New Baptist Covenant Midwest Region

Website Preview

2009-04-14T08:23:00.002-05:00

Our website is not quite ready for prime time, but you can find links to pre-register, make hotel reservations and learn about the study course being offered to students.

Plans for the Meeting

2009-03-12T13:53:00.002-05:00

The Midwest Regional Meeting of the New Baptist Covenant will be begin at noon on August 6th and conclude 9:30 PM on August 7th at the new Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

Testimonies will be given by Wilford Brown, former National Coordinator for Intercultural Ministries for American Baptist Churches and now the Campus Minister at Bacone College in Muskogee, OK, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry, former Oklahoma Congressman J.C. Watts, and Sarah Stewart, a recent graduate of Truett Seminary who is now a Minister in Residence at First Baptist in Oklahoma City.

Messages will be given by Wade Burleson, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist in Enid, Oklahoma and past President of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, Major Jemison, pastor of St. John’s Missionary Baptist in Oklahoma City and past President of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, and by Ellis Orozco, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church of McAllen, Texas, who has served on served on the Administrative Committee and on the board of the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Other participants include Tim Eaton, President of Hillsdale Freewill Baptist College, Javier Elizondo, Executive Vice President and Provost of the Baptist University of the Americas, and Dwight McKissic, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas and past President of the Southern Baptists of Texas Pastor’s Conference.

Workshops and breakout sessions will focus on building bridges cross-culturally to minister to the families of the imprisoned and to the impoverished.

Hotel reservations can be made at the Embassy Suites Hotel for $99 (+ taxes) nightly by calling 1-405-364-8040. Reservations for $70 (+ taxes) nightly can be made at the Guest Inn by calling 1-405-360-1234. Reservations for as low as -- $44.99 (single) and $50.38 (double)-- (+ taxes) nightly can be made at Motel Six by calling 1-701-3300. Be sure to tell them that you are with the New Baptist Covenant Convention when you make your reservations.

PRESS RELEASE

2008-10-07T15:56:00.002-05:00

Announcing the New Baptist Covenant Midwest Regional Meeting
At the Norman Convention Center on August 6-7, 2009

In January 2008 more than 15,000 Baptists from across the United States, Canada and Mexico met for the first ever meeting to celebrate a New Baptist Covenant. The covenant represented the commitment of more than 20 million Baptists in North America to fulfill our “obligations as Christians to promote peace with justice, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless, to care for the sick and the marginalized, welcome the strangers among us, and promote religious liberty and respect for religious diversity.” The covenant also reaffirmed our “commitment to traditional Baptist values, including sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and its implications for public and private morality.”

The leaders of the New Baptist Covenant, representing more than 80 Baptist Conventions, fellowships and organizations in North America, agreed to meet collectively every three years to renew this commitment. Between these triennial meetings, the leaders of the New Baptist Covenant called for regional meetings that would gather to unite Baptists from our various Conventions, fellowships and organizations to celebrate, exhort, network and encourage one another in fulfilling the obligations of our new Baptist Covenant.

The Steering Committee for the New Baptist Covenant Midwest Region is pleased to announce that the New Convention Center in Norman, Oklahoma has been selected for the first ever meeting of the Midwest Region of the New Baptist Covenant. The meeting will be held on August 6-7, 2009. Former President Jimmy Carter has agreed to speak at our meeting. We will be celebrating the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Baptist denomination.

The Steering Committee will release further information as preparations for this historic meeting advance.

Dr. Bruce Prescott
Executive Director, Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists
Chair, Steering Committee for the New Baptist Covenant Regional Meeting

Contact Information: Office: United Ministry Center at 1017 Elm Ave. Norman, OK 73072
Phone: 405-329-2266 E-mail: bprescott (at) mainstreambaptists.org

Steering Committee for the New Baptist Covenant Midwest Regional Meeting

Jimmy Allen, Past President of the Southern Baptist Convention, Coordinator for the National New Baptist Covenant Meeting
Hal Bass, Dean of the School of Social Sciences at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas
Michael Bell, Pastor, Greater St. Stephen First Church in Fort Worth, TX
Will Brown, Campus Minister and Special Assistant to the President at Bacone College in Muskogee, OK
Ray Captville, General Bishop of the Western Division of United Free Will Baptists
David Currie, Executive Director, Texas Baptists Committed
Darryl DeBorde, Pastor, Braden Park Baptist Church in Tulsa, OK
Timothy Eaton, President, Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College in Norman, OK
Debbie Ferrier, Laywoman, Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston, TX
Karen Grubb Gilbert, Missional Church Specialist, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
Clyde Glazener, Pastor, Gambrell Street Baptist Church in Fort Worth, TX
Major Jemison, Pastor, St. John's Missionary Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, OK
Todd Littleton, Pastor, Snow Hill Baptist Church in Tuttle, OK
Rene Maciel, President, Baptist University of the Americas In San Antonio, TX
George Mason, Pastor, Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, TX
Rick McClatchy, Coordinator, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Texas
John Ogletree, Pastor, First Metropolitan Church in Houston, TX
Bruce Prescott, Executive Director, Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists
Mitch Randall, Pastor, NorthHaven Church in Norman, OK
John Reed, Pastor, Fairview Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, President of the Oklahoma National Baptist State Convention
Wade Smith, Pastor, First Baptist Church in Norman, OK
Alan Stanford, General Secretary, North American Baptist Fellowship of the Baptist World Alliance
Bob Stephenson, Layman, NorthHaven Church in Norman, OK
William Tillman, Professor of Christian Ethics at Logsdon School of Theology in Abilene, TX
Charles Thomas, Coordinator, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Oklahoma
George Young, Pastor, Holy Temple Baptist Church in Oklahoma City (Progressive National Baptist Convention)
Thelma Chambers Young, Past Vice President of North American Baptist Women
Charles Wade, Retired Executive Director, Baptist General Convention of Texas
Chester A. West, Emmanuel Baptist Church in Oklahoma City (National Missionary Baptist Convention)
John Williams, Executive Minister of American Baptist Churches Central Region
Aidsand Wright-Riggins, Executive Director of National Ministries, ABCUSA

NBC Midwest Regional Meeting Planned

2008-06-05T15:15:00.003-05:00

A midwest regional meeting for the New Baptist Covenant to be held in Norman, Oklahoma is being planned for August 6-7, 2009.

Former President Jimmy Carter has agreed to participate.

We will post further developments about this event on this weblog as information becomes available.

Canadian Broadcasting on the New Baptist Covenant

2008-03-07T10:20:00.000-06:00

Click here for a podcast of Dr. Bruce Prescott being interviewed by Rick MacInnes Rae of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for his 2-11-08 Dispatches radio program (5 MB MP3). Prescott talks with Rae about the significance of the 2008 Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant.

Ruffin Longs for Home, Finds it at New Baptist Covenant

2008-02-08T15:58:00.000-06:00

Mike Riffin, of the On the Jericho Road weblog, has posted an esaay about his experiences at the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant under the title "The Longing for Home." Here's a quote:

It's a huge task that we have taken upon ourselves. But I hope that, to use Jimmy Allen's words, it becomes a "movement" rather than a moment. I need a home that builds upon the positive aspects of Baptist history and moves beyond the negative aspects. I need a home that transcends petty differences and debates over theological minutiae. I need a home where Jesus is Lord, where freedom is cherished, where people are accepted, and where the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ is the paramount concern.

Analysis of the Celebration

2008-02-06T19:25:00.001-06:00

A new website called "Religion Dispatches" came online yesterday. It will attempt to provide some critical analysis of religion, politics and the common good.

I posted my review and an analysis of the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant on their "RDBlog" under the title "Painting Elephants." Here's a quote:

Baptists in America may never be the same. For one shining moment in Atlanta, at a three-day gathering termed a “celebration”, Baptists were called to repent of their long history of racism and sexism and affirm a New Baptist Covenant. Never before in the 400-year history of the Baptist denomination have black Baptists and white Baptists met with equal participation on the platform and equal numbers in the audience; never before in history have Baptists – black and white, male and female – met with more than token representation of prophetic women speaking from the pulpit; never before in history have moderate and progressive Baptists from North and South and Canada and Mexico met together to network and organize for Christian social action. If this moment becomes a movement, as its organizers hope and intend, then by re-orienting the Baptist denomination it may also help to change the political priorities of the nation.

Dr. Walter Shurden's Speech at the Celebration

2008-02-04T07:38:00.000-06:00

The coverage of the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant by Associated Baptist Press, Ethics Daily, by Bloggers like Melissa Rogers, Ben Cole, Brian Kaylor, Aaron Weaver, The Bold Confessor and others. Videos of the sermons and speeches are being posted online at the New Baptist Covenant website.

I have no desire to duplicate their fine efforts. Here's something unique to Mainstream Baptists. Dr. Walter Shurden, premier historian among moderate Baptists, gave a speech at the Mainstream Baptist Network breakfast this morning on the historical significance of the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. Here's a link to a podcast of his speech (31 MB MP3). Here's one of the many significant statements that he made:

"The Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant is not an effort to form something together, it is an effort to say something together -- about what we ought to be doing together."

What we ought to be doing together is taking seriously what Jesus took seriously -- promoting peace with justice, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, caring for the sick and marginalized, visiting the imprisoned and welcoming strangers.

Headlines for New Baptist Covenant

2008-01-27T08:29:00.000-06:00

The religion sections of newspapers around the country are publishing stories about the coming Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. Here are some links:

Atlanta Journal Constitution

Augusta Chronicle

Columbus Ledger Inquirer

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

News & Observer

New York Times

Washington Post

Winston-Salem Journal

Black and Christian Notes Celebration

2008-01-26T09:38:00.000-06:00

The Black and Christian website, a popular internet site for African-Americans, has noted the involvement of Black Christians in the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. Here's a quote from their news release:

Presidents and delegates from the National Baptist Convention, USA; National Baptist Convention of America, National Missionary Baptist Convention and the Progressive National Baptist Convention signed on to participate not only in a joint session among themselves but also to lend support to the New Baptist Covenant Movement.

