PAIGE PATTERSON COMES TO SOUTHWESTERN SEMINARY
By David R. Currie,
Executive Director

Paige Patterson has been elected the new president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. When the Houston Chronicle called to ask what I thought, I replied, “It is a sad day for the Kingdom of God.”

It is truly sad to see this once great seminary lose its intellectual and spiritual soul. It is horrible to think of the wonderful professors who taught me and many others forced out, slandered and accused of not believing the Bible, when they made the Bible come alive for me.

Patterson’s coming to Fort Worth is a serious threat to the future of Texas Baptists and God’s work in Texas. My friends, Paige Patterson explains the fundamentalist point of view in a deceptive fashion. He will work hard to turn out far-right ministers committed to a fundamentalist vision for Baptists and our nation. We must prepare ourselves for the changes that are coming.

The fundamentalist vision is flawed. It is arrogant in that it claims to know all truth and those who disagree are not true believers. Then it can fire professors and missionaries without any other reason than they do not share the same vision. It is dangerous because it does not appreciate religious freedom for all. Religious freedom is the genius of America and the reason Americans are free.

I have responded strongly in the press regarding Patterson’s election. For example, I said fundamentalists are “well meaning theological perverts.” That was probably not my finest moment with the press. I may have forgotten the important lesson I learned from Foy Valentine to “know the difference between making noise and getting something done.”

However, fundamentalism is a perversion of the gospel. It perverts the meaning of the cross and the truth of the Scriptures with its legalism and punitive actions to all who disagree.

I also continue to have a great deal of anger about what happened to many wonderful Southwestern professors. Southwestern professors, just like the wonderful professors at Howard Payne, changed my life. Nat Tracy at HPU taught me that Jesus truly loved me and that the Christian life

was a wonderful adventure in growth. James Shields taught me the importance of integrity and hard work. Boo Heflin made me fall in love with the Old Testament. Leon McBeth and William Estep made me fall in love with church history and religious liberty. Bob Adams taught me to apply my faith. Bill Hendricks taught me to think like no other. Yandall Woodfin challenged me and encouraged me to be creative. Doug Ezell taught me that it was okay to be human

. I said that Patterson’s statement, “The New Testament is crystal clear that pastors are to be men,” was “arrogant, asinine and ignorant.” What really set me off was the use of “crystal clear.” TBC has never had a position on women in ministry because it is a church autonomy issue and is between a woman and God, i.e., the priesthood of the believer.

I remember what happened after the SBC passed a resolution of capital punishment in Orlando several years ago. Al Mohler was immediately on Larry King Live saying that Genesis 9:6 says, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed,” as if that verse was the only verse dealing with death for a crime.

For example, Exodus 21:17 states, “Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.” Most of us would have been killed as teenagers if that Scripture were literally interpreted. Many things are subject to interpretation and the cultural context must be taken into consideration. Believers can agree to disagree and should be able to do so without others attacking them. I imagine most of the persons gathered in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1845 to form the Southern Baptist Convention believed that “the New Testament is crystal clear that men have a right to own slaves.”

For those who are sure their interpretation is “crystal clear,” there is no possibility of cooperation despite disagreement.

Scripture is something we as believers have a right to interpret for ourselves. I believe women are qualified to be pastors because I believe the statements regarding women in the New Testament are primarily biased by their first century context. But it is not “crystal clear” and I know many of you would interpret it differently. I do not mind that Patterson disagrees with me. I resent his arrogance in assuming his interpretation is “crystal clear,” and should be imposed on others the way the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message is being used as a creed.

At our Mainstream Baptist Network breakfast in Charlotte during CBF, we heard the testimonies of four terminated IMB missionaries. People who have given their life to winning others to Christ should not be treated this way because on minor theological points, they do not see things as “crystal clear” as the fundamentalists.

I want to explain why I responded in the press in such a strident way: I wanted to make headlines and send a message to several groups of people.

First, I wanted Patterson to get a message from me. I want him to realize he is no longer in the “genteel South,” where folks do not disagree in public. He is back in Texas where we take our independence seriously. If he makes outlandish statements and tells falsehoods here, he will be challenged. It may not do much good but I want him to know, “we counter falsehoods and arrogance quickly and strongly.”

Second, I want you, our most faithful supporters to realize the seriousness of this event. While officials at Southeastern Seminary deny it, for years I have heard from persons in Virginia and North Carolina that Southeastern Seminary would supplement the salaries of any “interim pastor” that a church would call, if that “interim” were a Southeastern student.

What a creative way to get your students and graduates into churches and then turn those churches towards fundamentalism. I want you to realize we need more money and we need to do more mailings. We need to make sure our fellow church members are educated and will not call a fundamentalist as pastor. The battle over whether churches relate to the BGCT or SBT will intensify. Patterson may even lead an effort for fundamentalist control of the BGCT, as they have always been angry that they couldn’t take over Texas like they did the SBC.

Third, I was trying to get the attention of the “fence-sitting” pastors, those who really do not support fundamentalism but have never educated their church members about the events of the last 25 years and are still supporting the SBC financially. Now they must get serious and think about what they are supporting when they give their money to the SBC. They are supporting people so unethical they will fire missionaries for their integrity. They are supporting a fundamentalist agenda to control our government. They are supporting a generation of pastors who think they are the rulers of the church. I want Texas Baptist churches to stop supporting SBC seminaries and give that money to Truett Seminary, the Logsdon School of Theology and the Hispanic Baptist Theological School. Those schools are our future.

And remember this, as Southwestern graduates move into BGCT churches and lead them to the SBT, that will mean less money for Buckner, for the River Ministry, for Baylor, Howard Payne, Hardin Simmons, East Texas Baptist, Dallas Baptist and others. This is serious.

They need to think seriously about what kind of pastor they want their church to call after they leave and take appropriate steps to educate their church membership. There is no longer any excuse for waiting.

In conclusion, my disagreements with Paige Patterson and other fundamentalist leaders are not personal. I really do not know them personally. I did visit with Patterson briefly during the BGCT annual meeting in Lubbock in 1989. In fact, we have several connections in common. He worked with my cousin, W. A. Criswell. His father, T.A. Patterson and my uncle, Charles McLaughlin, were great friends who worked together to advance the Kingdom through the BGCT.

I simply do not believe fundamentalism is biblical or Christian. I do not believe the Kingdom of God is truly advanced by persons violating scriptural teachings in the way they treat people in the name of Christ. Thus I will fight it publicly as long as God allows me to keep breathing. But I hope they do not take my attitude personally. I love them; I just do not agree with them and think it is important to not let their vision of Christianity be the dominant voice in Baptist life.

October 2003