Messengers to the Georgia Baptist Convention overwhelmingly approved a policy Nov. 11 that will allow convention officials to refuse donations from individuals and churches – a new policy that apparently will apply to First Baptist Church, Decatur, which is led by a female pastor.
The policy – which covers a wide range of categories – allows the GBC executive director and the administration committee to make the decision about the refusal of gifts from individuals and churches. John Waters, pastor of First Baptist, Statesboro, and member of the administration committee, said occasionally a person with good intentions might give the GBC a gift that is impractical, such as an old bus, a van or even a warehouse where the cost of maintenance would exceed its value.
But Waters said the policy also would apply to churches and to FBC Decatur, where Julie Pennington-Russell is pastor. She became pastor of the church in 2007 after serving Calvary Baptist Church in Waco, Tex., for nearly 10 years.
The text of the policy says it applies to “a church, organization or donor not in cooperation and harmony with the approved work and purpose of the convention.” In such a situation, the executive director and the administration committee “shall review the matter, and they shall have authority on behalf of the convention to determine whether or not to accept or retain such funds or property.”
The calling of Pennington-Russell to FBC Decatur, Waters said, did not resonate well with the beliefs of most Georgia Baptists and was not in keeping with the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message, which states that “while both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by scripture.”
The church is aligned with both the SBC and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. The 2007 annual church profile shows the church reported a worship attendance of 483, zero baptisms, total receipts of $1,207,765 and Cooperative Program giving of $10,444.