Gushee's Journey

2008-01-25T09:50:00.000-06:00

David Gushee, Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University, has written an outstanding essay about his journey to the New Baptist Covenant. Here's an excerpt:

Never in all my years at Providence can I remember the first word being said about politics. Never was there an expectation or even the slightest hint that a good Christian or good Baptist would vote this way or that. We just "did church." I'm sure there were both Democrats and Republicans in that congregation, but it didn't matter.

I am firmly convinced that throughout the Baptist world -- black, white, Asian, Hispanic, African and so on, in all of our dozens of denominations -- one can still find thousands upon thousands of individuals and churches that feel something like Providence Baptist Church did in those days when I needed it so badly. Such churches are centered on Jesus Christ. They preach the authoritative and inspired Bible as refracted through the tender lens of Jesus Christ. They are morally serious. They focus on obeying the Great Commission through evangelism, discipleship and missions. They build meaningful experiences of Christian community, they know what they believe but are not overly focused on doctrinal purity. They respect the freedom of fellow believers to express their faith in differing ways. And above all they love people. They are open, trusting, welcoming, kind and warm-hearted. They look you in the eye. They hate fighting. They are known for what they are for, not what they are against.

I know that I am at home spiritually whenever I find Christians who exude this spirit. I have met them all over the world.

I know there are many churches and individuals still affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention that are right there. I know there are many affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship that are right there. The same can be said of churches in the dozens of other Baptist denominations. One of the great tragedies of our divided people is that our divisions of race, class, secular politics and denominational controversy have been so profound as to prevent us from knowing one another well enough to find this out, to meet the saints on the other side of the barbed wire.

Mark Johnson's Hopes for the New Baptist Covenant

2008-01-24T10:24:00.000-06:00

Ethics Daily has posted an essay by Mark Johnson, pastor at Central Baptist Church in Lexington, KY, about his hopes for the New Baptist Covenant. He's praying for a movement that will respect difference, transcend politics, and discover a new spirituality. Here's a quote:

As I mentioned in an earlier column, this meeting cannot avoid politics, but I hope it will articulate a perspective that cannot easily be captivated or identified with either the Republicans or Democrats. May the collective voice of this meeting call both parties to a greater expression of an ethical standard that reflects the deeper and more persistent themes of the very Biblical traditional we honor: concern for the needy, the stranger and the marginalized are exactly these sorts of priorities.

Praying that Clinton Will Stay on Message

2008-01-22T12:37:00.000-06:00

The Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant is a week away and, for the first time, I am starting to have an uneasy feeling about what Bill Clinton will say at the meeting.

I attended the press conference last April when Carter and Clinton announced the Celebration to the public. At that meeting, I heard Clinton openly speak about his faith and left convinced that his profession of faith in Christ is genuine, that his grasp of Baptist pinciples is profound, and that his commitment to separation of church and state is sincere. If Clinton speaks at the Celebration the way that he spoke during that press conference, then my uneasiness about the speech he will give at the Celebration will prove unfounded.

Last April, however, no one suspected that an African-American would be the chief rival standing between Bill Clinton's wife and the presidency. Then, no one suspected that the African-American community would be severly divided about who they would support for president. T. DeWitt Smith, President of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, joked at the press conference that his son was impressed that his father would be meeting "the first African-American President." The possibility that Clinton would be tempted to veer away from a message about faith to make a statement in support of Hillary's candidacy seemed remote.

Now we know that the stakes for the February 5th Democratic primaries are enormous. Now we know that Bill's role in Hillary's campaign has been to "lash out" against Obama and that his message is targeted towards African-Americans and young people.

There are going to be a lot of African-Americans and young people at the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. The temptation for Bill to deliver a political message, instead of a spiritual message, will be great.

It may be too great a temptation.

I pray that it isn't.

Carter at Center of the Stage in Celebration

2008-01-21T12:44:00.000-06:00

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has published a story about the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant under the title, "Carter Center Stage of Baptist Gathering." Here's a quote:

William Leonard, a Baptist scholar from Wake Forest University, said, "This meeting is historic if for no other reason, it has the potential to be the largest African-American, Anglo and Latino gathering of Baptists ever in this country. That alone makes it historic, and one of the few people who could have gotten black and white Baptists together at the table is Jimmy Carter because of the credibility he has as a world leader and a Sunday school-teaching Baptist."

Carter said Sunday that he hopes the meeting will show the world that Christians with theological differences can get beyond them and minister together, including working on broader social causes like justice, HIV/AIDS, sexual trafficking and feeding the hungry.

Charles Johnson Sees New Baptist Covenant Addressing Race Issue

2008-01-16T11:39:00.001-06:00

Ethics Daily has posted an essay by Charles Johnson, Visiting Instructor of Preaching at McAfee School of Theology, that envisions the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant as marking a new day in reconciling racial divisions among Baptists. Here's a quote:

Much is at stake at this gathering. Never before has such a constellation of Baptist bodies from across our spectrum of diversity come together at the same time in the same place to prayerfully deliberate our common future and mission. Only an individual with the moral stature of former President Jimmy Carter could convene such a diverse group.

If Euro-American Baptist pastors of the South are fearful of being accused of political partisanship because Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Al Gore, all Baptist Democrats, are on the program, then we need to hear again that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love.

Campbell Student Blogs About Being Baptist

2008-01-12T08:58:00.000-06:00

Tim Ratzlaff, a student at Campbell University Divinity School, says he plans to attend the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant in a blog about how he became a Baptist. Here's a quote:

When my father left the military and moved our family to North Carolina, we moved into main street, small town, NC. Quite the change from our life in New Mexico. I guess my father felt the Episcopal Church was a bit too upper class for us, and the Assemblies of God Church didn’t fit us; so we settled on the Baptist Church.

The line about being from New Mexico caught my eye. So am I.

Baptist Young Professionals and the New Baptist Covenant

2008-01-09T22:01:00.000-06:00

Baptist Young Professionals has planned a Networking Event and Ice Cream Social at the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant from 10:00-Midnight on Wednesday Jan. 30th.

Here's a link with some details.

Mike Huckabee and the Irony of Baptist History

2008-01-04T10:28:00.000-06:00

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.

It's a New Year in Baptist Life

2008-01-03T08:03:00.000-06:00

Joel McClendon rings in the New Year at The Fellowship Portal with a discussion of the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. He gives special attention to events for young leaders. Here's a quote:

For those of us on the younger side….Current is having their retreat right before the NBC meeting. Jan 29-30 at First Baptist Decatur, GA (just outside Atlanta). The Current network is a great way to get to connected to other young CBFers, and the retreat is a great time to get involved.

Alan Bean on the New Baptist Covenant

2007-12-29T08:14:00.000-06:00

Alan Bean at the Friends of Justice weblog provides this description of the New Baptist Covenant group:

For the past several decades, a loose coalition of moderate (that is, not fundamentalist) Baptist leaders have been inching toward a new kind of organized Baptist identity. They aren’t trying to create a new denomination, exactly; just a safe place for moderate-to-liberal Baptists who are weary of fighting the culture war.

Shurden Discusses Hopes for Future

2007-12-26T11:44:00.000-06:00

Retiring Walter Shurden discusses his hopes for the Baptist future in the October issue of the Baptist Studies Bulletin. Here's a quote:

I hope for the spirit, not necessarily the structures, of ecumenism to prevail among Baptists. I hope that Baptist groups, where it is possible, will draw closer to each other, and I think that the best hope for that unity can be found in the Baptist World Alliance, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, and the New Baptist Covenant Celebration. I also fervently hope that Baptists will draw much closer to our sisters and brothers in other Christian denominations. I have come to believe that so much that divides us, including baptism by immersion, is sheer shortsightedness, if not downright sinfulness.

In addition to an ecumenical spirit, I hope for Baptists an intense commitment to Baptist voluntarism and all that Baptist voluntarism entails: an experiential faith that sets the individual soul afire, a regenerate church pulsating with life and love and vitality, a conversion baptism that is hard, not easy, to walk away from, freedom of conscience for ALL people who heroically defy state and church intrusion, and an utter disdain for a theocracy that favors one religious group over another.

Novelist John Grisham to Speak at Covenant Celebration

2007-12-21T10:04:00.000-06:00

Associated Baptist Press is reporting that best-selling novelist John Grisham has been scheduled to speak at the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant in Atlanta. Here's a quote:

The 53-year-old Grisham, a lifelong Baptist, has taught Sunday school to young couples and 4-year-olds and regularly goes with fellow church members on mission-service trips.

In announcing the addition of Grisham to the Covenant lineup Dec. 20, program co-chair Jimmy Allen described the author as "a Baptist churchman, not only in regular worship but also in active service. The subthemes of his fiction reveal his understanding of the plight of the poor, his commitment to seek justice in our criminal system, his concerns for environment, and his descriptions of the challenge to reach across the racial lines that divide us."

Tall Skinny Kiwi asks if he should come to the Celebration

2007-12-19T13:52:00.000-06:00

Andrew Jones, who writes an internationally popular weblog entitled Tall Skinny Kiwi, asks if he should cross the pond to attend the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant.

I encourage Andrew to come.

Jimmy Carter on the New Baptist Covenant Celebration

2007-12-18T13:58:00.000-06:00

The Dallas Morning News has posted a message from Jimmy Carter about the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. Here's a quote:

For the first time in more than 160 years, we will have a major convocation of Baptists in America with neither our unity nor freedom threatened by differences of race, politics, geography, or legalistic interpretations of the scriptures. On Jan. 30, 2008, as many as 20,000 Baptists are expected to gather in Atlanta for a three-day meeting. These Baptists will look for common ground under the theme “Unity in Christ” as they celebrate a New Baptist Covenant. One of the basic premises will be that the doors will be open to all Baptists who choose to share this long-awaited experience.

