Not only did the letter by Bro. Hoychick fail to refute the
charge that the Louisiana Baptist Pastor’s Conference has become dominated
by fundamentalists and their agenda, he accidentally reinforced it.
Not only did the letter by Bro. Hoychick fail to refute the
charge that the Louisiana Baptist Pastor’s Conference has become dominated
by fundamentalists and their agenda, he accidentally reinforced it. He did so
by reminding us in 1989 Perry Sanders almost was elected president of the LBPC.
By mentioning this fact, Hoychick alerts us to what concerns Bro. Shaver and
others, which is how much things have changed in eleven years. When Hoychick
asked, “If we are political, why was he (Sanders) and those who nominated
and voted for him at the pastors’ conference?” he attempted to gloss
over the gap between 1989 and the present. The new LBPC president is Jerry
Chaddick, prominent and active with the Louisiana Inerrancy Fellowship.
Not every sermon at the LBPC was political, and not every speaker was a fundamentalist,
a fact Scott Shaver acknowledged. But the presence of and remarks by Paul Pressler,
“one of the architects of the conservative resurgence in the Southern Baptist
Convention” (Baptist Message, 11/23/2000, 14), indicates strongly
that the 2000 LBPC was a rally for fundamentalists. As for the claim that no
endorsements were made, “French received a word of support during the annual
Louisiana Baptist Pastors’ Conference just hours prior to the convention.
During his opening remarks, a leader of the Southern Baptist conservative resurgence
praised French as a ‘wonderful’ president. Judge Paul Pressler of
Houston acknowledged some would like to ‘cause difficulty in different
places’ and urged Louisiana Baptists to ‘stay the course’ [Which
course? That decreed by fundamentalists, of course!] undertaken
in recent years” (Baptist Message, 11/23/2000, 5).
That is why some felt the need for an alternative conference.
If they believed the LBPC was less political – now in 2000 as it was not
in 1989 – they would not invite notorious liberals like Keith Parks
and Joel Gregory.
Richard Wright, Minister of Missions
University Baptist Church
Baton Rouge