David Crocker, candidate for second vice president of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention
These are the responses from David Crocker, pastor of Snyder Memorial Church in Fayetteville.
What would you offer to N.C. Baptists as second vice president of the Baptist State Convention (BSC)?
I offer experienced leadership on the state convention level having served as vice president and president of the Executive Board of the Tennessee Convention just prior to moving to North Carolina. Having served on the Committee of 20, I am committed to the principle of shared leadership. And since I was privileged to serve on the Executive Director Search Committee (EDSC), I can help make the transition to a new Executive Director smooth and productive. The EDSC is an excellent model of a new spirit of cooperation when diverse Baptists refuse to allow differences to hinder their accomplishment of an essential task.
To which of the two identifiable groups -- conservatives and moderates -- do you more closely relate?
I consider myself conservative theologically as my record of support for missions (Snyder has been first or second in CP giving in nine of the last 10 years) and evangelism (150 baptisms in 40 months at Snyder and 5th in the state in youth baptisms in '96). I am moderate in Baptist politics, which is to say I am not an extremist. I do not want anybody to take over the state convention! I am committed to the historic Baptist principles of local church autonomy, priesthood of all believers and servant leadership.
 The 167th session
(Sept. 27)  Mac Brunson
Jack Causey
Interviews with the candidates for second vice president:
The convention's program (Oct. 21)
Candidates for president field tough questions from conservatives (Oct. 25) |
Having served on this committee, I have first-hand knowledge of their attempt to find common ground on which moderates and conservatives can agree and work together. While we certainly did not resolve all the issues, we were successful at building relationships which fosters understanding and mutual trust. Surely, these are the bases for our future as a Baptist family. My commitment to the work of the committee is evidenced by my arrangement for an unprecedented meeting of announced candidates for BSC office on September 22 in which we agreed to do our best to extend the spirit of the committee.
If you lose the election for second vice president, will you support your opponent?
Of course. Allan Blume was also a member of the Committee of 20 and, therefore, is fully aware of the opportunity at hand to "bring the family together." We have an understanding that regardless of who is elected, we will be fair and balanced in our appointments even to the point of consulting unsuccessful candidates for input. Thus, we have made ourselves accountable to N.C. Baptists. Without any reservation whatsoever I am willing to be judged by this commitment, and I expect my fellow Baptists to measure other candidates by the same yardstick.
Would you and your church ordain a woman to become the pastor of a church?
Yes or no?
Why or why not?
Ordination is, and must always remain, a local church issue. The same criteria for ordination applies equally to women and men. If a woman exhibits a genuine call and giftedness for ministry (whether pastoral or otherwise), I would expect the congregation I serve to act as the free and faithful Baptists I know them to be and ordain her. In fact, Snyder Memorial ordained our youth minister, a woman minister of nine years, earlier this year. Her service of ordination was one of the most moving worship services of which I have ever been a part.
Does the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) have a place/role within Southern Baptist life? Why or why not?
Snyder Memorial has allowed persons to choose where to send their mission dollars, and some have chosen the CBF. This is consistent with our belief in local church autonomy. Either we believe in the autonomy of the local church or we do not. I believe there is as much room for the people and churches who affiliate with the CBF as there is for those who identify themselves as Landmarkists. We must not forget the beauty of diversity. We must always be careful that our cooperation is voluntary (The Baptist Faith and Message, pp. 123-127).
What are the qualifications for individual Baptists to serve on the boards of the agencies, institutions and General Board of the Baptist State Convention?
Persons who serve as board members of BSC institutions and agencies should be faithful followers of Jesus Christ and loyal members of a local Baptist church. They should have a record of support for and participation in the state convention. They should have a commitment to the institution or agency for which they are considered as well as an understanding of and commitment to the larger mission of the BSC.
What is the track record of your church in world missions?
What were Cooperative Program (CP) gifts in 1996? What percentage of your church's undesignated gifts does the CP gifts represent?
What is the amount of your church's designated mission gifts?
To what causes? Does your congregation participate in "hands on missions" locally, in the state, in the nation and the world? If so, where and in what projects?
Snyder has ranked first or second in CP gifts in nine of the last 10 years. Snyder gave $276,500 (undesignated) through the Cooperative Program in 1996. The percent of undesignated gifts to CP (1997) is 15.47 percent. $176,388 will be designated gifts to mission causes this year (1997).
Some causes are:
- N.C. Baptist Men, N.C. Woman¼s Missionary Union
- New South River Baptist Association
- youth missions
- local missions (variety of local, ongoing causes)
- Interfaith Hospitality Network (homeless ministry)
- Fayetteville Family Life Center
- Baptist Center for Ethics
- Gideons
- Save the Children House (home for unwed, expectant mothers)
- Fayetteville Urban Ministries
- Retired Ministers Fund (through SBC Annuity Board)
- Korean Baptist Mission
- Fayetteville Youth for Christ
- Habitat for Humanity
- the Divinity Schools of Campbell, Gardner-Webb and Wake Forest
Many of these hours have come through our Operation Inasmuch which averages about 450 volunteers on a Saturday twice a year.
Snyder has built four Habitat houses in the last six years. We have three teams of volunteers going to Homestead, Fla., later this year, and my wife and I spent three weeks working with SBC missionaries in Zambia earlier this year.