Baptists Today to Field Bloggers at Celebration

2007-12-17T14:38:00.000-06:00

John Pierce, editor of Baptists Today, has posted a story about "Blogging at the New Baptist Covenant Celebration" that reveals the magazines' plans to field a team of bloggers to "live blog" from the Celebration. Here's a quote:

Baptists Today looks forward to being present and to providing timely reports. We have a team of four bloggers lined up to give continually updated information at www.baptiststoday.org.

Online editor Bruce Gourley and guest blogger Aaron "Big Daddy" Weaver will do live blogging as events unfurl. Think of them as doing "play-by-play" reporting of the action. Contributing editor Tony Cartledge and I will do the "color commentary," seeking to give interpretation and analysis of the various addresses.

This all-star team of bloggers should make it easy for people who cannot physically attend the Celebration keep up with the event in real-time.

Mike Ruffin on the New Baptist Covenant

2007-12-10T09:04:00.000-06:00

Mike Ruffin, pastor of The Hill Baptist Church in Augusta, has written an essay asserting that the "New Baptist Covenant Celebration Must Avoid the Appearance of Partisanship." He provides good reasons for why event organizers should issue another call for Mike Huckabee to participate in the event:

One of my hopes for this event from the beginning has been that it will show it is possible for a group of Christians--Baptists in this case--to come together with a willingness to hear from all perspectives and to do so politely and even gladly. With his withdrawal, Huckabee lessened the chances of our showing the world that.

Think of the press coverage that would have been given to an event in which Bill Clinton and Mike Huckabee both spoke, and both were received warmly. I really wish that he would reconsider.

Why Frank Lewis is Excited About the New Baptist Covenant

2007-12-07T14:44:00.000-06:00

The November issue of the Baptist Studies Bulletin has published an essay by Frank Lewis, pastor of First Baptist Church of Indianapolis, expressing his excited about the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. Here's a quote:

I am excited about participating in a Baptist event that is cooperative, uniting and engaging. Those are not descriptive words for many of the kinds of Baptist events I have been a part of. I look forward to being part of a new kind of Baptist witness. I look forward to celebrating the ties that bind us. I look forward to the diversity of Baptist denominational groups who will be present. Perhaps we as Baptists are entering a new day.

Parham Calls for a Huckabee Recall

2007-12-05T10:38:00.000-06:00

Robert Parham, Executive Director of the Baptist Center for Ethics, has called upon organizers of the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant to extend another call for Mike Huckabee to participate in the Celebration. Huckabee initially agreed to participate but withdrew under pressure from Southern Baptist leaders.

Here's a quote from Parham reconsidering his criticism of Huckabee when he withdrew from the event:

In the wisdom of hindsight, I should have challenged Huckabee to consider the benefits from being on a high-profile program only a few days before the Georgia presidential primary. I should have urged him to be a Daniel in the midst of lions, or a lion in the midst of Daniels. I should have said that the NBC leaders ought immediately to ask him to reconsider his withdrawal.

I agree with Parham. Invite him to participate again. Let's see if he still wants to snub the 20 million Baptists who aren't part of the SBC.

New Baptist Covenant Breakouts to Focus on Unity

2007-12-04T08:25:00.000-06:00

ABP has published information about the breakout sessions at the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. Each breakout will touch on the Celebration's theme of "Unity in Christ." Here's a quote:

While known for their historic independence and stubbornness, Baptists from more than 40 American and Canadian denominations and groups will converge under a banner of unity next month in Atlanta.

Bill Underwood Interview

2007-12-03T08:13:00.000-06:00

Dr. Bruce Prescott's 12-2-07 "Religious Talk" radio interview (27MB MP3) with Bill Underwood, President of Mercer University. We talk about Mercer University, McAfee School of Theology, the Center for Baptist Studies, and the Celebration for a New Baptist Covenant.

Kansas Pastor Excited About New Baptist Covenant

2007-11-30T10:44:00.000-06:00

Joe Kutter, pastor at First Baptist Church of Topeka, has an essay about his hopes for the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant in the October issue of Mercer University's Baptist Studies Bulletin. Here's a quote:

I believe that this historic gathering will set the record straight for millions of misinformed Americans. Baptists have not all handcuffed themselves to a particular wing of a particular wing. Baptists have not sold out the intellect for a peculiar form of revelation. Baptists have not walked away from God-given responsibilities for the world that have been entrusted into our keeping. When the Psalmist declares that "the earth is the Lord's," we know that we have been granted the majestic privilege and responsibility for the care of the Lord's earth. We have not closed our ears to the ancient prophetic mandate, "Let justice roll down like the waters," and the ancient God-driven vision of shalom has not been blocked from our sight.

It's going to be a party! We will celebrate the magnificent heritage that has been entrusted into our keeping and I am excited.

Toward a New Unified Mission

2007-11-29T10:36:00.000-06:00

Mitch Randall, pastor of NorthHaven Church in Norman, has written a blog about the possibility that the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant might help to unify the mission of Baptists in America. Here's a quote:

We Baptists must face facts; Baptist life has shifted immensely in the last fifty years. From the deep divisions within Baptist denominations to the apathy that exists among a younger generation, Baptists find themselves at a crossroads into their future. The decisions our conventions, institutions, and agencies make now will have a lasting effect for may generations to come. Thus, in a reality where everyone seems to be downsizing, it is time for this generation to cast a vision so large that it will take Baptists to a place they have not seen in recent memory…a unified mission.

Mitch goes on to discuss four suggestions for how that mission could be unified. Here's a link to where you can read his suggestions and make comments about them.

Broome on the New Baptist Covenant

2007-11-26T10:49:00.000-06:00

Frank Broome, Coordinator for CBF of Georgia, has an essay in the September issue of the Baptist Studies Bulletin about his excitement over the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. Here's a quote:

I can hear our critics already. Some will say it is a political meeting because the likes of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Al Gore will be there. To that I will say so will Senator Lindsey Graham and Senator Charles Grassley. Other speakers include Marian Wright Edleman, Bill Moyers, Joel Gregory, Julie Pennington-Russell, Charles Adams, Tony Campolo, and William Shaw. What these individuals have in common is not a political agenda. They do not agree with each other on a variety of issues. They are, however, Christians who have identified with the Baptist family. Each of them has something to say, and we should listen.

New Baptist Covenant Seen as a New Chapter in Baptist History

2007-11-21T09:17:00.000-06:00

Ken Williams, a student minister in Dripping Springs, Texas looks forward to the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant as a new chapter in Baptist history. He and a lot of other young Baptist ministers are eager to turn the page on the chapter covering the last thirty years of Baptist history. Here's a quote from an Op-Ed published in the Baptist Standard:

I see it all around me: I see it in the seminaries, I see it on the blogs, I see it in college groups and in the Emerging Church that is sweeping the nation. We are young, we are passionate about our values and we are mobilizing all across the country because we are unsatisfied, and we will no longer be silenced by the tyranny of a few powerful men. We are looking toward the future, and we are desperate for something new.

As a result, several thousand young Baptist leaders like me are headed to Atlanta on January 30 to participate in the New Baptist Covenant. We are going because we believe the next chapter in Baptist history is going to start sounding more like the first. We are going because we believe Baptists of tomorrow must adopt an entire new set of values—values big enough to include renewed sense of social justice and racial reconciliation. We do not expect to change 30 years of corruption in three days; we only hope to take the first step on the journey we have been called to travel.

Henson and Hunt on the New Baptist Covenant

2007-11-20T10:31:00.000-06:00

John Henson at the Wondering Thoughts weblog has posted a podcast of a conversation he had with Greg Hunt about the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant.

Here's a link to the podcast.

Kaylor on Celebration Special Sessions

2007-11-19T15:26:00.000-06:00

Brian Kaylor has posted a blog with information about the special sessions at the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. Here are some of the topics that will be discussed:

youth, poverty, criminal justice system, evangelism, religious liberty, racism, peacemaking, disaster relief, and interfaith dialogue. Each topic will have several key individuals to guide the discussions.

Gushee on Racial Reconciliation and the New Baptist Covenant

2007-11-16T13:08:00.000-06:00

David Gushee, professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University, has written in Christianity Today about the unexpected demands racial reconciliation is placing on him as he participates in the planning for the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. Here's a quote:

What if it turns out that the greatest source of renewal for Christianity in America is to be found in churches led by those once called "racial and ethnic minorities"? What if the day is coming, or is already here, when white Christians will have to undertake yet one more release—the release of our sense that we are the ones who know best how to do church? What if we find ourselves crossing those invisible but real racial boundary lines on a pilgrimage to discover where true Christian vitality is to be found?

Hat Tip to Big Daddy Weave for calling attention to Gushee's essay.

Gil and Gay and the New Baptist Covenant

2007-11-15T15:03:00.000-06:00

Months ago Gil Gulich wrote a blog about how he and his wife, Gay, hoped he could "put the funding together to attend the meeting in January 2008." The meeting he hopes to attend is the New Baptist Covenant Celebration.

Since Gil wrote his blog, I know that the organizers of the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant in Atlanta have put together some scholarship money for students like Gil to attend the meeting.

Gil's got a gadget on his weblog that says (today 11-15-07) he is 185 days away from graduating from Wake Forest University. I hope he gets a scholarship to attend the New Baptist Covenant meeting and will put a gadget up to tell us how many days he's away from our Celebration.

Words Aren't Enough. We Need Some Action!

2007-11-07T13:32:00.000-06:00

Will Prescott, writing at the Future Bard weblog, doesn't feel much like celebrating in the current social and political climate of America.

He offers some pointed remarks toward Baptists who might have nothing but lip service to offer about loving one another.

