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MAINSTREAM MESSENGER Vol. 4, No. 2 June 2001 Editor: Bruce PrescottBGCO Board member Involved in Anonymous Smearing of First Baptist OKC PastorsMembers of First Baptist Church (FBC) of Oklahoma City recently received an unsigned letter from the Baptist History and Missions Preservation Association (BHMPA) attacking Dr. Gene Garrison and Dr. Jeff Zurheide. Dr. Garrison pastored the church from 1973-1996. Dr. Zurheide has been pastor since 1998. The letter indicates the BHMPA was formed to educate church members about the value of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO) and to pray for FBC and the SBC. The substance of the letter, however, was to attack Dr. Garrison and Dr. Zurheide for their associations with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF). CBF was formed in 1990 after Fundamentalists had completed a takeover of the SBC and excluded Mainstream Baptists like Dr. Garrison and Dr. Lavonn Brown, retired pastor of FBC of Norman. Employing anonymous smear tactics that were common during the takeover, the unsigned letter from the BHMPA claimed the takeover by "conservative leaders" was necessary because SBC leadership in the 60’s and 70’s was “increasingly liberal” and in "an alliance with a left leaning social moral agenda.” The letter identifies Dr. Garrison and Dr. Brown as "liberals" and lists twelve ludicrous complaints against Dr. Zurheide. A faithful FBC member, Bob Nichols, secured a copy of the BHMPA's articles of incorporation and discovered that the association has three incorporators: one (we’ll preserve his anonymity) is a member of the Board of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, another is related to him.
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