July 1, 2009
It seems the fallout from the American Baptist Churches Biennial in Pasadena, continues to make press. The Associate Baptist Press reported on the biennial and gave some interesting insights on the biennial and on the failed bylaw changes vote . I want to highlight the major points in the article.
Delegates, meeting in Pasadena, Calif., torpedoed a major restructuring that had been backed by denominational officials but criticized by many progressive leaders and churches. They voted 377-217 in favor of the bylaws changes — failing, by a handful of votes, to muster the two-thirds majority required to pass them.
Torpedoed is a strong word, but I guess to some it was a major defeat. It is still not the end of the world.
The changes would have spun off the denomination’s two mission boards into quasi-autonomous entities, altered the form of representation on ABCUSA’s main governing board and changed the method by which American Baptists approve policy statements and resolutions. In particular, progressive congregations and organizations feared that the changes would further marginalize their voice within the denomination and make it more difficult to rescind past ABC statements condemning homosexuality.
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Posted by Alan Rudnick
June 30, 2009
There have been some surprising developments here at the American Baptist Churches Biennial meeting. The most pressing and major issue that had to be approved by the delegates (those sent by local churches, which includes myself) was NOT passed. The motion to amend the bylaws and change the structure of the ABC was narrowly shout down. The current bylaws require a 2/3rds majority by the delegates. 
The motion only received 63% support, which barely fell short of 66% needed. It seemed that the changes were going to be easily passed, but that was not the case. Please check out the amended bylaws that did not pass here. There have been very few bloggers talking about this, but one blog addressed this issue well: Mindi Framingham. Also, my new friend Tripp Hudgins provided a great video blog of his review.
The general reaction I am hearing here is that during the business/discernment session the denominational leaders did not properly address the questions asked. There were several clarifying questions raised during the session. The delegates felt that most of the panel who answered the questions did not provide the needed insight into the “why” or “how” behind the changes. Having read the changes proposed, I felt that the new bylaws were slightly confusing. One delegate suggested that these changes should have been shared and given out in a printed document form two years ago at the Washington D.C. biennial. This year, the changes were available in PDF form on the ABC website. It would have been more effective to pass the document out two years ago and let the local churches, regions, and committees discuss the changes. Now, delegates say they are left with feeling that the denominational leaders did not provide the necessary explanation to the delegates.
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Posted by Alan Rudnick
June 24, 2009
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I just arrived in Pasadena, CA for the American Baptist Churches Biennial. Every year, the ABC gathers as a national body to address important concerns, vote on pressing issues, worship, learn, and celebrate. This will be my fourth ABC biennial that I have had the honor of attending. This year’s location is fantastic.
Before I left, I heard numerous comments about a very concerning situation involving American Baptist missionaries. It seems that that American Baptist missionaries will now be responsible for seeking to secure the majority of their funding sooner rather than later. As I understand it, in the past, missionaries were not required to raise the majority of their financial support. Now, due to a variety of reasons, ABC missionaries will now have the burden of asking churches for more money. These reasons include lower support for missionary giving and lower returns in investments that support missions.
ABC of Ohio has made an appeal to their churches about it. The letter can be read here.
Missionaries should not have to spend their time lobbying individuals, churches, and non-profits to support themselves. One of the reasons for being a part of a denomination is to have the national body do some of this administrative/financial work. I can understand the need to have missionaries to be responsible for part of their funding (say 10%-20%), but the majority? Many of these missionaries have families and cannot raise enough money to support a family of four for a year or two.
If all this is true, this presents a crisis for our ABC missionaries. More to be updated later. I am sure that I will learn more from the denominational reps at the biennial.
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Posted by Alan Rudnick