Here's a quote:

We're finally organizing. We're finally willing to do something and counteract a conservative movement that's besmirched our savior's name, bankrupted our country, and led us into an unneccessary war. While all this goes on, we pat ourselves on the back that we can sit in the same room and get along.

The world doesn't need another Baptist potluck. It needs old-school Baptists who understand the separation of church and state and know how to engage with their society prophetically.

I wish everyone attending the event well. But, don't bother me until we're willing move beyond nice words and act.

Why Be Baptist?

2007-11-06T10:14:00.000-06:00

Mitch Randall, pastor of NorthHaven Church in Norman, OK, was taken by surprise when his ten year old son asked him, "Why are we Baptists?" He recorded his answer to his son in a blog today that mentioned the importance of the forthcoming Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. Here's a quote:

I told him about the significance of freedom within our cherished history, spilling out stories of Baptists who had been imprisoned and tortured for their desire for freedom. John Smyth’s banishment from England and Thomas Helwys’ imprisonment were particularly fascinating to him. Then, jumping the pond I told him of Obadiah Holmes’ imprisonment and whipping at the hands of fellow Christians here in America. Holmes was whipped because he dared practice his religious freedom to preach on the subject of believer’s baptism. It was Baptists, I continued, that influenced and fought for the inclusion of the First Amendment, so that the government could not tell people how they should practice or not practice religion.

Because of this freedom, I began to brag, Baptists have been able to do amazing things throughout the world. Baptists have built schools in remote regions of the globe, dug wells for clean water in undeveloped villages, and worked in rural and urban areas of our country where poverty is on the rise. In fact, I told him, Baptists from around North America are once again gathering in January 2008 to discuss and strategize on these very issues. The New Baptist Covenant will meet in Atlanta, GA to celebrate our Baptist freedoms and search for ways that we can continue to help the world by demonstrating the love of Jesus. With my chest now swelling a bit, I quickly added his mother and I would be joining these other Baptists, in addition with other members from our church.

Videos on the Nazareth Manifesto

2007-11-05T13:28:00.000-06:00

Ethics Daily has posted several brief videos about the "Nazareth Manifesto."

The Nazareth Manifesto is found in Luke 4:18-19. It is the textual theme for the New Baptist Covenant Celebration that will be held in Atlanta Jan. 30-Feb. 1.

Regarding Bill Moyers

2007-11-01T11:04:00.000-05:00

Critics of the list of speakers being featured at the New Baptist Covenant are often dismissive of Bill Moyers. In the minds of the many conservatives, Bill Moyers is the embodiment of the much maligned liberal media that supposedly dominates the field of American journalism.

I agree that Bill Moyers is the dominating figure in the field of American journalism and there is no doubt that his opinions trend toward the liberal end of the political spectrum.

There was a time when his opinions were much more liberal than my own, but even then I recognized that he practiced his profession with integrity. He's been the journalist from whom I have learned the most and have trusted most since the 1970's.

There is a world of difference between the conscientious probing and examination of issues that Moyers practices and the deceptively labeled "fair and balanced" propaganda that dominates the media today. The journalism that so enamores modern conservatives was propagated under a different name by Edward Bernays who said:

The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. . . .

The invisible government tends to be concentrated in the hands of the few because of the expense of manipulating the social machinery which controls the opinions and habits of the masses.

Examining American Justice

2007-09-28T08:32:00.000-05:00

Aidsand Wright-Riggins, Executive Director of National Ministries of the American Baptist Churches, has issued a challenge for New Covenant Baptists to examine the statistics on the ethnicity of the people incarcerated in American prisons in light of the Nazareth Manifesto (Luke 4:18-19). Here's a quote from his appeal:

I realized that I personally know more young African-American men who have been imprisoned than those who are members of college fraternities. An entire lucrative industry has grown up around the incarceration of African American men.

Some two million United States citizens are now in federal and state prisons, and the vast majority of these prisoners are nonwhite. Mother Jones' exhaustive analysis of U.S. incarceration rates shows a locked-down nation--with African-Americans, who make up only 13 percent of the general population, comprising an extremely disproportionate number of prisoners.

Texas Baptists and the New Baptist Covenant

2007-09-21T07:54:00.000-05:00

Aaron Weaver, AKA "Big Daddy Weave," has posted an interesting and informative blog about the role that Texas Baptists are playing in the NBC. Here's a quote:

The Texas Christian Life Commission through the Texas Baptist Young Professional Network will be leading a diverse delegation of young Texas Baptists to Atlanta for the January Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant.

A Foretaste of Things to Come

2007-09-18T08:26:00.000-05:00

Dr. Mike Ruffin of the On the Jericho Road weblog has written about his experiences going to Baptist meetings. He describes the 2007 convocation in Washington, D.C. where Cooperative Baptists and American Baptists met together. He surmizes that the New Baptist Covenant celebration will be as meaningful:

But that joint CBF/ABCUSA service was, I hope and believe, only a foretaste of what we will experience January 30-February 1 in Atlanta when we gather for the Celebration of the New Baptist Covenant. There, we expect over 20,000 Baptists representing many different Baptist groups from across North America to come together to worship, to learn, and to fellowship. I anticipate that we will all make many new friends, that we will be inspired to make great strides in taking the gospel to our neighborhoods, that we will be more convinced than ever of the ongoing validity and necessity of Baptist principles, and that we will go away talking about getting back together as soon as possible.

Grassley Says "Christian" Label Hurts GOP

2007-09-13T08:18:00.000-05:00

Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, a Baptist who will be participating in the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, said he prefers to identify the GOP as the "big tent" party rather than trying to position it as "the Christian" party. He thinks the specifically religious identification has restricted the party's appeal to secularists.

Here's a quote from Ethics Daily:

"I believe that a person can vote for whatever reason he wants to, and I think that on certain issues, it's better to vote the Republican Party," he said. "But I believe that you can make those arguments without using the religious point of view."

For example, he said, a completely "secularist" argument can be made against abortion on constitutional grounds--that due-process and equal-protection-under-the-law guarantees in the 14th Amendment apply to life in the womb.

Jimmy Carter Still Promoting Peace

2007-09-11T08:45:00.001-05:00

Appearing at a film festival where a biopic of the "Man from Plains" was being premiered, former President Jimmy Carter offered a stinging criticism of current U.S. foreign policy. Here's a quote:

"I worship Christ who was the prince of peace, not pre-emptive war."

"A superpower like the United States should use all of its resources ... to promote peace," he said.

On the Role of Faith in Politics

2007-09-07T11:39:00.000-05:00

Above Tim Alexander and William Buchanan, Nashville area pastors, discuss "The Rightful Role of Faith in Politics" in an excerpt from the Baptist Center for Ethics new DVD on "Golden Rule Politics." Here's a quote from Robert Parham, Executive Director of BCE,:

Through Christian representatives from a number of Christian faith traditions, "Golden Rule Politics" explores what is the rightful role of faith in politics. Democratic politicians share their Christian witness, without ever making an exclusive claim to the politics of providence. Clergy caution that political parties are neither thoroughly moral nor completely immoral, that God is neither a Republican nor a Democrat, that sin is a universal reality and that God transcends human finitude.

"Golden Rule Politics" challenges a myth, offers a corrective story and outlines three answers to the question--what is the rightful role of faith in politics?

Aidsand Wright-Riggins on the New Baptist Covenant

2007-08-29T11:38:00.000-05:00

Ethics Daily has produced a short video of Aidsand Wright-Riggins, Executive Director of National Ministries of the American Baptist Churches, speaking about the New Baptist Covenant. Here's a link:

Bill Wilson on the New Baptist Covenant

2007-08-28T12:55:00.000-05:00

Ethics Daily Videos has produced a short video of Bill Wilson, co-chair of the Mainstream Baptist Network, talking about the New Baptist Covenant. Here's a link:

On Some Messy Particularities of the Gospel

2007-08-23T07:59:00.000-05:00

Ethics Daily has posted an excerpt from Todd Lake's commentary on Luke 4 for New Baptist Covenant participants. Lake is Vice President for Spiritual Development at Belmont University. Here's a quote:

Most of us want to please people, not anger them. Consequently, we stop with good words about God's love and justice, without descending into the messy particularities of how that looks.

For example, if I love my Mexican neighbors as myself, how can I blithely benefit from their low-wage work without raising a finger to help them by striving for economic justice?

If God loves Iraqis and Palestinians as much as Americans and Israelis, how can I stomach a Holy Land tour--let alone American foreign policy--that neglects issues of justice for Palestinians?

How can I say God loves everyone and acquiesce in a ginned up "holy war" that pits the "Christian" West against the "Muslim terrorist" Middle East?

One can prattle all day in American pulpits about love for others, but what would happen if one dared advocate closing Guantanamo? Or ending support for "the war on drugs" as an excuse to support the murderous Columbian government and their death squads? Or scrapping all U.S. nuclear weapons because they are inherently immoral to use--even on North Koreans or Iranians?

If one names names, then one is viewed as politicizing the gospel. But this is not politicization. It is application of the truth of God's universal love to our own particular historical circumstance.

On Religion that Does Not Pander to Power

2007-08-22T08:13:00.000-05:00

Ethics Daily has posted an excerpt from a commentary by Marty Bell on Luke 4 for New Baptist Covenant participants. Bell is Professor of Religion at Belmont University. Here's a quote:

Jesus, in referencing stories involving the ministries of Elijah and Elisha to those marginalized and excluded from Israel's tradition, advocated that authentic religion does not pander to privilege. Rather, it supports the marginalized and despised.

Texas Baptists and the New Baptist Covenant

2007-08-21T08:29:00.001-05:00

Aaron Weaver, AKA Big Daddy Weave, has posted an astute analysis of the challenges that Texas Baptists face as they partner with the New Baptist Covenant. Here's a quote:

For now, I'm content with being a Texas Baptist - a Texas Baptist who is ecastic to covenant together with thousands of Texas Baptists and millions of Baptists in North America to:

Create an authentic and prophetic Baptist voice for these complex times,

Emphasize traditional Baptist values, including sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and its implications for public and private morality, and

Promote peace with justice, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, care for the sick and marginalized, welcome the strangers among us, and

Promote religious liberty and respect for religious diversity.

