Friday, Sept. 19, 2003

Hughes calls for end of political groups, cut to SBC funding

By Steve DeVane
BR Managing Editor

The moderate candidate for Baptist State Convention (BSC) president has released a campaign platform that includes dismantling political groups and decreasing the amount of money the BSC sends to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).

David Hughes, pastor of First Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, released the information in a four-part statement called "A new vision for a new day."

Hughes said that Raymond Earp, who is running for BSC first vice president, and Ken Massey, who is seeking the BSC second vice presidency, share his passion for the statement. Hughes; Earp, a layman who is a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Beaufort; and Massey, pastor of First Baptist Church in Greensboro, have all been endorsed by Mainstream Baptists of North Carolina (MBNC).

In November, they will face candidates endorsed by Conservative Carolina Baptists (CCB). David Horton, pastor of Gate City Baptist Church in Greensboro, is running for president. Phyllis Foy, a laywoman from Peninsula Baptist Church in Mooresville, is running for first vice president, the office currently held by her husband, Bob. Brian Davis, pastor of First Baptist Church in East Flat Rock, is running for second vice president.

Hughes calls for groups like MBNC and CCB to be dismantled.

"Our challenge is to become unified without demanding uniformity," he said in the statement. "... I will ask for balance in appointments, working to assure that both 'moderates' and 'conservatives' have a meaningful place in the N.C. Baptist family."

In an interview, Hughes said he helped form MBNC.

"But I'm now saying that the best thing that can happen is for all groups to shut down," he said. "But if only one side does it, it won't work. It has to be a bi-lateral agreement."

Hughes said in his written statement that the BSC needs to regain financial stability.

"Plainly stated, our current budget formula and our multiple giving plans have contributed to the current budget crisis," he said.

Hughes said he would work toward changing Plan A of the BSC giving options to increase the amount kept in North Carolina from 68 percent to 70 percent. That would decrease the amount given to the SBC from 32 percent to 30 percent.

"Moreover, I will work to devise a more unified giving plan that will simultaneously offer freedom and flexibility to all North Carolina Baptist churches, maintain financial strength for BSCNC ministry, and still contribute generously to denominational missions outside our state," he said.

In the interview, Hughes said his proposals represent short-term and long-term solutions to the BSC's financial problems.

Conservatives will likely react negatively to Hughes plan to cut funds to the SBC, but he said the BSC could save more than $500,000 by making the change.

"We need to do something and do something quickly," he said in the interview.

Hughes said he realizes some moderates will be "surprised and confused" by his stance on the giving plans.

"While we had the best of intentions in creating the giving plans and I, myself, have defended the giving plans in the past, it now seems clear that the state convention has suffered from them," he said.

Hughes said he would be in favor of a "more unified plan that still offers flexibility and freedom."

Hughes calls in his statement for the BSC to refocus on the kingdom. He calls for starting new churches, helping declining churches become healthy and creating effective evangelistic strategies to reach unchurched people.

"We would feed the hungry and clothe the naked in Christ's name," he said. "We would build off our great heritage of caring for children, educating young people, and helping senior citizens live with dignity."

He said in the interview that focusing on the kingdom means "paying attention to what Jesus paid attention to and building on that."

Hughes also calls for revitalizing the estimated 80 percent of BSC churches that are plateaued or declining.

"If present trends continue, many of our churches will wither and die," he said. "Church leaders are desperate for retooling as they attempt to minister effectively in the 21st century."

In the interview, Hughes said the BSC current Pursuing Vital Ministry emphasis could be a part of that effort. His statement said the BSC staff must "reinvent" itself to "meet the unique needs of an increasingly diverse array of churches."

In his statement, Hughes said a "growing number of North Carolina Baptists feel they no longer have a meaningful place in the BSCNC, and are wondering aloud about their future relationship to the Convention."

In the interview, he said he didn't know how many churches fit that category, but believed it to be a "significant number," including some "historic churches."

"There's definitely a feeling of disenfranchisement that needs to be dealt with," he said.

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