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IMB administrators presented 13 passages from Harbin's 200-page "Narratological Theology and Homiletics" syllabus as evidence he was guilty of "persistent advocating of doctrinal positions inconsistent with the Baptist Faith and Message."

Recently installed as pastor of Rocks Baptist Church in Pamplin, Virginia, Harbin said the disputed material did not become an issue until he refused to affirm the 2000 BFM. Harbin said critics have taken the material out of context. But the IMB's Kelly told the Baptist Standard, a Texas weekly paper, that the material "cannot even be reconciled with the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message." Kelly told the paper that Harbin's teaching "on critical theories about the Bible was not balanced with a strong advocacy for the Bible as God's Word, totally true and trustworthy."

Other IMB staff have changed their minds about signing. Charlotte Acree, a registered nurse, was a nursing instructor at Baptist Hospital in Eku, Nigeria, from 1988 to 2001 before going on medical leave. Acree initially opposed signing, but changed her mind after reviewing the 1925, 1963, and 2000 statements. Acree, 53 and single, will soon return to medical clinics in the country's southeast among the Ezza people, considered an unreached group.

"[Rankin] recommended we compare the three messages and make up our mind," Acree said. "Once I did, I couldn't figure out what the problem was. There was nothing that was not biblical."

Copyright © 2003 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Read the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, see the report of the study committee and other documents, or peruse the 1963 version.

The Southern Baptist Convention's site has links to every board, organization, and ministry in the convention.

Previous Christianity Today coverage of the Baptist Faith and Message includes:

To Sign or Not to Sign? | Some Southern Baptist missionaries balk at revised statement. (April 5, 2002)

Do Good Fences Make Good Baptists? | The SBC's new Faith and Message brings needed clarity—but maybe at the cost of honest diversity. (August 9, 2000)

Culture Clash | Asserting the Bible's authority, Southern Baptists say pastors must be male. (June 30, 2000)

Weblog: Baptists OK New Statement, which Opposes Female Pastors (June 15, 2000)

Submission Rejected | State convention counters SBC marriage statement. (Dec. 27, 1999)

Texas Baptists Counter Official Southern Baptist Stance on Marriage | Baptist General Conference of Texas goes back to 1963 statement, rejecting 1998 vote. (Nov. 11, 1999)

Seminary Faculty must sign pledge | Professors must agree to teach Baptist Faith and Message statement. (Dec. 7, 1998)

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April 2003, Vol. 47, No. 4