Will you join me?

On Spiritual Dissonance

2007-08-20T08:18:00.000-05:00

Ethics Daily has posted an excerpt and a brief video of Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder's Bible study on Luke 4 for the New Baptist Covenant group. Crowder is Professor of New Testament at Belmont College. Here's a quote:

Our expectations and desires often prevent us from truly hearing and receiving the message of Jesus. Because we have prescriptions for how God should act and in what time, we struggle to hear God. Because we place our orders and expect God to fill and fulfill them in our way, we too are not spiritually in tune to the voice of God and God's speaking throughout the world and even in our own lives.

The HIV/AIDS crisis and the genocide in Darfur remind us that we may have expectations as to who gets the AIDS virus or who is at fault in Darfur, yet God does the unexpected by challenging us that the issue is not how God's people get in peril. Our duty is to comfort those who are in danger and moreover get them out of danger.

Spiritual dissonance is what happens when we do not align our wills with God's will for our lives.

On Faith and Economics

2007-08-17T11:58:00.000-05:00

Ethics Daily has posted an excerpt from a commentary on Luke 4 that Andy Watts, professor of Christian Ethics at Belmont University, wrote for New Baptist Covenant participants. Here's a quote:

When Jesus confronts our injustices, we more often than not deny his claims. We frequently fail to see his point because we assume the way we live with one another to be verified, justified and validated by our faith.

Our vision of God's beloved community--what Jesus referred to as the kingdom of God--extends no further than our own assumptions. We are able, then, to generalize the biblical witness to be a set of principles that have literal application to our lives only in so far as they validate our social norms. This kind of vision, however, is itself a product of our estrangement from Jesus in our moral lives.

Jimmy Allen on New Challenges Facing Baptists

2007-08-17T08:09:00.000-05:00

This month's Baptist Studies Bulletin has published an essay by Jimmy Allen about "The Importance and Urgency of the New Baptist Covenant Celebration." Here's a quote:

A society being reshaped by forces beyond our comprehension has caused some institutions of religion to seek to use the powers of the state to preserve their places of influence. Ego struggles, isolation of people of diverse opinions despite the vitality of their faith, an erosion of denominational loyalty, "mountain out of mole hill" religion plagues us. But we are weeping at the wrong funeral, sorrowing over the wrong things. Denominations are not dying, they are changing strategies. They are essential ingredients of what is and face the changing challenges of what must be.

Baptist-Muslim Dialogue and the New Baptist Covenant

2007-08-07T06:07:00.000-05:00

Dr. Roy Medley, General Secretary of the American Baptist Churches, predicts that one of the effects of the New Baptist Covenant is will be Baptist-Muslim dialog. Here's a quote from a statement he made to a reporter from the largest Muslim newspaper in California:

"We need to repair the damage done by Baptists who made hurtful statements about Muslims in the past," Dr. A. Roy Medley, general secretary of the American Baptist Churches, told InFocus.

"If you believe in religious liberty, you must respect other religions. The best way to witness to your own faith is through humility and service," he said.

More on the "Other" Baptists

2007-08-06T10:17:00.000-05:00

The blogger at the Baptist Like Me blog offers some commentary on Rebecca Rosen Lum's story about "America's Other Baptists."

Texas Baptists to Discuss New Baptist Covenant

2007-08-02T12:00:00.000-05:00

Bill Tillman at Progressive Baptist Net has posted information about the August 24th meeting of Texas Baptists Committed where the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant will be discussed.

Seven Good Reasons for Attending the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant

2007-07-31T14:11:00.000-05:00

Here are seven reasons why I think every Baptist should be making plans to attend the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant in Atlanta from Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2008:

1) The celebration will publicly demonstrate that Baptists are overcoming a history of racism by uniting large numbers of racially and ethnically diverse people together in fellowship and worship.

2) The celebrants will proclaim the whole gospel by addressing all the spiritual, psychological, physiological, and material needs of human beings.

3) The celebration will renew our spirits by creating opportunities to share spiritual gifts and callings, to learn of the work that other Baptists are doing to advance God’s kingdom, and to network and unite with them in mission action.

4) The celebrants will raise a prophetic voice by addressing some of the most egregious social, institutional, economic and civil injustices of our communities, our nation and our world.

5) The celebration will rekindle pride in our Baptist legacy as champions for liberty of conscience and religion for all and as advocates for separation of church and state.

6) The celebration will reclaim our Baptist heritage as witnesses to a humble, personal, conscientious, non-hierarchical, non-creedal, non-dogmatic faith in Christ.

7) If the celebration accomplishes as much as half of the above, you can be sure that it will be a meeting of considerable historical significance.

The Main Thing with the New Baptist Covenant

2007-07-27T12:46:00.000-05:00

Mike Ruffin at the On the Jericho Road blog describes the "main thing" that will bring Baptists from around the country to Celebrate a New Baptist Covenant:

When the Celebration of the New Baptist Covenant takes place in early 2008, we will be undertaking another Grand Compromise. Over twenty diverse Baptist groups will gather to talk about the possibilities that exist to bring Christ’s message of grace, love, and hope to bear on a broken and hurting nation and world. Now, we are not talking about the merging of organizations. We are, however, talking about the merging of purpose—can we value our common calling more than we value whatever issues separate us? I believe and hope that we can. I am excited by the possibility. I am looking forward to being with brothers and sisters whose agenda is to find common ground in the doing of ministry rather to find areas of disagreement over fine points of theology.

God just might do something magnificent through this effort if we show that we can keep the main thing the main thing!

On Being Reconciled

2007-07-26T14:19:00.000-05:00

Laura Seay, at the Texas in Africa blog, posted an outstanding blog about "Be ye reconciled" that mentions the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. Here are her concluding paragraphs:

When I was 21, I met Desmond Tutu, who, of course, led South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. About a year later, I met Xanana Gusmao, who would later become the first president of independent East Timor. Both of these men had an incredible presence, a charisma that drew you in and wouldn't let you go. I don't know how to describe it any better than that. I thought about it for a long time, and finally realized that what both men had in common was, that after a horrible experience of suffering, each made the choice to forgive. Neither sought revenge against his political enemies, though both would certainly have been justified in doing so. They could have punished their oppressors financially or otherwise, they could have allowed bitterness and anger to rule their hearts and their countries. Instead, they chose to forgive. They chose to call others to forgiveness. They chose to reconcile.

What they didn't do, however, is let go of their principle convictions –- about the nature of God, about the dignity of all people, about the right thing to do. Reconciliation is not synonymous with selling out.

I don't understand reconciliation. It has something to do with forgiveness, and it has to do with choosing to believe that our commonalities are more important than our differences. It must mean realizing that in a world in which we are so much more the same than we are different, the cost of not reconciling is too high.

The Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant will be an exciting opportunity to see what reconciliation looks like firsthand. It's a chance for us to find out whether we're capable of forgiving, capable of working together for a common cause. It's a chance to say that we are not going to allow our fears of change and difference, and our longstanding disagreements to stand between us and the mission of serving others. After all, we're mostly the same.

Excluding Gays Creates a Buzz

2007-07-25T11:18:00.000-05:00

Associated Baptist Press has published a story about the exclusion of gay-friendly Baptist groups from formally participating in the Celebration on a New Baptist Covenant.

This information is already creating a lot of buzz in the blogosphere. One of the more thoughtful responses is by Jake, a church planter, at the Theofragen blog.

Podcast: Walter Shurden Interview

2007-07-23T12:29:00.000-05:00

Dr. Bruce Prescott's 7-22-07 "Religious Talk" radio interview with Dr. Walter Shurden (27 MB mp3), Professor of Christianity at Mercer University and Executive Director of the Center for Baptist Studies. We talk about Mercer University, the Center for Baptist Studies, and the historical significance of the forthcoming Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant.

It's Time for a New Baptist Covenant

2007-07-20T09:50:00.000-05:00

Ryan Price, pastor of an American Baptist Church in Vermont, has posted a blog advocating that it's "Time for a New Baptist Covenant." Here's a quote:

I am excited about the prospect of Baptists coming together to witness to what I hope is a budding culture of grace and goodwill, as opposed to the culture of rancor which has defined Baptists in the public eye for too long. On the night Jesus was betrayed he prayed that his disciples might all be one. I do not know if we will see that prayer answered in our lifetime. But I do know that January’s meeting will mark the closest we Baptists have come since before the Civil War. If, as the old preachers used to say, "the Lord is willin' and the creek don't rise," I will be truly delighted to be there in Atlanta.

Racial Reconciliation and the New Baptist Covenant

2007-07-19T10:00:00.000-05:00

Dr. Doug Weaver has posted a valuable blog about "Reading Dr. King: Race and Reconciliation" that mentions the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. Here's a quote:

There are elements of King’s story that we don’t understand because we have no clue about the manifold ways that discrimination took (and takes) place. I highlight the following passage about why King pressed for equality and was willing to commit civil disobedience:

Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging dark of segregation to say, "Wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will …. when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger," your middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs."…. then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait.

Dr. Weaver then relates a personal story about how he learned to be sensitive to the way he addresses African-Americans. He concludes that the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant will provide a good opportunity for us to learn to view ourselves and our language from the perspective of other races.

Rev. Ang on Baptists and Liberty of Conscience

2007-07-18T07:25:00.000-05:00

Rev. Angela Yarber, a Teaching Assistant at the Graduate Theological Union, recently posted a blog about why she is a Baptist and about her hopes for the New Baptist Covenant. Here's a quote:

Yet, amidst these soapboxes, complaints, commonalities, and differences, through the New Baptist Covenant, Baptist churches are meeting and praying and hoping that somehow, no matter our interpretations of scripture or political views, that we can stand in one accord to agree that poverty, justice, war, and racism are moral issues.

