South Carolina Baptist church leaders, pastors and others concerned over the direction of the Southern Baptist Convention will attend an organizational meeting in Columbia Tuesday. The meeting will be held at St. Andrews Baptist Church at 230 Bush River Road in the St.

Andrews section. Registration will open at 9:15 a.m. and the meeting will end about 3 p.m. All concerned Baptists are invited to attend. It is sponsored by a steering committee interested in the formation of a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Dr. E.C. Watson of Blaney Baptist Church, Elgin, says the meeting will focus on directions and events relating to the Southern Baptist Convention. “We are not interested in pulling away from either this group or the South Carolina Baptist Convention, but we do want to express our concerns with the spirit and some of the methodology of the Southern Baptist Convention.” The South Carolina Baptist Convention’s annual session will be held Nov. 12 and 13 at Greenville Memorial Auditorium. Scheduled speakers at Tuesday’s meeting are Dr. Jim King, pastor of First Baptist Church, Aiken, and Dr. Jimmy R. Allen, president of Faith and Family Communications Ministries of Fort Worth, Texas. Morning group sharing periods for church members who have taken no action relating to the Southern Baptist crisis and for members of churches that already have acted on this situation will be held. An afternoon business session will be devoted to determining possible formation of an ongoing organization, hearing a report from a nominating committee, and asking questions of National Fellowship leaders and the S.C. steering committee. Closing reflections and a message on shaping tomorrow will wind up the meeting. Additional program participants will include Don Bishop, pastor of First Baptist Church, Inman; W. Steven Brown, pastor of First Baptist Church, Bishopville; A. Harold Cole, former executive secretary-treasurer, S.C. Baptist Convention; John Cothran, layman and member of First Baptist Church, Greenville; Mary Rome Foster, minister of music, First Baptist Church, Camden; Johnny McKinney, pastor, First Baptist Church, Gaffney; James A. Moore Jr., pastor of First Baptist Church, Enoree; and John H. Hewett, pastor of First Baptist Church, Asheville. Additional information on the meeting may be obtained by contacting Dr. Watson, 1-438-9867.

September 28, 1991 | Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, SC)