Baptists urged to live 'lessons'

The Rev. Bob Collins urged the 1,936 messengers and visitors gathered at the Show Me Center Monday night for the Missouri Baptist Convention to stand up for what is right and speak against what is wrong, but always to do so in a Christlike manner.

Collins, president of the convention, admonished the crowd to have a deliberate devotion to the word of God and to begin living their lives as the Bible teaches instead of just saying they believe its lessons.

"Jesus never neutralized the crowd," Collins said. "They never left wondering what he meant."

People who followed Jesus or heard him speak either decided or were divided by what he said, Collins said.

The words Collins spoke rang true for many in the crowd who had come to Cape Girardeau for a meeting that could be a turning point for the 1,900 Baptist churches in the state.

The Missouri Baptist Convention has been in the midst of a decade-long struggle between conservatives and moderates who want to control the state association of churches, some of which are Southern Baptist.

The Missouri convention is the state's largest Protestant denomination, and rumors have circulated for several years about a split between the two factions. The battle has gotten more heated recently with the resignation of the convention's executive director, Jim Hill.

Conservative Baptists say the Bible is without error. They insist that anyone associated with Baptist colleges and agencies in Missouri must uphold that belief, that women shouldn't be ordained as deacons or pastors, and that churches should pledge loyalty to the 2000 "Baptist Faith and Message" statement.

Moderates allow more open biblical interpretation, accept autonomy in church decision-making and do not believe in imposed creeds.

The danger doesn't come from liberalism or the factions within the convention but from Satan, the enemy, who has "slipped in in the dark and sown seeds of discord," said the Rev. Randy Messer of Oak Grove, Mo.

"I feel like a little child in the side bedroom listening to mama and daddy talking about divorce," he said. "Please make the resolve to work together and lay aside all the entanglements and sin that upset us, and run with endurance with your eyes fixed on Jesus."

Messer had asked that he be allowed to address the gathering for 20 minutes in the absence of Hill, who resigned this month. Messer's motion was denied, but he was asked to speak briefly before Collins' sermon.

'We are moving closer'

Collins spoke of Baptists being obstinate and autonomous but also committed Christians. The world doesn't need convenient Christians but people who are committed in a demonstration of the crucified Christ, he said.

"The world has always hated the word of God," but the uprising that comes from within the church is a sign that "we are moving closer to the coming of Jesus," Collins said.

The church must continue to preach sound doctrine, endure affliction and stay alert, he said. "We aren't living on a playground, but we are living on a battleground," Collins said.

His address Monday was his final as convention president. A new president will be elected this morning during business sessions. Other items on the agenda include approving a nearly $20 million budget and allocating funding for state boards and agencies, some of which have chosen to elect their own trustees, a prerogative that previously was held by convention delegates.

Speakers today include the Rev. Terry Eades, pastor of First Baptist Church in Scott City, Mo., who will deliver the convention sermon this morning, and Morris Chapman, president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Convention executive board. The meeting ends Wednesday.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126