I, like the students at the GTU, have my fair share of complaints about my religious tradition, but it is because of liberty of conscience and local church autonomy that you will always hear me say proudly, “Now THAT’S why I’m a Baptist!” In the tradition I claim as my own, and in the tradition where I am ordained, I have a choice and I choose Baptist...freedom...and justice.

Canadian Baptists and the New Baptist Covenant

2007-07-17T10:52:00.000-05:00

Aaron Weaver has posted a valuable blog about the five Canadian Baptist groups that are supporting the New Baptist Covenant. Here's the introduction to his lengthy and helpful blog:

Five of the 31 organizations supportive of the New Baptist Covenant represent Canadian Baptists. Since many Baptists (particularly in the South) are not the slightest bit familiar with any of these groups - allow me to offer a very brief and inadequate introduction....

Podcast: Interview with Jimmy Allen

2007-07-16T15:09:00.000-05:00

Dr. Bruce Prescott's 7-15-07 "Religious Talk" radio interview with Dr. Jimmy Allen (27 MB mp3), past president of the Southern Baptist Convention, past president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, retired president of the SBC's Radio and Television Commission, and currently a key organizer of the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. We talk about plans for the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant.

Baptist Clergywomen Increasing

2007-07-14T08:35:00.000-05:00

The Fort Worth Star Telegram is reporing that the number of women serving as pastors of Baptist churches has increased by 20% since 2005.

Belmont College School of Religion Supports New Baptist Covenant

2007-07-13T09:16:00.000-05:00

Belmont College's School of Religion is demonstrating support for the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant by partnering with the Baptist Center for Ethics to produce literature to be used by participants. Here are the writers:

--Mark McEntire, associate professor of religion. McEntire teaches introductory and advanced courses in Old Testament, as well as Hebrew language courses.

--Bob Byrd, professor of religion. Byrd teaches Greek, New Testament and preaching and holds the H. Franklin Paschall Chair of Biblical Studies and Preaching.

--Darrell Gwaltney, dean of the School of Religion. Gwaltney teaches biblical studies, theology and church leadership classes.

--Andy Watts, assistant professor of Christian ethics.

--Judy Skeen, professor of religion. Skeen teaches classes in New Testament, wisdom literature, pastoral care and spiritual formation.

--Marty G. Bell, professor of religion. Bell teaches classes in the world religions.

--Todd L. Lake, vice president for spiritual development. Lake has taught classes in theology, education and business ethics on the graduate and undergraduate levels.

David Goatley Excited About Celebration

2007-07-12T05:05:00.000-05:00

David Goatley, Executive-Secretary Treasurer of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention, describes his excitement about the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant in this month's issue of the Baptist Studies Bulletin. Here's an excerpt:

I am excited about the possibility of an unprecedented public witness. Thousands of Baptists in North America may actually make a pilgrimage to Atlanta next February to demonstrate our oneness in our commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed and to affirm our oneness in our commitment to ministries of compassion and capacity building among the poor. Baptists in our part of the world are notoriously independent. Our value of autonomy is sometimes a misguided excuse for avoiding the hard work required to build and sustain community. If we are one in Jesus, why do we not seek to demonstrate that oneness intentionally more often? Unfortunately, our cultural and social divides infiltrate what should be our fierce commitment to fellowship together. We divide over race. We divide over class. We divide over gender. We divide over whether we are urban, suburban, exurban, or rural. We divide over whether we are from the east coast, the west coast, the Midwest, or the Deep South. I suspect our real trouble is our commitment to rule rather than serve. We too often refuse to submit ourselves to one another, to consider the other above ourselves, and to do to others as we would have them do to us. There is a lot against us, but we have a possibility of doing something that defies human possibility. We have a possibility of sharing together and authentic public witness for Christ and for those who struggle most.

ContraCosta Times Features Baptist Bloggers (Updated)

2007-07-11T07:53:00.000-05:00

ContraCosta Times published a feature story about Angela Yarber and the Baptists blogging about the New Baptist Covenant. Here's a quote:

"Central to Baptist belief is that every believer has direct access to God," she (Yarber)said. "In some (branches), there is a hierarchy of power where you are told what to believe or who to believe."

A Baptist pastor in Oklahoma said he launched the blogs so ideas -- and momentum -- could percolate up. His blog links to news stories, interviews and postings of participating bloggers.

"This is almost like a blank slate," said the Rev. Bruce Prescott, executive director of Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists and president of the Oklahoma chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

"A top-down solution is not a Baptist solution," he said. "That's the best thing about the blogosphere. You get a logical, open-ended discussion about what Baptists can achieve, grassroots."

This story also appeared in the Tri-Valley Herald on 7-13-07.

CBF, ABC and the New Baptist Covenant

2007-07-10T15:09:00.001-05:00

The Washington Post has published an article about the recent meeting between the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the American Baptist Churches that also mentions the New Baptist Covenant. Here's a quote:

Baptist leaders also affirmed their plans for a larger gathering planned for January in Atlanta. With the encouragement of former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, both Baptists, there will be a Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. Predominantly white and historically African American Baptist groups will emphasize their commitment to feeding the hungry, promoting peace, and caring for the sick and marginalized.

Rev. Ang Looks Forward to Celebration

2007-07-10T14:26:00.000-05:00

Rev. Angela Yarber, who describes herself as an "Ordained, Baptist, Dancer, Feminist," has posted a noteworthy blog about the Celebration of a New Bapist Covenant. Here's a quote:

If you ask the average American to visualize the typical ordained Baptist minister, I would assume that a professional dancer and feminist in her twenties would not immediately come to mind. In fact, the very notion of any female serving as an ordained Baptist minister raises enough eyebrows. One of the reasons for this misconception is due to the broad spectrum of beliefs and ideologies that fall under the Baptist umbrella.

A Taste of Things to Come

2007-07-02T07:34:00.000-05:00

John Henson at the Wondering Thoughts weblog posted some comments about the New Baptist Covenant in a blog about his trip to the CBF General Assembly in Washington, D.C. Here's a quote:

I did have a good trip and it was moving to be at the General Assembly at a time when other Baptists are joining together to collaborate once again. I'm referring to the new relationship between CBF, the American Baptist Church USA and the Progressive National Baptists. We joined together for worship last night and it was amazing to see such diversity of race, geographical origins, and beliefs (the press story is here) Worship included a Black Gospel choir, a contemporary praise band, marimba/samba stylings in Spanish and, of course, good old Baptist hymn singing. This was just a taste of things to come in January when the New Baptist Covenant Celebration takes place in Atlanta.

America's Other Baptists

2007-06-29T05:09:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's Washington Post has an article about "America's other Baptists" -- the Baptists of the American Baptist Churches, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the New Baptist Covenant. Here's a quote:

They're America's other Baptists -- the ones who appoint women pastors, work with theological liberals and line up more closely with President Carter than with President George W. Bush.

Over the last 25 years, they have watched with growing concern as their conservative Southern Baptist brethren came to define the religious tradition for the general public.

Now, these other Baptists, who are spread among many different denominations, are slowly pooling resources on humanitarian work and evangelism, hoping they can have a bigger impact.

CBF Leaders Endorse New Baptist Covenant

2007-06-28T20:53:00.000-05:00

The Coordinating Council of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has endorsed the New Baptist Covenant.

A report by Associated Baptist Press can be found at this link.

Podcast: Interview with Robert Parham

2007-06-25T07:01:00.000-05:00

Dr. Bruce Prescott's 6-24-07 "Religious Talk" radio interview with Dr. Robert Parham (25 MB mp3), Executive Director of the Baptist Center for Ethics. We highlight the work of BCE and Ethics Daily by discussing the videos that BCE has produced on Global Poverty and on Faith and Polics (forthcoming) as well as the free eight week Bible Study literature that BCE has produced on Luke 4 -- the theme of the New Baptist Covenant Celebration.

Will Others See Jesus in Us?

2007-06-22T07:49:00.000-05:00

Mike Ruffin, pastor of The Hill Baptist Church in Augusta, GA and author of the On the Jericho Road weblog, has posted a blog that discusses what he hopes the world will see when Baptists meet at the Celebration for a New Baptist Covenant. Here's and excerpt:

I hope that they see, as we all worship together, a preview of what future meetings of these Baptists are going to be like—and maybe even a little glimpse of what heaven is going to look like.

I hope that they see, as we all discuss ministry and missions together, the vanguard of a new movement of kingdom service that will be guided by kingdom principles.

I hope that they see, as we celebrate together what it means to be Baptist, people who appreciate—and practice—the priesthood of believers, soul competency, and religious liberty.

I hope that they see, as these varied and diverse Baptists from all over the United States and Canada meet together, a giant step forward in Baptist ecumenism that will lead to other steps forward in greater Baptist involvement in an even more broadly based ecumenism.

I hope that they see, as we listen together to the words of Baptist preachers and Baptist politicians, that Baptists can preach about, teach about, and work to do something about the problems that afflict our society out of a biblical and Christ-centered worldview that is not beholden to any particular political philosophy or party.

On Reconciling Baptists

2007-06-21T10:34:00.000-05:00

Laura Seay, aka Texas in Africa -- a Ph.D. Candidate at UT-Austin, has posted a thoughtful blog about the need for reconciliation among Baptists. Here's a quote:

I grew up watching Baptists fight one another, and I've long wondered how it could possibly be pleasing to God for us to hate each other. Maybe "hate" is too strong a word, but the rancor I have observed between the types of Baptists I know best suggests that we are anything but reconciled to one another. Conservatives, moderates, and liberals alike throw around pejorative terms like "fundamentalist" or "liberal" or "fascist" as though we were speaking of evil personified. Meanwhile, our relationships with our brothers and sisters of other races and socioeconomic backgrounds are all too often shamefully nonexistent. We all go to worship quite regularly, I’m sure. But we are not reconciled.

