by Sandy » Mon Oct 16, 2017 1:22 pm
There was a family in my former church in Houston who led the music for a while, her dad was a BMA pastor in East Texas, her son went to Jacksonville College for a couple of years, though I couldn't really remember which group had become involved with the SBTC. You're probably more familiar with how that relationship works within the associations and in the convention than I am. With the different missions programs requiring support, I can't imagine that its much more than a fraternal and fellowship relationship.
Austin Heights was formed to be a more progressive kind of church from the start, from what I know of it. It's one of those churches that characteristically can identify with CBF or even the AoB from the outset. The current CBF coordinator, Suzii Paynter, was pastor's wife there for a while. I know that a lot of its members come from the college community. I don't know if they're still in Shelby Doches Association or not. Since the convention split, a lot of those associations have dually affiliated, and have churches that are dually affiliated and uniquely aligned with both state conventions and I hadn't heard of any kind of effort to push churches out, though this one and FBC Lufkin are the only two in all of Deep East Texas that went with CBF. There's one in Beaumont, down closer to the coast. So three in that part of the state.
What I hear from a few seminary friends still hanging around in East Texas is that the Baptist landscape is changing, that many churches are disbanding as membership gets older, and that while Baptists are still the largest denomination in the area, the numbers are dwindling along with the Methodists, Presbyterians and others.