Baptist, Lutheran Conventions Draw Well : Vegas a Good Bet for Church Meetings

When considering whether to conduct a meeting in this gambling resort, the Southern Baptists, the Progressive National Baptists and a Lutheran regional body all heard misgivings in their ranks.

But two of those groups have now held their Las Vegas meetings, and if the experience of the South Pacific District of the American Lutheran Church, which convened in April, or the Progressive Baptists, which met this week, is any indication, more religious bodies might start conducting their sessions here.

“This is one of the largest gatherings, if not the largest, we’ve had,” said the Rev. Marshall L. Shepard Jr. of Philadelphia, president of the predominantly black Progressive Baptists, this week.

5,000 Estimated

One top executive of the church estimated that 5,000 clergy and lay people registered as delegates to the convention.

The Rev. Thomas Kilgore of Los Angeles, a former president, said his Second Baptist Church sent its full complement of 15 delegates and another 15 came on their own as visitors.

Baptist leaders said there were some churches and pastors who boycotted the meeting because of the traditional Baptist shunning of alcoholic beverages, gambling and the “loose-living” image of Las Vegas.

But Las Vegas also had plenty of appeal, particularly when it came to costs. Hotel rooms, food and transportation are relatively low-priced, especially in the summer months.

The sessions of the Lutheran meeting, which drew more than 1,000 people from the six-state district, were “well attended,” said Jim Gray, who is in charge of the district’s business affairs.

When the decision was made to meet here, primarily for economic reasons, Gray said that a couple of comments were made against nudity in some hotel shows and the alleged exploitation of women. “Their feeling was that we shouldn’t be there because it is being done,” Gray said of those who opposed going to Las Vegas.

At the same time, church leaders who have argued for consideration of the resort have noted that they, as well as other denominations, have churches in the city and have not felt that it was immoral for them to be here.

For the Southern Baptists, who will meet here in 1989, the mere size of the city’s resort industry was an additional factor in choosing Las Vegas.

Ample Facilities

The nation’s largest Protestant church body has been averaging 20,000 registrants at its biggest gatherings until this year, when an ongoing ideological battle drew more than 45,000 registrants to its Dallas convention. Las Vegas offers the Southern Baptists a large convention facility, plus ample hotel space nearby.

Those who successfully argued the case for Las Vegas among Southern Baptists said that Christians should be willing to go anywhere to witness their faith and how it guides their sense of morality.

Two Progressive Baptist ministers from Gary, Ind., said that being in “Sin City” does not mean a drastic change in behavior is bound to take place.

“I haven’t felt the urge to pull the handle of a slot machine since I’ve been here and I’ve walked past many of them,” the Rev. Charles Jones said.

“You can go astray anywhere; you don’t need to be in Las Vegas,” the Rev. Roosevelt Ward added.

Not All Think Alike

Progressive Baptist leaders also said they recognize that not all Baptists think alike, and acknowledge that some believe that drinking and gambling in moderation are not harmful.

Shepard said the denomination, founded by Martin Luther King Jr. and other noted clergy in the civil rights movement, has tended to put its priorities on social justice issues, missions and education--rather than trying to enforce strict personal codes.

Shepard said the denomination’s general secretary, the Rev. C J. Malloy Jr., jokingly remarked in his annual report that 10% of any money won by delegates should be contributed to the general secretary’s fund.

“The church ought not to avoid places that they call ‘sin cities’ but ought to be there as witnesses of the Gospel,” he said.