Questions swirl when it comes to the introduction of a new name of President of the SBC. In a previous post we a few of us on the Outpost Team noted Frank Cox appears to be more of an insider than a reformer. Many who read here believe things are fine and so an insider would be dandy. Others believe Frank Page’s election signaled a different tone and tenor. We A few of us on the Outpost Team wonder if the following selections to serve in the Georgia Baptist Convention would be indicative of the pattern Frank Cox would use when appointing the Committee on Committees for the SBC should he be elected. If so, it is hard to suggest, we a few of us on the Outpost Team believe, we would not be returning to much of the same prior to Page.

From the Christian Index, November 22, 2007 edition, report from the GBC annual meeting
( http://www.christianindex.org/3869.article ):

Education Commission:
Matthew Waymack, North Metro First Baptist Church

Georgia Baptist Historical Commission:
Gwen Newman, North Metro First Baptist Church

Georgia Baptist Foundation:
DeWitt Cox, North Metro First Baptist Church

Baptist Village Retirement Communities:
Edna Cox, North Metro First Baptist Church

Shorter College:
Ken Watkins, North Metro First Baptist Church

Five out of 90 open slots (non-Exec Committee) were filled from a single church. One guess as to who the pastor is.

Sometimes it is better to get scooped so one may offer more than a repeat of what may be found in Baptist Press. We have been busy asking around to find out more about Frank Cox. Here is what we have confirmed from several sources.

1. Frank Cox is a well known insider in the SBC having served on multiple committees in SBC life.
    a. Past President of the Georgia Baptist Convention
    b. Past 1^st VP of the SBC
    c. Member of Exec. Comm. for 9 years
    d. SBC Funding Study Committee
    e. Ad Hoc Cooperative Program Committee
    f. SBC Resolutions Committee
 
2. Frank Cox is well known in Georgia, perhaps best known for preaching revivals for churches across the Southeast. He is willing to preach in churches of all sizes and not only “large” churches.
3. Frank Cox was one of three on the shortlist for President at Lifeway, along with Georgia Exec. Bob White
4. Junior Hill has told people he nominates Frank Cox out of concern for Mohler’s Calvinism. Thus, Cox is the non-Calvinist candidate.
5. Frank Cox is firmly in the old line pre-Frank Page mold. Thus, he and Mohler share much in common.
6. Frank Cox and Al Mohler would seem to have the same agenda, returning to more of a “pre Frank Page” SBC.
7. Frank Cox is considered to be the candidate of choice for the Georgia Baptist Exec position when the need for a replacement arises.
8. Frank Cox seemed to believe the SBC to be moving in the right direction so while President the the Georgia Baptist Convention it has been hard to recall any calls for reform.
 
The best we can tell, is that Frank Cox would be a Mohler without the Calvinism. If you think things were going just fine before Frank Page was elected, and you don’t like Calvinism, and want to see more missions giving and going, Frank Cox is your man.
 
We think Bill Wagner may get our vote.

“Our greatest challenge is to recover our passion for the gospel in evangelism and missions and to renew our determination to defend the gospel in an age of postmodern confusion. I would hope to articulate a vision that would unite Southern Baptists and energize us together.” (Dr. Al Mohler, BP article)

It is incomprehensible that after 14 years of calling Christians to exit public schools, suggesting fetal surgery to correct gay genes, and being culture warrior-in-chief that Al Mohler could not find the time to cross cultures and model to his students an international missions mindset. Ironically, though too busy to model international missions like other seminary presidents, he then indicates he will unite us around missions when announcing his platform.

UPDATE:

“8. If a biological basis is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use as we should unapologetically support the use of any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin.” (Al Mohler, March 2, 2007)

Outpost contributor Benjamin S. Cole was interviewed today by Bruce Prescott of Mainstream Baptists, discussing a range of topics including the New Baptist Covenant, Wade Burleson, and the SBC presidential candidacy of R. Albert Mohler.

Listen to the archive.

The Tennessean printed an AP piece by Rosie French. It seems some observers of things SBC muse about the implications of the Jeffress nomination of Al Mohler,

“It (Mohler’s possible nomination) may mean some people are worried about a perceived softening that may have been represented about the current president … worried that conservatives may be letting their guard down.

“My suspicion is there are people who have forged battles the last 20 years who believe it’s important to keep the battle alive, keep their guard up. There’s one wing of that conservative movement that’s been characterized as combative.”

Fear does energize we who come under the banner, “Southern Baptist.” If our culture warriors convince us of fear we will jettison critical thinking and give way to the underlying agdenda … mabye “exiting public schools.” We reprint the article in its entirety for your benefit and musing in the comment thread.

Thursday, 01/10/08

Southern Baptists ponder conservative

Ky. seminary head may be nominated to lead the church

By ROSE FRENCH
Associated Press

A controversial Kentucky Southern Baptist seminary president who has advocated a Christian “exit strategy” from public schools is in the running for Southern Baptist Convention president.

The Rev. R. Albert Mohler Jr., one of the country’s pre-eminent conservative Christian leaders, also has speculated about potential medical treatment to switch an unborn baby’s sexual orientation from gay to heterosexual.

Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, an nounced last week that he plans to nominate Mohler at the denomination’s annual meet ing in Indianapolis in June.

Current SBC President Frank Page of First Baptist Church in Taylors, S.C., concludes his second term in June and is ineligible for re-election.

Mohler’s possible nomination reflects a desire by some Baptists to return to the leadership associated with a 1980s conservative takeover of convention leadership from moderates, scholars say.

Page came from outside the conservative leadership that tightly controlled the denomination for more than a decade. He promised to stand up for the denomination’s conservative beliefs but also seek a broadening of voices and opinions in the convention.

Nancy Ammerman, a professor of sociology of religion at Boston University School of Theology who’s written extensively about Southern Baptists, said Mohler would probably be seen as a more “hard-line candidate.”

“It (Mohler’s possible nomination) may mean some people are worried about a perceived softening that may have been represented about the current president … worried that conservatives may be letting their guard down.

“My suspicion is there are people who have forged battles the last 20 years who believe it’s important to keep the battle alive, keep their guard up. There’s one wing of that conservative movement that’s been characterized as combative.”

Mohler says he’s open

Mohler said Wednesday that he may be identified with the conservative resurgence with in the SBC in the 1980s, but that he’s open to hearing views different from his own.

“I want to bring more people into the conversation,” he said. “I certainly want to involve more people … representing many different places and ages and churches.

“I represent a known quantity to the SBC. They know who I am and what I believe.”

President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., Mohler hosts a daily, nationwide program on the Salem Radio Network. He also writes a blog commenting on moral, cultural and theological issues.

If elected convention president, Mohler, 47, said he would focus on reaching out to young Southern Baptists and improving missions and evangelism.

Mohler wrote last year on his Web site that scientific research could prove a biological basis for homosexuality and explored the idea that if sexual orientation could be detected before birth, whether parents should consider potential techniques that would reverse homosexuality in the womb.

Mohler said Wednesday that he was speaking hypothetically about the issue.

Jerry sutton, pastor at Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville and a candidate for President of the SBC in 2006 has been reaffirmed by a vote of his church which took place Sunday morning. The vote was 1,101-286 and was announced in the Sunday evening service.

Sutton has been embroiled in conflict throughout the sumer, including a law suit filed last month by 54 members of his church. At least some of the issues at stake involve access to church records, how money is spent and openness from the staff.

The BP story is here.

The ABP story is here.

The AP story is here.

Baptist General Convention of Texas to lay off 29 workers

Dallas-based group faces growing costs, flat contributions

09:06 PM CDT on Tuesday, October 2, 2007

By SAM HODGES / The Dallas Morning News
samhodges@dallasnews.com

Budget woes have caused the Dallas-based Baptist General Convention of Texas to lay off 29 of its more than 300 employees.

The workers were told this week that their jobs are being eliminated,effective Oct. 31.

“This is a day I wish we could have avoided,” said Ron Gunter, the convention’s chief operating officer, “but we have a responsibility to do the most effective ministry possible with the available financial
resources.”

The moderate BGCT is the largest Texas Baptist group, with more than 5,600 affiliate congregations, representing 2.3 million members.

Along with channeling funds to Texas Baptist colleges, hospitals and charities, the group is involved in relief work, church starting, foreign language ministries and lobbying on public policy.

But growing expenses, combined with flat or slightly higher contributions from member churches in recent years, have had the BGCT relying on investment interest and other earnings.

The group’s leaders chose to move away from “off budget income sources,” and layoffs were a result.

Ten of the lost jobs are in the BGCT’s Missions, Evangelism and Ministry Team. Several others are support and clerical positions.

The BGCT’s board voted last week to recommend a $50.1 million budget for 2008. That’s $473,000 less than the current budget and includes no salary increases.

Marv Knox, editor of The Baptist Standard newspaper – which closely covers the BGCT – recently wrote that more layoffs and budget cuts are inevitable if the group doesn’t support churches better.

Many churches, he wrote, “have voted negatively by reducing the amount of their money they are willing to invest in the state convention.”

A BGCT reorganization has placed more staffers in the field, directly working with churches, said Executive Director Charles Wade.

“Denominational giving all over is faced with challenges,” he said.

“We’re not alone in that. But certainly we had to face the reality that we can’t spend what the churches don’t give.

Posted on August 11, 2007 | by Paul Littleton

RICHMOND (SBCO) SBC Outpost recently learned of a new proposed policy change at the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Missions Board. During a closed session of trustees in the July 17, 2007 trustee board meeting chairman of the board Dr. John Floyd appointed a task force to study further changes to IMB policy governing appointed missionaries.

Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks to all of you who read SBCOutpost.com. Our readership continues to grow and at exactly 11:01 this evening we have officially reached an all-time high of 6,000 hits pageviews in a single day. With about an hour left in the day, that number will continue to climb. You guys are great!

**UPDATE**

On Friday, the 10th, we just missed 8,000 pageviews by a mere 68 pageviews. Unbelievable!

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