ROANOKE, Va. (BP)In the first annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia, 157 churches were approved for affiliation with the newest Southern Baptist-related state convention.
A total of 108 churches were received for "unique" affiliation, and an additional 49 churches were received under "dual" affiliation during the SBC Virginia meeting...September 29...Roanoke.
Thomas Road Baptist Church, Lynchburg, was among the 108 churches approved for unique affiliation, which means that a SBC Virginia church has no relationship with the older Baptist General Association of Virginia. Dual affiliation signified that a church has relationships with and contributes to both SBC Virginia and the BGAV.
EDITOR'S COMMENTS: Although the Thomas Road Baptist Church, where Dr. Jerry Falwell is the pastor, has been an independent Baptist church with ties to the Baptist Bible Fellowship (an independent Baptist fellowship) since the church was founded in 1956, the decision to support the SBC conservative group in Virginia has, in fact, given the church membership status in the Southern Baptist Convention. Thus, the church has set itself in a position of dual alignment with the SBC and the BBF.
-- The Sword Of The Lord
Even though the churches of the BBF claim to be independent Baptists, we do not believe that they are really independent. They are members of an organized fellowship, which is nowhere taught in the Scriptures.-- E. L. Bynum