ST. LOUIS (BP)–The Baptist General Convention of Missouri, a newly formed group of moderate Baptist churches that professes support for the Southern Baptist Convention, appears to have more in common with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, a national shadow denomination made up of churches opposed to the SBC.
All but the third of the BGCM’s core values, unveiled at the new Missouri convention’s April 19-20 organizational meeting, are taken directly from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Missouri’s core values statement.
Core values of the Baptist General Convention of Missouri are as follows:
1. A commitment to the history and heritage of Baptist life in Missouri.
2. A commitment to financial support for all of our Missouri Baptist institutions.
3. A commitment to cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention.
4. A commitment to the Bible as the Word of God.
5. A commitment to missions and evangelism worldwide.
6. A commitment to priesthood of the believer.
7. A commitment to the autonomy of the local church.
8. A commitment to the inclusion of all Baptists interested in cooperating for missions.
9. A commitment to the church as God’s primary agent of his redemptive work.
10. A commitment to religious liberty for all people.
Except for the third core value, the others match up identically and numerically with those listed in an advertisement for the CBF Missouri that appeared in the April 18 edition of Word & Way, formerly the Missouri Baptist Convention’s newsjournal.
Roger Moran, research director of the Missouri Baptist Layman’s Association, a conservative pro-SBC organization, said the nearly identical value statements should be a sign of caution to Missouri Baptists.
“I think beyond any doubt the Baptist General Convention of Missouri is saying they are the same as the CBF,” Moran said. “There is no difference. Our point is if these core values took the CBF to where they are, why would it not take the new convention to the same place?
“It took the CBF to the point where they were willing to look the other way and ignore the most rank forms of moral, social and theological liberalism that permeates CBF,” Moran said.
Leaders of the BGCM were unavailable for comment.
–30–
