Journal: Central Bible Quarterly
Volume: CENQ 08:1 (Spring 1965)
Article: The Decline Of The Baptist Bible Union 1926-1927
Author: Anonymous

CenQ 8:1 (Spring 1965) p. 30

The Decline Of The Baptist Bible Union 1926-1927

At Washington

The Washington convention of the Northern Baptist Convention opened Tuesday morning, May 25, 1926. The president that year was Edward H. Rhoades, Jr., and the convention preacher was W. H. Geistweit. The total of 3, 669 delegates registered was one of the largest ever recorded by the Northern convention. Significantly, the only larger ones were Chicago in 1927, with 3,752, and Grand Rapids in 1946, with 4, 651. The average for the first forty years was 2,280. The keynote address was by J. W. Brougher, whose subject was “Our Common Denominator.” The most significant business of that day was the rejection of a proposal to reorganize the convention. That night the Bible Union met at midnight for a strategy meeting.

The first really vital issue to appear was the matter of the Chicago Compromise, which Brougher introduced on Wednesday morning. The issue rose because of the Park Avenue church, whose delegates presented themselves at Washington (Fosdick was inEurope). Brougher presented his resolution and then spoke in its favor. He said that it was on his own initiative that he had traveled around the country the preceding year, but that others had urged him to organize the Chicago meeting; that the Chicago group

CenQ 8:1 (Spring 1965) p. 31

represented a cross-section of the denomination, and the formula they offer ought to appeal to all true Baptists. He stressed the chief advantage he saw in the resolution: that it pre served the autonomy of the local church. The resolution stated: “The Northern Baptist Convention recognizes its constituency as consisting solely of those Baptist churches in which the immersion of believers is recognized and practiced as the only Scriptural Baptism; and the Convention hereby declares that only immersed, members will be recognized as delegates to the Convention.”

W. B. Riley then countered with an amendment, proposing that everything after the words “practiced as” be omitted and that the following words be inserted: “a prerequisite to membership.” Riley then argued that the whole issue involved the question of the inspiration of the Bible and the authority of the New Testament. He further argued that immersion and regenerate membership stand or fall together, and that the Brougher resolution strikes ultimately at both. Massee then spoke in favor of the resolution, then Pierce and Straton for the amendment. Others who spoke for the resolution included H. W. Virgin, A. W. Beaven, and Corwin Shanks; others speaking for the amendment included Straton, Goodchild, and Max Schimpf.

When the vote on the amendment was taken, it stood 1,084 in favor, to 2,020 against. This was to prove the last great floor battle...