to the work of such Baptist
churches as teachers, field workers, or secretaries."
Let it be remembered that the first request made by the Relief and Annuity
Board of the Southern Baptist Convention for financial support was for $5,000,-
000.- Now, that was a large sum of money to ask for at that particular time.
Our people had not begun to think in astronomical terms in regard to denominational
financing. Now, millions do not seem to be so great a sum in view of
the multi-billions we have become accustomed to hear about in the governmental
economy. The projected Seventy-Five Million Campaign soon raised the sights
of our people, and in the report of the Board to the Convention in 1922, Secretary
Lunsford declared, "Our objective is not large enough. We must make it
$10,000,000. from "Getting needs five of hold our to six of Nothing Board." a hundred big thing. less Again, thousand than To we an get find endowment dollars hold in of that a year thing yielding same will that report an adequately is big annual this enough expression,
income meet to get
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