WHEREAS, The United States Constitution provides that Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting free exercise thereof, and
WHEREAS, The Southern Baptist Convention in the past has consistently opposed excessive government interference with ministries of the local churches and the agencies which help and support them to promote and carry out their mission and ministry; and
WHEREAS, The United States Congress, through Section 3 (33) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and Section 414 (e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 as amended (Code), has arrogated unto itself the authority to define a church in the context of defining the term “church plan”; and
WHEREAS, ERISA and the Code distinguish between a church and an agency of a church or convention of churches, and provide that an agency cannot participate in a church plan after December 31, 1982; and
WHEREAS, Ministers and lay employees of the Southern Baptist Convention are employed interchangeably by churches and church-related agencies participating in denominational plans maintained with the Annuity Board of the Southern Baptist Convention; and
WHEREAS, The Southern Baptist Convention and the thirty-three individual state Baptist conventions affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, oversee, supervise, and contribute to the retirement annuity plans of the churches and the denomination maintained with the Annuity Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, That we the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention in annual meeting in June, 1976, at Norfolk, Virginia, urge our elected representatives in Congress to support legislation to amend Section 3 (33) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and Section 414 (e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (Code) relating to the definition of “church plan” so that church related agencies are recognized as part of a church or convention of churches and entitled to participate in a church plan.