I don't fully understand what reconciliation means. It's a theme I hope to explore in future posts. But I can tell you that the primary reason I am so excited about January's Celebration of the New Baptist Covenant is that it provides an incredible opportunity for us to practice doing that which God has called us to do. This gathering of Baptists from more than thirty different groups and from thousands of different backgrounds gives us the chance, in some small way, to reconcile. For two days next winter, we can set aside some of our past conflicts - about race, about doctrine, about selfish ambition -- to work together, learn together, and stand in worship together. We have a chance to reconcile. Will you join us?

Doc Weaver on Julie Pennington-Russell

2007-06-20T08:23:00.000-05:00

Dr. Doug Weaver, Professor of Religion at Baylor University, launched a new weblog called "Doc Weaver" with a blog about Julie Pennington-Russell. Doug is a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Waco where Julie has been pastor for the past nine years. She recently accepted a call to fill the pulpit at First Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia.

First Baptist in Decatur is a large church with historic significance. That's why Weaver writes about her "Breaking the Glass Ceiling." A lot of us preachers have known for a long time that Julie is the best preacher within Cooperative Baptist circles. Now the lay people are catching on.

Julie will also be one of the key speakers at the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant Jan. 30-Feb. 1. Here's a quote from Doc Weaver about "Pastor Julie's" participation in this event:

How is it that someone can suggest that the calling of a woman as a pastor is a tragedy? For some . . . they have only had the opportunity to hear certain types of people in the pulpit. If they did, they would recognize the liberating, equalizing nature of God's Good News. There are many reasons to attend the New Baptist Covenant celebration next January. One surely is the opportunity to hear Pastor Julie preach. Bring a Bible with you. She preaches from the Word. And then throw it upward and I expect you will help to break that nasty stubborn "glass ceiling". A (human) boundary breaking gift from the Holy Spirit is what you will receive.

Weaver Highlights Dr. Charles G. Adams

2007-06-19T06:40:00.000-05:00

Aaron Weaver, aka Big Daddy Weave, has posted a blog highlighting the ministry of Dr. Charles G. Adams, pastor of Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit and recognized as one of the most influential preachers in America.

Dr. Adams will be one of the key speakers at the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant in Atlanta Jan.30-Feb. 1. Here's a quote from Weaver:

Charles G. Adams is recognized worldwide as a leader in the fight for social justice. In 1989, he was invited to speak before the United Nations on South African apartheid. Adams also spoke before the World Congress of the Baptist World Alliance in Seoul, Korea. He has devoted much time and effort to combating racism both here in the United State and abroad through his work with the World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches. In October 1994, Adams accompanied President Clinton to Jordan to witness the signing of the Peace Accords between Jordan and Israel.

On Caring for the Sick

2007-06-18T09:51:00.000-05:00

The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation working toward a high performance health care system, recently released a report that grades the health care in each state in terms of access, quality, costs and lives.

Among the trends that could be discerned is that states with the lowest grades also have a high ratio of evangelical Christians in relation to the rest of the population.

What kind of witness is that?

One of the Christian obligations recognized by the organizers of the New Baptist Covenant is our individual and collective responsibility to "care for the sick and marginalized."

It's about time.

On Tony Campolo and the New Baptist Covenant

2007-06-16T07:34:00.000-05:00

Dr. Gary Snowden at the Radical Reformation Fan weblog has posted a blog about his experiences with Tony Campolo at the International Seminary in Buenos Aires.

Snowden looks forward to the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant as an opportunity to hear Campolo again. Here's a quote:

I was privileged to hear Dr. Campolo during the course of an entire week many years ago when he was invited as the guest lecturer at the annual conferences of the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Buenos Aires where I served on the faculty. It was a tremendous week of hearing Dr. Campolo share stories in his own unique style, each one with a powerful message about our need as Christians to address the pressing issues that the church has far too often neglected. My wife and I were honored to host Dr. Campolo for breakfast in our home one morning, and found him to be a gracious Christian gentleman. I’ve often heard that good preaching ought to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Dr. Campolo has a gift of doing the latter, and his message deserves a broad hearing.

Vestal Enthusiastic about New Baptist Covenant

2007-06-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

The June issue of the Baptist Studies Bulletin has published a statement by Dr. Daniel Vestal, Coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, that explains his excitement about the New Baptist Covenant Celebration.

Here's a quote:

Each of the Baptist bodies represented in this covenant has unique contributions to make to this emerging ethos. Each has a treasured history and each has a valued voice in the public square. But when we join our voices in a harmonious chorus, our witness is more profound and effective. Our individual distinctives are not lost, but something beautiful happens that is greater than the sum of the parts.

A new Baptist ecumenicity will have many positive results. One is that the ministry of each of the participating organizations will be strengthened. Another is that fresh avenues for collaboration will unfold and existing partnerships will be celebrated. Relationships will be created and encouraged. Networks will be born. Fellowship will be enriched. God will be glorified.

Gregory's Second Chance

2007-06-14T12:02:00.000-05:00

Brian Kaylor has posted a blog about Joel Gregory that reflects on Gregory's sermon at the 1988 SBC Convention.

Regarding that sermon, Gregory said, "I looked for a middle that was not there."

Kaylor notes that Gregory will have another opportunity to search for middle ground when he speaks at the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. Here's a quote from Kaylor:

Gregory will be a speaker at the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, which seeks to accomplish what Gregory failed to do so with his SBC sermon—bring a return to civility, unite Baptists, and put forth a positive Baptist witness. I am excited about the Celebration because such an effort is desperately needed. And I am excited that Gregory will be one of the speakers.

As I view the terrain, I don't think Gregory will have any difficulty finding middle ground at the New Baptist Covenant Celebration.

Roger Williams, Baptists and Women's Liberation

2007-06-13T11:10:00.000-05:00

In 1636, when Roger Williams founded Providence Plantations (now Rhode Island) he created the first purely civil state formed by social contract. It granted religious liberty to every inhabitant, guaranteed that no one "should be molested for his conscience," and ascribed power to the magistrate "only in civil things."

The first case to test Williams' new principle of civil government came in the spring of 1638 when Joshua Verin was disenfranchised at a town meeting "for restraining of liberty of conscience." Williams and others had organized the first Baptist church in America. Attendance at its services was entirely voluntary. Joshua Verin didn't care to attend the settlement's church services. His wife did. She exercised her liberty to attend a preaching service without his permission and, according to town records, "He hath trodden her underfoot tyrannically and brutally . . . with his furious blows she went in danger of her life."

When the settlement disenfranchised Verin, he returned to the Massachusetts Bay Colony and took his wife with him. William Arnold, one of Verin's defenders, is reported to have said "when he consented to that order [liberty of conscience] he never intended that it should extend to the breach of any ordinance of God, such as the subjection of wives to their husbands."

James Ernst, one of Williams' biographers, summarized the significance of this incident saying,

The Verin trial marked a struggle of new-born liberty with ancient law, involving a delicate problem of domestic life. This new liberty gave women an independent status and the right to leave the house without the consent of her husband. She was no longer his chattel, nor subject to his religious conscience. Verin objected to such liberty, and took his wife back to the Bay theocracy where they kept women in their place. Arnold, Winthrop [Governor of the Bay Colony], and others made religious rights a matter of age, sex, and social standing. Providence was the first civil government to recognize feminine rights as a natural and civil right and as a state policy.

James Ernst, Roger Williams: New England Firebrand (New York: Macmillan Co., 1932), pp. 193-94.

One of the things that the Celebration of the New Baptist Covenant hopes to do is to restore pride in this kind of rich heritage in which Baptists were advocates for religious liberty, liberty of conscience and equal rights.

Mapping American Affluence

2007-06-12T13:17:00.000-05:00

The Strange Maps blog has posted a map of the U.S. with each state matched with a country of comparable GDP.

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:48 (NIV)

That's one of the reasons why New Baptist Covenanters are uniting. We are committed to bringing good news to the poor.

On the Tonality of the New Baptist Covenant

2007-06-11T11:32:00.000-05:00

On June 8, 2007 William Underwood, President of Mercer University and key organizer of the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, issued a statement to all involved with preparations for the Jan. 30 Atlanta meeting. The statement is untitled but it speaks about the tone in which conversations about the meeting should be discussed. Here is his statement in its entirety:

The New Baptist Covenant is an effort among Baptists throughout North America to unite on matters on which there is a broad consensus among Baptists and that are central to the ministry and teachings of Jesus Christ. Among these matters is the biblical imperative that we proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. Also among these matters on which there is broad consensus is our Lord and Savior’s commandment that we love our neighbor as God has loved us and that we manifest this love by feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, ministering to the oppressed and brokenhearted, and welcoming the stranger. These biblical imperatives are captured in Jesus’s message to his hometown of Nazareth found in Luke 4:18-19.

By uniting around this common ground, the New Baptist Covenant seeks to create a new Baptist witness to the world that is distinct from the witness of division too often associated with Baptists. To this end, we should not engage in divisive rhetoric, even in response to those among our brothers and sisters in Christ who seek to undermine this effort. To engage in divisive rhetoric destroys the very witness we seek to achieve.

The divisive rhetoric addressed in this statement refers specifically to the language that I used in the title of a blog entry on this weblog last week. On June 4th I wrote a review of blog commenting with the title "On the SBC's Vendetta Against the New Baptist Covenant." Several leaders of partner organizations involved with the New Baptist Covenant Celebration felt that my language was divisive. After talking with Larry Brumley and Bill Underwood, I changed the title to "On the SBC's Opposition to the New Baptist Covenant."

I'm a fan of Bill Underwoods and I'm enthusiastic about the Celebration for a New Baptist Covenant. I also intend to be more cautious about my rhetoric, which I admit can become caustic at times.

