Dispute in Louisiana Over Evangelical-Catholic Document

by Art Toalston, Baptist Press Theriot, Louisiana, March 14, 1995

(BP) -- A year after two Southern Baptist Convention leaders signed an affirmation of evangelical-Roman Catholic relations, the issue has erupted in a small Louisiana community.

So far, the dispute has encompassed:

-- a public confrontation of Home Mission Board President Larry Lewis by the pastor and several members of Bayou DuLarge Baptist Mission Church, Theriot, La., urging Lewis to repent of signing the widely publicized document, "Evangelicals and Catholics Together." The confrontation took place during a Feb. 10 mission rally of the 36-church Adolphe Stagg Baptist Association based in nearby Houma, La. The meeting was held at the Bayou DuLarge mission, which had just completed a new auditorium.

-- the subsequent firing of the mission pastor, Jerry Moser, a Southern Baptist Home Missionary, by the sponsoring church, Christ Baptist in Houma.

-- the intention of Moser and the 100-member mission he has led for 11 years for him to continue as their pastor.

"I intend to continue to be missionary pastor on Bayou DuLarge, not as an act of rebellion but as an act of obedience to the Lord who called me to be here," Moser said Feb. 28. "That call was ratified by this mission church and has been confirmed over and over again in our hearts and minds."

Moser continued, "We are determined to remain associated with our sponsoring church, our association of churches here, the Louisiana Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention."

Still, the evangelical-Catholic document, also signed by Richard Land, executive director of the SBC Christian Life Commission, "grieves us and hurts our witness... in an area that's 98 percent Roman Catholic and Episcopalian," Moser said.

Moser's stated intention of remaining Southern Baptist was disputed by Lynn Fontenot, pastor of the sponsoring church, Christ Baptist. Fontenot quoted Moser as saying at the Feb. 10 meeting that Lewis' decision on removing his name from the evangelical-Catholic document would determine whether the mission remained in the SBC.

Fontenot said Moser's firing is a local church matter involving Christ Baptist as the mission's sponsor taking action against Moser for a history of insubordination over several years, climaxed by the confrontation with Lewis. Fontenot, who came to Christ Baptist in 1993, added he sought counsel from the church's previous pastor, as well as pastors of the mission's other co-sponsoring churches and the Louisiana Baptist Convention.

"Without fail, ... those pastors are in 100 percent support of what we've done. And the Louisiana Baptist Convention missions division is in support of the action taken" Fontenot told Baptist Press March 1. (*see footnote)

Moser received his termination notice from Christ Baptist Feb. 23. The letter, signed by Fontenot, said the church in a Feb. 22 business meeting had approved the unanimous recommendation of its missions committee for Moser's immediate resignation as Bayou DuLarge's pastor. "The underlying reason for this action," Fontenot wrote, "is your continued insubordination" to the authority of Christ Baptist as the mission's sponsor.

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* Actions taken by Christ Baptist Church by March 1, 1995, included:

a. Firing and eviction of the mission church's pastor without consulting the mission congregation at all.

b. Threats of arrest of any member of the mission congregation who resisted the takeover of all mission church meetings by the sponsoring church pastor.

c. Demanded control of all checking accounts on threat of legal action against the mission congregation's treasurer.

d. Changed locks on all doors, locking the mission congregation out of their building.

e. Refusal to meet with the mission congregation to discuss these matters.

f. Confiscation of all mail and financial support sent to the mission congregation.

g. Slanderous accusations made publicly by sponsoring church pastor regarding the personal integrity of the pastor of the mission congregation.

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Most sponsoring church pastors were either not contacted or did not approve of these actions. The former pastor did not reply to an inquiry concerning this. The LBC Missions Department refused to comment or return calls or letters from the mission pastor. Co-sponsoring church pastors and congregations, individuals, and the mission congregation all appealed to the Missions Department and the Baptist Message to correct this damaging misinformation, but no correction was ever published. Later, additional misleading and damaging information was published.

Most of these actions were contrary to required LBC Mission policy. Certainly, none of these actions were aimed at helping to resolve this situation in a godly manner. The apparent public approval by the LBC Missions Department of these actions against the Bayou DuLarge Baptist Mission church effectively cut the mission congregation off from many relationships with other churches and brethren all across Louisiana.

Neither the LBC Missions Department nor the Baptist Message has ever corrected this, thus it is assumed to be true that the Department did then, and still does, approve of these actions against the Bayou DuLarge Baptist Mission Church and their pastor, Jerry Moser.

OK, so what's the beef with Dr. Larry Lewis, since he is no longer president of the HMB?

The facts are that...

1. Dr. Larry Lewis is now an employee of the North American Mission Board.

2. He is still paid through Cooperative Program funds as an employee of the SBC- NAMB.

3. He is the SBC "liaison" to Mission America, an ecumenical organization which includes radical liberal groups, some denominations which promote a sacramental system of grace, and some denominations which either tolerate and even ordain homosexuals as ministers of the Gospel.

4. Dr. Lewis has never corrected his slanderous attacks on the personal character of SBC missionary Jerry Moser, nor has he retracted harmful misinformation which he published regarding the Bayou DuLarge Bapitst Mission Church.

5. Dr. Lewis continues to give his "strong personal endorsement" to the ECT document which even he has admitted contains the promotion of "perverted doctrine" and "heresy."