c. 1999 Religion News Service

RALEIGH, N.C. _ Faced with a two-decade-old division between theological and political moderates and conservatives, leaders of both factions in North Carolina are scrambling to devise a means of shared leadership they hope could stave off the kind of schisms that have marked Southern Baptist life in other state conventions.

Although support for what is believed to be an unprecedented plan is still tentative, advocates say it may call for amending the state convention’s constitution to require moderates and conservatives to take turns as president of the convention and president of its 100-member General Board.

Last-minute negotiations will likely continue until March 4, when the plan is expected to be unveiled before the state convention’s executive committee.

If approved, the proposal would usher in a new and radically different era of Baptist politics.

For nearly 20 years, since conservatives took over the national Southern Baptist Convention, Baptists in different states have waged a bitter fight over the control of independent state conventions. In Virginia, and most recently in Texas, moderates and conservatives split into two separate state conventions. In South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, conservatives beat out moderates for control.

North Carolina has been an exception. The presidency of the 1.2-million-member state convention _ the largest religious body in North Carolina _ has in recent years fallen to the conservatives, while its General Board has been ruled by moderates.

The de facto division of power led to a yearlong study of a possible shared leadership plan. Only last month, prospects seemed bright, but in a sign of how deeply controversial Baptist politics have become, the plan threatened to unravel in last-minute negotiations.”There’s not a plan in place,”said the Rev. Greg Mathis, pastor of Mud Creek Baptist Church in Hendersonville and a conservative who co-chairs the reconciliation committee.”This is a very diverse group. Obviously there will have to be some give and take on both sides if we’re to move forward together.” Until recently, North Carolina was considered a state ruled by moderates. But conservatives in recent years have made gains, winning the presidency of the convention for two terms in a row. They have also forced the convention to begin naming conservatives to its General Board _ the body that rules the convention between its annual meetings and handles the day-to-day affairs of the convention and its $31 million annual budget.”As I perceive it, there’s a genuine intent to do what we can do to avoid the situation that happened with the Southern Baptist Convention where the conservative effort succeeded and the moderates have no voice in the leadership,”said the Rev. Marion Lark, pastor of First Baptist Church in Henderson and a moderate.

Historically, North Carolina has defied the recent political and theological labels. Its churches have been known as traditional, but tolerant of dissent.”North Carolina Baptist churches have had a live-and-let-live attitude,”said Bill Boatwright, a spokesman for the convention.

The state has also grown weary of the political infighting that has gripped the denomination for a generation.”North Carolina Baptists don’t care much about the political wrangling,”said the Rev. Michael Queen of First Baptist Church in Wilmington.

Bill Leonard, the dean of the divinity school at Wake Forest University and an expert on Baptist history, put it more bluntly.”The moderates know they cannot sustain a battle _ their constituents are tired of it,”he said.”The conservatives don’t want to fool with this either. Their energies are elsewhere.” The two sides have also recognized they need each other. When Mathis was elected as the first conservative president of the denomination in 1995, he developed a bond with Queen, then the president of the General Board. The two became friends and selected 20 pastors, moderates and conservatives, to begin talking with one another.

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After an initial meeting, the convention hired a consultant to help the 20 pastors work through their differences. Over the course of a few daylong meetings the group listened to one another talk about their wives, their children and their hobbies. Eventually they were able to broach the subject of their differences, too.”We started to get to know one another,”said the Rev. David Horton,

pastor of Gate City Baptist Church in Greensboro and a conservative.”And we began to form relationships. Out of that came enough bridge-building that several moderates and conservatives were able to share the hurts and disappointments we’ve experienced along the way in the convention controversy.” The group also realized that while they could not smooth over all their differences, the two factions did see eye-to-eye on two issues: evangelism and outreach. Both groups felt strongly that they wanted to work together on reaching new converts and on social programs such as disaster relief, helping orphaned children, the elderly and other missionary efforts.

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On March 4 in Asheboro, the group is expected to unveil its shared leadership plan to the executive committee, an 18-member body that meets monthly. The executive committee may then vote to send the plan to the General Board. If the General Board approves it, the plan will still have to be voted on by the entire convention, which meets in November.”This is our last best hope,”said Queen.”If it doesn’t work out, it may signal that we can’t work together, and I suspect there will be a division.” DEA END SHIMRON