Jefferson City — Baptist General Convention of Missouri directors tabled consideration of a covenant agreement with the Missouri Baptist Foundation.
Meeting at First Baptist Church, Jefferson City, on Dec. 9, directors agreed they want to develop a relationship with the Foundation, but decided to delay adopting a formal agreement until litigation between the Foundation and the Missouri Baptist Convention ends.
The MBC filed legal action against the Foundation, Word&Way, Missouri Baptist University, Windermere Baptist Conference Center and The Baptist Home in August 2002. The five entities changed their charters in 2000 and 2001 to allow each institution to elect its own trustees. In the past, the convention elected them.
The MBC filed legal action to force the five to rescind the amended charters. Litigation is still pending.
In other action, directors instructed BGCM president Bill Miller to appoint a group to study issues regarding development of a doctrinal statement and how such a statement would be used.
BGCM executive director Jim Hill will attend a January meeting of the North American Baptist Fellowship to discuss membership in that organization. Formal membership in the NABF is the first step to membership in the Baptist World Alliance. The NABF has requested a doctrinal statement.
Several directors raised concerns about the possibility that a doctrinal statement could become a creed.
Directors also agreed to donate $2,000 to help cover costs of World Hunger materials being developed by the Baptist Center for Ethics, Baptist World Aid, the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Baptist General Association of Virginia.
