No doubt it will never make it past the “Resolutions Committee” to the floor for debate and discussion at the BGAV meeting next week, but I will be submitting the following resolution to the committee.
I intended this to be “tongue in cheek,” however, it turned our rather serious, in my opinion.
In case you can’t tell, I hate resolutions.
If you are in the BGAV and your have additional WHEREAS or BE IT FURTHER RESOLVE clauses (or suggested rewrites for what I included) please let me know by Sunday night.
ADDITIONALLY if you are going to be a registered messenger at the annual meeting and you would like to be signatory when this is submitted, please let me know also by Sunday night.
Resolution Affirming the Meaninglessness of Resolutions Passed By The Baptist General Association of Virginia:
WHEREAS, the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) will receive numerous resolutions addressing a variety of topics during its annual meeting; and
WHEREAS, these resolutions (if passed) will only reflect the opinions of the majority of those messengers attending the annual meeting, and not the individual members and congregations which make up the BGAV; and
WHEREAS, these resolutions are not binding upon the individual members or congregations within the BGAV; and
WHEREAS, these resolutions often distract the BGAV from its missional objectives by causing dissension between brothers and sisters; and
WHEREAS, this dissension is seldom over the actual issues being addressed, but rather over a particular word or phrase that changes nothing concerning the intent of a the particular resolution; and
WHEREAS, media outlets from all perspectives take and often distort the meaning and implications of resolutions passed by the BGAV, further eroding our witness to the gospel; and
WHEREAS, there is no biblical support for the process of passing resolutions, but rather it appeals to a secular avenues to make political statements not gospel declarations; and
WHEREAS, there is an increasing need for Christians to stop speaking to the so-called “great moral issues of our times” and instead proclaim by the strength of the Spirit the actual transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ; therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED that the messengers to the Baptist General Association of Virginia meeting in Richmond, Virginia, November 9–11, 2015, renounce as meaningless the entire process of passing resolutions; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we affirm the resolutions are completely inappropriate ways to speak to our generation from a Baptist polity and theological perspective, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we ask the media, government officials, and anyone else who might be paying attention to our resolutions (including this one) too not take them too seriously, as they really do not mean anything, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we invite, encourage, and affirm each congregation in the BGAV to address what they feel are the great moral and ethical issues of the day in whatever ways and from whatever perspective they feel appropriate as autonomous Baptist congregations, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we ask the BGAV Executive Committee to do away with the resolution process and to explore new and creative ways to express the will of the body in ways that are more in keeping with Baptist polity, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that instead of focusing energy and attention on BGAV resolutions, this year we resolve to actually preach the gospel and love our neighbors in the fashion modeled by Jesus Christ.
