Baptist Leader Pledges to Clean House

The new president of the nation’s largest African American Baptist denomination is pledging to lead his church to higher ground after a year of scandal and the jailing of its former president.

The National Baptist Convention USA Inc. was rocked last year when the Rev. Henry Lyons was convicted of a variety of financial irregularities, including stealing money donated to rebuild burned Southern black churches.

But in a speech Thursday and an interview Friday as the National Baptists wrapped up their national convention in Los Angeles, the church’s new president, the Rev. William J. Shaw, made it clear that he intends to clean house.

“God in recent years has brought the National Baptist Convention to a disturbing mirror moment. . . . We’ve been forced to see. And what do we see when we do look in the mirror?” the Philadelphia preacher asked 25,000 delegates meeting Thursday at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Shaw described the church’s image as disfigured and said it had been rife with “sacred scandal.”

In the speech, Shaw said that when he took office, he found that the denomination had a $900,000 past due mortgage on its Nashville headquarters, $325,000 in other unpaid bills and financial obligations, five lawsuits, accounting systems without checks and balances, and church officials who treated their responsibilities as “individual fiefdoms.”

Scandals involving his predecessor resulted in a 30% to 40% drop in the number of local churches registering with the National Baptist Convention, he said.

“Without question the image of the convention was damaged,” Shaw said in the interview. “We are in the process of recovery.”

He said he is attempting to restore credibility with the National Council of Churches and the Baptist World Alliance. The council has used the National Baptist Convention as the funnel for funds donated to rebuild burned Southern black churches.

How successful Shaw will be during his five-year term remained unclear Friday in the minds of some delegates, among them the Rev. Perry J. Jones, pastor of Messiah Baptist Church in Los Angeles.

“As a sermon, [Shaw’s speech] was outstanding. But as an address, it wasn’t very clear as to direction,” said Jones, who campaigned last year for one of Shaw’s opponents. Jones said Shaw failed to cite specifics as to how he would reduce the debt on the denomination’s headquarters in Nashville or help its financially struggling American Baptist College, also in Nashville. Home and world missions were also not mentioned, Jones said.

Shaw said he would stress what he calls a “VISA” program--vision, integrity, structure and accountability.

He noted in his speech that his plans have opposition. “I know some folks are angry at me for winning [the presidency] last year in Tampa,” Shaw said. “Some would subtly seek to undermine. But the convention is not about Shaw. The convention is not about any man. The convention ought to be about the Lord Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ only! Jesus Christ always!” he said to shouted “amens.”

At the same time, Shaw matched his criticism of the church with biting commentary on issues confronting the nation in this presidential election year.

“We call on our country to handle economic resources wisely. Invest in human capital adequately and up front . . . rather than create a cruel prison industry,” he said. “Stop demonizing our teachers as an excuse to underfund our schools. . . . Stop making adequate and affordable health care a partisan issue,” he said. He also called on government agencies to halt racial profiling.

Turning to the private sector, Shaw urged companies not to “sacrifice long-term well-being of people for short-term profits and dividends.”

Shaw also said the church must insist on and promote excellence within the black community in general.

“We have to confront the danger of the dumbing down of ourselves, of our black youth who equate being black with being dumb. ‘I is’ may be black in your ears, but it is wrong when you go to the job market,” Shaw said.

But most of Shaw’s remarks were addressed to rebuilding the National Baptist Convention. By the time his term expires in five years, Shaw said, he is confident there will be greater accountability and efficiency in the denomination’s operations.

“Crucifixion and resurrection go together,” he said Friday. “Getting to the resurrection is not easy. It’s not without its pain. But it is for sure certain.”