[1] OKLAHOMA CITY (BP)–A special committee studying a possible addition to the Southern Baptist Convention’s Baptist Faith and Message document will call for an addition to the 35-year-old BF&M emphasizing the marriage relationship models the way God relates to his people.
The seven-member committee was appointed by SBC President Tom Elliff in response to a request from a Maryland messenger at last year’s SBC annual meeting. Charles Lawson requested an article on the family be included in the familiar BF&M document.
Messengers to the 1998 annual meeting in Salt Lake City June 9-11 will vote on the committee’s proposal.
Anthony Jordan, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma and chairman of the committee, said the proposed addition is “thoroughly biblical.”
“The BF&M has not been amended since 1963 when the inimitable Dr. Herschel H. Hobbs led the effort to develop a statement of faith for Southern Baptists,” Jordan told Baptist Press. “The BF&M has stood the test of time as the clear declaration of our faith.
“The assignment to produce a concise, clear statement that expresses the generally held beliefs of Southern Baptists concerning family was a daunting one. Therefore, our committee approached its responsibility with prayer, reverence and diligence.”
Jordan said every line of the proposed addition is deeply rooted in the clear teaching of Scripture.
“Its language is theological and thus in keeping with the language of the original document. We sought to use words and phrases that would carry the same timelessness as the Hobbs statement. Our proposed article is stated in the positive. We attempted to declare what we believe rather than describe what we are against. Again, the original statement of faith follows this pattern,” Jordan said.
The proposed addition calls marriage the “uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime … God’s unique gift to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel for sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.”
The committee will also present a commentary on the article. Calling it “helpful,” Jordan said the commentary expands and provides a strong foundation for the article.
“While the family statement stands firmly on its own, we believe the commentary enhances understanding. The commentary will be a useful tool for those outside our faith who seek to comprehend Baptist beliefs regarding family,” Jordan said.
Elliff, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church, Del City, Okla., who is finishing a second one-year term as SBC president, said in naming the committee, “that while the BF&M is not a creed, it is an extremely important document to Southern Baptists. We make additions only with prayerful consideration and study.”
In addition to Jordan, other members of the committee are: O.D. “Damon” Shook, pastor of Champion Forest Baptist Church, Houston; Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, SBC; Mary Mohler, Louisville, Ky.; Bill Elliff, pastor of First Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark.; John Sullivan, executive director of the Florida Baptist Convention; and Dorothy Patterson, Wake Forest, N.C.
The complete proposed addition and the Scripture passages attached follow:
“God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
“Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel for sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.
“The husband and wife are of equal worth before God. Both bear God’s image but each in differing ways. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people.
“A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family.
“A wife is to submit graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being ‘in the image of God’ as her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his ‘helper’ in managing her household and nurturing the next generation.
“Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.”
Gen. 1:26-28; 2:18-25; 3:1-20; Ex. 20:12; Deut. 6:4-9; Josh. 24:15; 1 Sam. 1:26-28; Ps.78: 1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Prov. 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; 31:10-31; Eccl. 4:9-12; 9:9; Mal. 2:14-16; Matt. 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Rom. 1:18-32; 1 Cor. 7:1-16; Eph. 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Col. 3:18-21; 1 Tim. 5:14; 2 Tim. 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Heb. 13:4; 1 Pet. 3:1-7.”