Further questions to the committee may be directed to response@tnbaptist.org or 615-373-2255.
1. What are the amendments to the Bylaws and/or Business and Financial Plan that need to wait for the Constitution to be amended before becoming effective?
The references to first and second day being changed to first and second session will not become effective until after the corresponding constitutional amendments are also effective.
2. Why two separate recommendations for constitutional amendments?
Recommendation 1 deals with flexibility and consistency among the three governing documents. Recommendation 4 deals with Baptist polity and its impact on requirements for a church to be a Cooperating Baptist Church eligible to send messengers to the TBC Annual Meeting.
3. What is the Baptist polity issue of concern?
A historical principle of Baptist polity is that every Baptist church and denominational organizational level is independent and autonomous. Connectionalism happens when entity A requires entity B to align with entity C before entity A will accept B into its fold. Current TBC Constitution Article II requires that a church connect with the Southern Baptist Convention via Cooperative Program giving before that church is considered a Cooperating Baptist Church and is allowed to send messengers to the TBC annual meeting. Therefore, current TBC Constitution Article II unintentionally violates this fundamental principle.
4. Does the SBC have a similar requirement?
The SBC does not require such a connectional commitment in its constitution. A church may contribute to any one of the SBC institutions and be eligible for messengers to the SBC annual meeting. It does encourage CP giving by allowing more messengers for higher percentage CP contributions.
5. Does the amendment to TBC Constitution Article II change the definition of Cooperative Program?
No. The proposed amendment does not change the definition of Cooperative Program giving, which is the giving without designation to the combined efforts and entities of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Tenneessee Baptist Convention.
6. Does the amendment to TBC Constitution Article II weaken TBC’s support of the Cooperative Program?
No. The proposed amendment does not weaken TBC’s support of the Cooperative Program. TBMB’s strategic planning continues to move forward with a solid belief in the Cooperative Program as the best approach to missions funding and encouragement that all TBC churches give 10% of their undesignated gifts through the Cooperative Program. TBMB also believes that increased participation in the Cooperative Program is best gained by demonstrable facts of its benefits and effectiveness, not by perpetuating the current inconsistency with Baptist polity and the negative impact on the local church autonomy.
7. When was the current TBC Constitution Article II adopted?
In 2007, in an effort to encourage churches to give through the Cooperative Program, Article II of the Constitution was amended to introduce for the first time the requirement of giving through the Cooperative Program in order for a church to send messengers to the TBC Annual Meeting. That action has not increased the number of cooperating churches.
8. Will members from a church that chooses to give only to the “TBC-portion of the Cooperative Program” be allowed to serve on TBC committees and boards?
TBC’s governing documents only require that an individual serving on a TBC committee or board come from a Cooperating Tennessee Baptist Church (Educational institutions may have up to 20% of their board from churches cooperating with other state conventions). Traditionally, the Committee on Boards and the Committee on Committees take CP giving into consideration and publish on their reports to the Convention each year the Cooperative Program church giving and rank based on the CP total dollar giving during the prior fiscal year. Likewise,the percentage of undesignated gifts is published based on the church-provided information on the annual church profile for the corresponding year.
9. What happened to a similar TBC Constitution Article II amendment referred back to TBMB in 2017?
After further study and discussion throughout the state in 2019, the Board of Directors for TBMB chose not to reintroduce that constitutional amendment at that time. There was still enough of a mistaken perception that TBC’s support for the Cooperative Program might be weakening. TBC’s support for the Cooperative Program is stronger than ever.
10. Is the proposed amendment to Article II the same amendment referred back to TBMB in 2017?
No. The currently proposed text introduced greater clarity in the two alignment aspects that have traditionally defined a cooperating Baptist church in Tennessee. One alignment aspect is financial and the other is programmatic. The financial aspect is the one being expanded to identify churches that support the ministries and institutions of the TBC as cooperating. This expansion eliminates the inconsistency with the Baptist polity. The SBC accepts messengers from churches that gave to any single SBC entity, not requiring giving through the Cooperative Program at all.
11. Is the “TBC-portion of the Cooperative Program” a new designation?
No. Churches have had and many have exercised the option to give to this designation for at least the last 20 years. At one time upwards of 60 or 70 churches were using this designation or SBC-portion of the Cooperative Program to give as much as $500,000 per year of their contributions. In recent years, less than 15 churches have used the designation and most all of those churches have given more through the Cooperative Program.
12. Why is this being proposed now?
There are two factors that have brought this to the forefront in the current year. First, our Executive Director correctly called to the attention of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (ERLC) that a friend of the court brief that the ERLC had signed blatantly misrepresented Baptist polity by indicating a hierarchical polity. This was corrected by the ERLC but it reminded all that TBC should ensure that it was practicing correct polity by making this correction. Second, multiple churches have contacted TBMB in 2021 requesting a way in which they could designate their funds around certain entities of the SBC, but still have a seat at the table with the TBC. While they have always been able to designate their funds, this amendment is needed to allow them to continue to send messengers to the TBC annual meeting.
13. What is one practical implication of this change?
Recently an independent Baptist church with a Southern Baptist pastor began exploring becoming Southern Baptist with a local association. The church has joined the association under watchcare. They are now ready to explore joining the TBC. But, given their history and background, they are not ready to join the SBC. This amendment will allow them to join the TBC, have seats at the annual meeting, and learn more about Southern Baptist life before making a financial contribution to the SBC.
14. What is the bottom line?
This amendment is necessary to allow all churches that contribute financially to TBC causes to be a cooperating Baptist Church and send messengers to the TBC annual meeting.
Recommendation 4 (First of Two Consecutive Votes)
The Committee on Constitution and Bylaws recommends to the messengers of the 2021 annual meeting of the Tennessee Baptist Convention that the amendment to Article II of the Tennessee Baptist Constitution found below be adopted for further recommendation to the 2022 annual meeting of the Tennessee Baptist Convention. If approved at both annual meetings, the amended Constitution will become effective upon adjournment of the 2022 annual meeting.
Proposed Reading:
Italics = deleted language
Bold = new language
Article II. COMPOSITION
The meetings of the Convention shall be composed of messengers who are members of cooperating Baptist churches. Cooperating Baptist churches are those that contribute financially through the Cooperative Program of the Convention in the fiscal year immediately preceding the annual meeting of the Convention and subscribe to and support the principles, programs, and policies of the Convention. a) subscribe to and support the principles, programs, and policies of the Convention; and (b) in the fiscal year immediately preceding the annual meeting of the Convention, contribute financially (1) through the Cooperative Program, or (2) through the Tennessee Baptist Convention portion of the Cooperative Program without restriction or designation. Each cooperating Baptist church shall be entitled to two messengers. A messenger shall be a member of the church by which he or she is elected. Each cooperating Baptist church shall also be entitled to one messenger for each one hundred members or fraction thereof beyond the first one hundred, subject to a maximum of ten messengers from any one church. A messenger shall be a member of the church by which he or she is elected.
