- Southern Baptists of Texas Convention
The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC) is an association of conservative Southern
Baptist churches inTexas . It is supportive of the nationalSouthern Baptist Convention . It was formed as a conservative response to the more moderateBaptist General Convention of Texas .SBTC was organized in
1991 as the "Conservative Baptist Fellowship of Texas," changed its name to "Southern Baptists of Texas" in1995 , and became "Southern Baptists of Texas Convention" in 1998.The group initially operated within the
Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT), and sought closer cooperation between the BGCT and the SBC, resulting from the "conservative-moderate" dissension taking place within both groups. However, the BGCT's refusal to endorse the more conservative leanings of the SBC leadership led SBT to organize into a separate state convention in November of1998 , at which time it took its present name and formally affiliated with the SBC.SBTC believes in the inerrancy of Scripture, salvation only in Jesus Christ, and the primacy of the local church. SBTC established missions and evangelism as its major emphases. SBTC holds to the 2000 SBC
Baptist Faith and Message . SBTC's purpose is to provide a medium for greater cooperation in missions and ministry within Texas and beyond, and to provide for relational fellowship and accountability for conservative Southern Baptists in Texas.SBTC's headquarters are in a 30,000 ft² (2,800 m²) facility, opened in 2004, in
Grapevine, Texas . Jim Richards serves as the Executive Director. Its official publication is the "Southern Baptist Texan" and Gary Ledbetter currently serves as its editor.As of June 2006, 1,776 churches were affiliated with the SBTC. SBTC affiliated churches may be either "uniquely affiliated" (solely affiliated with SBTC) or "dually affiliated" (affiliated with both SBTC and BGCT).
Several new Baptist associations have formed by SBTC churches (one being the
North Texas Baptist Association , serving the DFW area), though the SBTC itself does not promote their formation. Most SBTC churches choose to remain in longtime associations.SBTC Higher Education
Criswell College in Dallas, TX is currently supported by the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. They offer fully accredited Bachelors and Masters degrees including the Masters of Divinity or (M.Div). The college is renowned for its high academic content, its emphasis on sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, its emphasis onBiblical inerrancy , and its emphasis on teaching students to view all academic disciplines through a Christian worldview.Support of non-SBC Baptist Entities
SBTC currently supports two entities,
Jacksonville College (a two-year college located inJacksonville, Texas ) and Texas Baptist Home (a home for unwed mothers located inWaxahachie, Texas ), which although affiliated with SBTC are not SBC affiliates, but are aligned with the Texas arm of theBaptist Missionary Association of America (BMAA). BMAA is a separate and distinct national Baptist denomination with no formal affiliation to the SBC.External links
* [http://www.sbtexas.com/ SBTexas.com] - the official site of the Southern Baptists of Texas
Sources
* "Texas Baptist leaders respond to new convention", by Herb Hollinger, BP News, November 25, 1997
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