MAINSTREAM MESSENGER

Vol. 1, No. 2      September 1998     

Agee defends Baptist Diversity

Retiring Oklahoma Baptist University President Bob Agee's address to the 1997 BGCO meeting produced the longest and most enthusiastic standing ovation of that meeting.   In his final Convention address Dr. Agee pled for unity of Oklahoma Baptists around the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).

Agee said,

"Doctrine has never been the primary unifying force for Southern Baptists.   General atonement Baptists and Particular atonement Baptists, regular and separate Baptists alike walked and worked together around the cause of missions.  Pre-, post-, a-, and pro-millenialists alike laid aside their different interpretations to walk and work together around the cause of missions.  High church and evangelistic churches alike acknowledged one another's peculiarities but laid the differences aside to walk and work together around the cause of missions.  High church and evangelistic churches alike acknowledged one another's peculiarities but laid the differences aside to walk and work together around the cause of missions.  We believed that if we all believed that the Bible is true and all worked hard at trying to understand the Bible accurately and all tried to allow Jesus Christ the freedom to do His work in our hearts and minds, we would in our own imperfect ways find what God wanted us to be and do."

Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists heartily endorse the sentiments expressed by Dr. Agee.   We have organized to preserve the diversity that Dr. Agee and most Baptists value.   Unfortunately, many Baptists have passively permitted Fundamentalists to superimpose a straightjacket of dogma on the missionary, evangelistic, and discipling commission that used to be the heartbeat of Southern Baptist work.  When the leadership of the new SBC and of BGCO demonstrate respect for the diversity that Dr. Agee and Mainstream Baptists affirm, the work of Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists will be done.

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