DEL CITY, Okla. (BP)–A seven-member committee to recommend a possible family article addition to the Baptist Faith and Message document has been named, according to Tom Elliff, Southern Baptist Convention president and pastor of First Southern Baptist Church, Del City, Okla.
Elliff named the committee in response to action by the SBC annual meeting in Dallas last year. Charles Lawson, a messenger from Maryland, requested the convention president name a committee to recommend adding an article to the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message dealing with “The
Family.” Lawson asked for an amendment to be brought to the 1998 meeting in Salt Lake City, the 35th anniversary of the passage of the widely- accepted document on Baptist beliefs.
In his motion, Lawson suggested adding “Article XVIII. The Family.” Citing Gen. 2:24, he suggested additions regarding the roles of the husband, wife and children.
Elliff said he tried to understand, “that while the Baptist Faith and Message is not a creed, it is an extremely important document to Southern Baptists.”
“We make additions only with prayerful consideration and study. I have chosen a committee that represents a broad spectrum of Baptist life. They are pastors, state executive directors, agency head, and wives — they include those who have a keen grasp of the Scriptures and
illustrate in their lives a clear understanding of God’s principles regarding the family,” Elliff told Baptist Press.
Anthony Jordan, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, was named chairman by Elliff. Other members are: O.D. “Damon” Shook, pastor of Champion Forest Baptist Church, Houston; Richard Land, president of the Ethics and 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.
Mohler is the wife of R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Patterson is the wife of Paige Patterson, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
