Southern Baptists of Texas
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Southern Baptists of Texas (SBT) - a fellowship of conservative and fundamentalist Southern Baptist churches in Texas. Organized in 1991 as the Conservative Baptist Fellowship of Texas, this fellowship of conservatives operated within the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT), and changed its name to Southern Baptists of Texas in 1995. The SBT pushed for closer cooperation between the BGCT and the Southern Baptist Convention. Disagreement over issues such as inerrancy, the ordination of women and the relationship between the BGCT and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship led the SBT fellowship to organize the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention in November of 1998. A unanimous vote of the SBT board of directors in Dallas, Texas, on November 20, 1997, laid the groundwork. SBTC established missions and evangelism as the major emphasis. They believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, salvation only in Jesus Christ, and the primacy of the local church. The purpose of the SBTC is to provide a medium for cooperation in missions and ministry, and to provide for relational fellowship and accountability for conservative Southern Baptists in Texas. The Convention articles of faith is the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message of the Southern Baptist Convention. Its official publication is the Southern Baptist Texan and Gary Ledbetter currently serves as editor (2003). In 2003, 1368 churches affiliated with the SBTC, whose offices are in Irving, Texas. New 30,000 ft² (2,800 m²) headquarters are expected to open in Grapevine, Texas in 2004. Jim Richards serves as the Executive Director.
External link
- SBTexas.com (http://www.sbtexas.com/) - the official site of the Southern Baptists of Texas
Sources
- Texas Baptist leaders respond to new convention, by Herb Hollinger, BP News, November 25, 1997