Additional Appendicies to
A Report on the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention
by Wm. Robert Johnston
updated 15 March 2003
Appendix A1. Data on the SBTC
| Year | SBTC member churches/missions | SBTC budget |
|---|
| 1998 | 120 | |
| 1999 | 260 | $ 903,500 |
| 2000 | 418 | $ 1,968,000 |
| 2001 | 928 | $ 4,329,347 |
| 2002 | 1,253 | $ 8,902,367 |
| 2003 | | $13,867,268 |
Note: figures for SBTC member churches include both uniquely aligned churches and dually aligned churches.
Sources: SBTC; Baptist Press.
Appendix B2. Data on SBTC Discussion/Debate
There is an apparent lack of responsiveness by the SBTC to criticism and/or disagreement. A variety of observations suggests that the SBTC does not entertain sufficient internal debate to correct such problems as the weak abortion resolutions of 1998 and 1999, nor is it sufficiently responsive to appropriate outside criticism such as that related to misstatements about the BGCT, discussed in this report.
The two SBTC conventions I have observed (2000 and 2002) have been characterized by a lack of discussion, motions, and other business activity from the floor. All officer elections were unopposed, and the agenda had to be adjusted due to the lack of floor discussion.
SBTC newsletters have carried few letters to the editor and even fewer critical ones. Since its formation in 1997, SBTC publications (the Plumbline, the Southern Baptist Texan, the Southern Baptist Texan news journal, and the Texas Baptist Crossroads) have averaged one letter per issue, of which 83% have praised the SBTC or supported its position in the convention controversy and 9% have been critical, only one letter on a significant issue. In comparison, a sample from the Baptist Standard over the same period shows an average of seven letters per issue, with 33% supporting and 24% criticizing the BGCT position on convention issues. The ratio of affirmative to negative letters printed is 9.0 for all SBTC publications versus 1.4 for the Baptist Standard.
Details for these figures are as follows (for the SBTC, figures include all issues from December 1997 to January 2003):
| Publication | no. of issues | numbers of letters |
|---|
| affirmative | neutral | negative | total |
|---|
| Plumbline | 12 | 16 (76%) | 3 (14%) | 2 (10%) | 21
|
| Southern Baptist Texan | 35 | 20 (91%) | 1 (5%) | 1 (5%) | 22 |
| Southern Baptist Texan | 14 | 9 (82%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (18%) | 11 |
| Texas Baptist Crossroads | 1 | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 |
|
| all SBTC publications | 62 | 45 (83%) | 4 (7%) | 5 (9%) | 54 |
|
| Baptist Standard | 22 | 49 (33%) | 63 (43%) | 35 (24%) | 147 |
| Publication | dates covered | average letters per issue | ratio of affirmative to negative letters |
|---|
| Plumbline | 12/97-8/99 | 1.8 | 8.0 |
| Southern Baptist Texan | 9/99-12/02 | 0.6 | 20.0 |
| Southern Baptist Texan | 2/02-1/03 | 0.8 | 4.5 |
| Texas Baptist Crossroads | 1/03 | 0.0 | N/A |
|
| all SBTC publications | 12/97-1/03 | 0.9 | 9.0 |
|
| Baptist Standard | 1998-2002 (sample) | 6.7 | 1.4 |
F1. Partial Transcript of Presentation by Dr. Deron Biles
Contact me with inquiries
F2. Correspondence with Dr. Deron Biles
Contact me with inquiries
© 2003 by Wm. Robert Johnston.
Last modified 15 March 2003.
Return to Home. Return to Baptist Resources.