This weblog, however, has always been an "unofficial" weblog. That fact is now highlighted in full caps at the top of the page.

This weblog does not purport to present the official line from the organizers of the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant.

Podcast: Interview with Dr. Thelma Chambers Young

2007-06-10T13:22:00.000-05:00

Dr. Bruce Prescott's 6-10-07 "Religious Talk" radio interview with Dr. Thelma Chambers Young, Vice President of the North American Baptist Women's Union and Vice President-at-large of the National Council of Churches. We talk about the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant and about the recent Delegation to the Middle East that Dr. Young led for the NCC.

On the Nazareth Agenda

2007-06-09T09:29:00.000-05:00

Michael Westmoreland White at the Levellers weblog got in a few sarcastic digs at both fundamentalists and moderates before embracing the NBC's call for unity in a blog entitled "The New Baptist Covenant and the Nazareth Agenda" yesterday. Here's a quote:

We Baptists are good at disagreeing with each other and dividing over our disagreements. I am excited about the possibility of uniting for once–and uniting around Jesus' Nazareth Agenda. This gathering might not only be "genuinely Baptist," if it isn't careful the world might actually see it as "genuinely Christian" and glorify the One Jesus called "Abba, Father." I wouldn’t be surprised if all heaven didn’t break loose!

Herschel Hobbs and the New Baptist Covenant

2007-06-08T09:55:00.000-05:00

James Hassel at the Seeing New Light weblog has written a blog about the New Baptist Covenant Celebration that references the spirit and wisdom of Herschel Hobbs. Here's a quote:

Although (and I must admit this!), I'm skeptical of some politically charged personalities involved on both "red" and "blue" sides of the aisle, I sense a strong thirst among many Baptists to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). It is, indeed, the pattern of Christ for all of us to be both salt and light in the world. In fact, I agree with Herschel Hobbs when he indicated that one of our greatest evangelistic efforts as Baptists is to "believe in a spiritual gospel which has social implications"* In other words, the proof will be in the pudding as we cooperate to the extent that our consciences dictate.

*Hobbs, Herschel H. The Baptist Faith and Message. Nashville: Convention Press, 1971. Revised edition, 1996. Page 112).

Sweet Spirit?

2007-06-07T14:31:00.000-05:00

Tony Cartledge, Editor of the Biblical Recorder, wrote a blog entitled "So Long, Sweet Spirit?" about Frank Page's criticisms of the New Baptist Covenant.

Here's a quote:

There is no question that the New Baptist Covenant initiative will resonate more with Baptists of a more moderate and inclusive bent than the typical SBC leader, though I suspect there would be stronger support among rank and file members than among the leadership, provided they are given unbiased information about it. Baptists can choose to support it or not, but I hope they will do so intelligently, and not on the basis of cherry-picked sound bites.

I had hoped that Page didn't write the words attributed to him, but he recently told the Baptist Courier that it's his statement and he stands by it.

Through most of his presidency, Page's gentle demeanor toward others has been refreshing. Sadly, that is not the spirit shown in this recent critique of the New Baptist Covenant initiative. Let us hope the comments reflect a momentary lapse of weariness or frustration, and not the signs of a long-term change in spirit.

Seven Reasons Why You Don't Want to Miss the Celebration

2007-06-06T11:27:00.000-05:00

Mitch Randall on the Evangelicalism of the New Baptist Covenant

2007-06-06T09:44:00.000-05:00

Mitch Randall, pastor of NorthHaven Church in Norman, Oklahoma, has written a response on his weblog to critics who have publicly questioned the evangelical fervency of those involved in the New Baptist Covenant. Here's a quote:

Some critics of this effort continue to espouse that the event is nothing more than a "left wing liberal" effort. They even suggest the leaders of the Covenant are not interested in sharing the gospel with the lost. Southern Baptist President Frank Page recently responded to a question regarding the Covenant by saying, "to be a 'true Baptist witness' any group must see the winning of souls to Christ as the cohesive factor in our fellowship."

In my opinion, herein lies the different perspectives of what it means to be Baptist. For critics of the Covenant, they continue to offer rhetoric that promotes the "go-it-alone" mentality. They also, for some reason, cannot conceive the idea that reaching out to the hungry and calling for social justice is a grand attempt by concerned Christians to reach out to those who do not know Jesus. The very essence of the Covenant will be evangelical, proclaiming the entire message of Jesus to the world and making it applicable for those to participate. What can be more evangelical than that mission? So, while some still try to commandeer the identity of being a "true Baptist," the North American Baptist Covenant participants will work on feeding the poor, demanding justice for the inequalities of the world, and being the presence of Christ to a world that needs hope.

Restoring Pride in Being Baptist

2007-06-05T09:53:00.000-05:00

Robert Parham, Executive Director of Ethics Daily, made a suggestion that New Baptist Covenanters call themselves "Good Will Baptists." The suggestion garnered a little opposition among moderate Baptists and some severe ridicule from SBC loyalists.

Parham's suggestion did highlight the fact that many Baptists are searching for a way to redefine themselves as people of compassion and goodwill.

At least one twenty-something was pleased to learn about this aspect of the movement for a New Baptist Covenant. Future Bard, an aspiring writer who is tired of having his faith defined by fundamentalists, wrote yesterday in a blog:

The New Covenant means I no longer have to apologize for being Baptist. I can easily support an organization working to support racial unity and advocating compassionate ministry.

On the SBC's Opposition to the New Baptist Covenant

2007-06-04T15:41:00.000-05:00

Ever since the organizers of the New Baptist Covenant announced the names of the participants in the Jan 30 Celebration, the leadership of the SBC has been working overtime to denounce and discredit the meeting.

First, they intimidated one of the participants enough to secure his withdrawal from the meeting. It was no accident that the Florida Baptist Witness broke the story that former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister, would no longer participate in the Atlanta Celebration.

Second, they got SBC President Frank Page to issue a statement that would discount the friendly overtures that both former Presidents Carter and Clinton made toward Page after his election as President of the SBC.

Third, they got their propagandists at Baptist Press to spin a story from Page's statement that left the impression Page was attacking Carter, Clinton, Underwood and all the others organizers of the New Baptist Covenant for creating "a smokescreen for a leftwing liberal agenda."

Robert Parham and Aaron Weaver wrote hardhitting essays in response to the reported attacks by Frank Page. Brian Kaylor wrote an insightful essay that concluded that Page had become the same kind of "mad conservative" he denounced when he was elected as President of the SBC. SBC Bloggers Wade Burleson and Ben Cole wrote essays that defended Page and challenged Baptist Press for distorting his comments. Burleson wrote:

"It does seem to me that Dr. Page's comments, as delivered by Baptist Press, sound like they may have been written by someone other than Frank. They are not quite as irenic as his usual words."

He noted that,

"the headline on the Baptist Press article with Page's remarks within the first hour of posting from Page Rebukes New Covenant to Page Responds to Carter. I'm wondering who put the first title up, and who called and requested the second?"

Cole offered a meticulous comparison of Frank Page's statement and of the Baptist Press report. Here are some of his conclusions:

1. Frank Page did not say that Presidents Clinton and Carter are motivated by a leftwing liberal agenda in this New Baptist Covenant, as Baptist Press suggests. He did say he would not be a part of such an effort, if indeed one existed. That is a far cry from the way BP characterized his comments.

2. Frank Page acknowledged that some of the Covenant participants are themselves guilty of negativity and critical spirits. He did not, however, suggest that such perceptions were insurmountable for Christians who seek to work together.

3. Frank Page did not suggest that Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Bill Underwood believe a false gospel, or have succumbed to a social gospel. He merely reinforced his own belief that the Gospel is primarily concerned with overcoming men’s separation from God, without denying its social implications.

I'll withhold judgment as to what Frank Page said and intended. Burleson says he intends to ask him himself. I'm eager to hear what Page has to say to Burleson.

Free Online Curriculum for New Baptist Covenant

2007-06-01T07:48:00.000-05:00

Ethics Daily has posted an online curriculum on the text of Luke 4:18-19 which is the theme for the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant in Atlanta Jan. 30-Feb. 1.

They have brought together an all-star cast of writers for the eight lessons for a study they call The Agenda: Eight Lessons from Luke 4.

--Carol Anne Janzen, lecturer in Christian Education at Acadia Divinity College in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

--William Epps, senior pastor of Second Baptist Church in Los Angeles and editor in chief of National Baptist Voice, magazine of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.

--Aidsand Wright-Riggins, executive director of National Ministries of American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A.,

--Daniel Carro, Latino ministries ambassador for the Baptist General Association of Virginia, and Dina Carro, a member of the Baptist World Alliance study and research committee.

--David Goatley, executive secretary-treasurer of the Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention.

--Gilberto Gutierrez, pastor of Iglesia Bautista in Horeb, Mexico, and president of the National Baptist Convention of Mexico.

--Don Sewell, liaison to worldwide Baptist bodies with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

--Heather Entrekin, senior pastor of Prairie Baptist Church in Prairie Village, Kan. (ABC/USA).

Thanks to Robert Parham and Ethics Daily for producing these materials. I look forward to reading them.

Regarding Religious Liberty in Russia

2007-04-24T13:22:00.000-05:00

Years ago, a Russian leader complained to an American President about the influence of "born-again" Christians rebaptizing people in the Soviet Union. Here's what he said:

"Well, I have to do something about all these Christians coming to Russia. They are ruining our country. Everyone is becoming a new Christian, a born-again Christian, and they are being rebaptized and putting crosses around their necks. It is ruining our country's culture."

Here's what an American President said to him:

"Democracy doesn't work that way. Either you're free or you're not. You can't have it both ways. You need to allow Christians the freedom to come into your country and preach and teach, and you have to allow the Russian people the freedom to choose their faith."

Guess what Russian leader and which American President had this exchange. You'll find the answer at this link.