6/1/1985 - Amazon Web Services

Coaperative Program
Beccmes Battleground
mge 2
Jim Henry, pastor of First Baptist Church of Orlando, Fla., said he blieves the
Cooperative Program "is king used by bth sides and I hate to see that happn. I haw a
ao~oern that saw would grade spirituality by hckJ much they give. I also do mt think it is
fair to use it (the CP) as a tool to hdger others to take aertain psitiom."
Henry, wbse &ur& was mked third with gifts a€ $626,532, said the cnngregation "has rn
plans to anything other than what we are doing. Of course, if we see a deteriaration (in
the theological stance af natioml agencies ) we would have to aorrsider hanqs. "
Ri&ard Jackson, pastor of Nmth *mix (Ariz. ) Baptist Church, where the cpngregation
placed second with $687,500 in gifts last year, said it is his hope mntrilxtiors will re&
the $1 million lewl smn.
"Several years agD I was mminatd for president (of the SEC)," Jackson said. "I didn't
get elected. The next year the doubled its giving. I don't think the laypeople in this
amtion want to see missiors giving used to hold anything over an-' s head. I think a
lot af pstors will be surpised if they try (to withbld CP giving).
Winfred Mome, pastor af First Baptist Church of Amarillo,. Texas, and widely touted as the
man w b will run against Stanley at the 1985 a nnu meeting, said the Texas congregation " will
keep right on giving jmt lib it has been" regardless a€ wlm is elected. ' The church, whi&
last year placed fourth with $591,428, will do so, said Moare, "bcause we are giving to the
LWd to his mrk."
Adrian Rogers, pstor of Bellevue Baptist Chur* of Memphis, and pesident OE the SBC for
one term (1980), said he is "acnrmitted to the Southern BaIjist Convention and to mprative
missions . But I have a higher ccmuni tment and that is to the Word of God. "
He said if he leaws Dallas feeling the "aomtion has taken a direction away £ran the
Wmd of W, then we would have to make a decision smut hckJ we muld place our money so as to
be as cooprative as possible w itbut ocmpanise. We have sane deep theological mnvictiorr;
a d I will mt crmify tbse mnvictions on the altar of cooperation."
William L. Self, pastor of Wiema Road Baptist Churc5 in Atlanta, and a leader o£ the
moderate faction, said the &ur& "did not witmaw funds whm the 'fundamentalists' took over
in 1979. 1 am a Southern Baptist by conviction, not by comenienae."
He referred to the effart to witwld funding as "manipilation and intimidation. We are a
family a d families don't do that to one mther."
l'm other representatives are pessimistic about the future.
"I know of mkody w b can king m tqther kmwe the issues are so deep and strong,"
said miley E. Smith, president af the SBC 1980-81, and pstor af First Southern Ebptist Church
of Dd City, Okla. "We have tm denminations row; we should jmt adnit it and move on."
Snri th said the OMahcPna Citysuhrban &ur& cut CP giving fran $175,000 in 1984 to
$125,000 this year as a protest against a "seminary ~esident w b is wing armd the amtry
on Ccmprative Program money trying to defeat Charles Stanley. My deamrs said they weren't
going to py for that. I had to mrk to kep than £run c&ting it more."
Cecil Sherman, ~stor af Brcadway Baptist Chur& in Fort Worth, Texas, said he has "given
uphope" af a reconciliation. He called the threat to witWro1d or witl-draw funds
"intimidation, bullying ad pkting a gun to the head of the denoanination."
"These 'fmdamentalistsl have a medieval frame d mid: they are right and everpne else
is wrong. I am not willing to create an autharitative arrangement where they how the ' mind of
the Lard' ad all the rest at us beme senrile and fdlm. I would giw upmy mptist
birthriglnt if I listened to that kind of piom bullying," he said.
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