Mike Huckabee and the Irony of Baptist History

Now that Mike Huckabee has emerged as a leading contender for the GOP Presidential nomination, wouldn't it be ironic if his candidacy fails due to an inability to connect with young Americans and ethnic evangelicals?

Huckabee, a Baptist minister, initially agreed to speak at the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. His name was listed with Democratic former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton along with Republican Congressmen Charles Grassley and Lindsey Graham on tens of thousands of cards and posters to publicize the event. All speakers were invited to participate because they were prominent Baptist leaders. Invitations were issued on a bi-partisan basis. The meeting has been designed to bring Baptists of all ethnicities from North and South together to celebrate our common Baptist identity and to recommit ourselves to the "good news" of the gospel.

As soon as the meeting was announced, SBC leaders denounced the meeting and Huckabee made a lame excuse for withdrawing from participation in the meeting. Apparently, in their eyes, uniting ethnic Baptists with Anglo Baptists could only be viewed as an attempt to dilute the power of the SBC's aging Southern white Republican voting block.

As it has developed, the Celebration is shaping up to be combination of a Baptist revival meeting, mission conference and youth rally. By a wide margin, college age young people are showing the greatest enthusiasm for the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. There will be plenty of gray hairs (and no hairs), but it is certain there will be a lot of youthful energy along with spiritual vitality. If for no other reason, the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant is sure to be memorable for both its youth and mixed complexion.

The Celebration may offer a glimpse of our future. It is going to be younger and ethnically diverse. The sooner Baptists in both political parties realize this, the better.