THE BAPTIST STUDIES BULLETIN
"A Monthly Emagazine, Bridging Baptists Yesterday and Today"
June 2002 Vol.1 No. 6
Produced by The Center for Baptist Studies, Mercer University
Walter B. Shurden, Executive Director and Editor, BSB
Greg Thompson, Baptist Studies Associate
Table of Contents:
I Believe . . .: by Walter B. Shurden
"What the SBC Confessed at Mid-Century"
The Baptist Soapbox: by The Southern Baptist Convention
"A Statement of Principles of 1946"
Baptists and Books: by Rob Nash
Rob Nash reviews The Book of Jerry Falwell and Shopping for Faith
The Baptist Library: Baptist Books: by Jeff Pool
Jeff Pool reviews two Baptist books about diversity
The Baptist Stacks: Perusing Periodicals for Baptistiana: by Pam Durso
Pam Durso reads the journals about the TNIV, Dallas, and Lottie Moon
Baptist Bits: by Doug Weaver
Doug Weaver surveys the Baptist past for quotes for preaching and teaching
What have you done in your church to communicate the Baptist heritage to your young people, ages 17 and younger? Give concrete examples, if possible.
Baptistville: by Greg Thompson
Happenings in Baptistville
"What the SBC Confessed at Mid-Century"
by Walter B. Shurden
I Believe . . .
that the SBC of 1950 was starkly different from the SBC of 2000. But where do you go to determine what the SBC was like around 1950? Of course, you could go to "A Statement of the Baptist Faith and Message" of 1925 (BFM-25). The fact is, however, that the BFM-25 had very little influence on Southern Baptists by 1950. Its lack of influence can only be attributed to the pervasive and profound anticreedal nature of most Southern Baptist individuals, churches, and agencies during the first half of the twentieth century.
If you want to learn what Southern Baptists confessed at mid-century, I suggest you go to a very important but little known document known simply as a "Statement of Principles." Proposed in 1942, issued in 1945, the SBC adopted it in 1946 as a kind of centennial affirmation of its basic convictions. Its signatories, a true "blue ribbon" committee, indicated that this statement came from a broadly representative group within the SBC. Three factors gave rise to the issuance of the statement: (1) the need to clarify the Baptist identity in light of the circumstances of WW II, (2) the prominence of the ecumenical movement, and (3) the emerging power of the Roman Catholic Church in America.
Surely the reason why the 1946 document is so little known is the same as the insignificance of the BFM-25 before it; Southern Baptists simply had never been fixated on confessional statements. Printed below as "The Baptist Soapbox" column for this issue of BSB, is the "Statement of Principles" of 1946. Read it carefully.
In the face of what they feared as political and ecclesiastical totalitarianism, the Statement begins with a ringing affirmation of the importance of the individual person. Five Baptist principles derived from that cardinal conviction: personal conversion, a voluntary and democratic local church, the authority of the New Testament, the separation of church and state, and religious liberty.
After identifying these historic Baptist principles, the Statement showed how these tenets were crucial for contemporary society. In other words, the stress on the individual led not to hyper-individualism or to theological narcissism but to vastly important social and ethical implications. These Southern Baptists protested against a pack mentality and an imperial view of life which ran roughshod over the individual in the decade of the 1930s and 1940s. Read it and compare it to emphases within the SBC today. More importantly, read it and remember what some Baptists counted central to Baptist life. Most importantly, let’s read it and try to live by it.
(For a fuller discussion of this subject, see, "What `Being Baptist’ Meant for Southern Baptists during World War II" by Walter B. Shurden in Baptist History and Heritage, 36:3, Summer/Fall 2001, pp. 6-27.)
The Baptist Soapbox: Invited guests speak up and out on things Baptist (therefore, the views expressed in this space are not necessarily those of The Baptist Studies Bulletin, though sometimes they are).
"The SBC 1946 Statement of Principles"
Preamble
From time to time through all our modern history, Baptists have declared their principles which define their meaning and mission in relation to the gospel and in relation to the world. Surely, now when the world is writhing in terrific crisis we are under obligation to restate our principles, to make clear that our faith is good news for all mankind. It is with this sense of obligation and with this purpose that the Southern Baptist Convention, at its Centennial meeting, undertakes to state afresh the basic principles that we must proclaim to the whole world in our day.
Principles
Our distinctive belief is our Doctrine of Man in the personal order of life, that is, what God says concerning man.
(1) God places infinite and eternal value on the individual man and makes him the focal unit in all His dealings with mankind.
(2) Every man is endowed by the Creator with competence as a person to deal with God and with his fellowmen in all rightful relations.
(3) God gives to the individual man natural, inalienable rights and privileges which should be recognized in human society. These rights should not be violated by compulsion or by undue constraint or restraint so as in any wise to interfere with the individual’s free functioning as a unit in all relationships.
(4) Man consequently has supreme and compelling responsibility under God for the full realization of his possibilities as a human being, for seeking and receiving fellowship with God, and for fulfilling the purposes of God in all human relations. To the end of this divine economy for humanity, God has provided in the gospel of Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, for the renewal of the individual soul by regeneration and for its response through the grace of God to the divine ideal.
Out of this doctrine of the individual grows the Baptist conviction concerning all aspects of religious experience and life.
First, this religious experience of regeneration and conversion is the beginning of the Christian life and is prerequisite to church membership.
Second, the local church, a voluntary fellowship of baptized believers, is responsible directly and only to Christ, the Creator and Head of the church. It is a democratic body in which all the members are equally free and responsible participants. Its divinely called ministry is chosen by the church itself under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Third, the one and only authority in faith and practice is the New Testament as the divinely inspired record and interpretation of the supreme revelation of God through Jesus Christ as Redeemer, Saviour and Lord.
Fourth, this basic belief demands the separation of church and state. Each must be left free to serve in its own divinely appointed sphere for the welfare of mankind; but neither undertaking to control the other or to be supported as such by the other.
Fifth, the comprehensive statement of all these doctrines is contained in our insistence upon religious liberty. By this we mean, and must mean, not only freedom of individual worship and fellowship without interference by the state; but we mean also specifically and insistently the right of propaganda through evangelism, education, and the development of Christian institutions. This we claim not as for ourselves, but for all men of all religious beliefs and of all theories of social order which are not obviously immoral or detrimental to the common welfare of men; and we demand this not as a concession or toleration, but as a basic right under God.
FIELDS OF APPLICATION
These basic principles find the spheres of their operation in all the principal concerns of humanity. The Christian movement is not isolated from the common concerns and life of mankind, but as a declarative, prophetic movement charged with a gospel for men in all relations, is a leavening and instructing agency in the midst of society for the good of the human race and the glory of God in the coming of His Kingdom.
(1) To this comprehensive end, Christians are under obligation to seek for true Christian unity in experience and spiritual fellowship; and for the voluntary cooperation of all Christian believers in the total work for which the gospel is designed. This cooperation should not issue in any ecclesiastical overlordship of the individually redeemed or their churches.
(2) recognizing the divine sovereignty over all the people of the world, we must do all possible to prevent the organization of the world on the principles of materialism, selfish nationalism, arrogant imperialism and power polities; but rather insist upon the principles of the oneness of humanity, the rights of all men alike under God, and the Christian ideals of brotherhood, justice and truth, remembering that God’s supreme word for the organized life of humanity is righteousness.
(3) To this end it is necessary to resist all inequalities of basic rights and privileges in the church and in society, which arise out of racial prides and prejudices, economic greed, and class distinctions; everywhere proclaiming and practicing human brotherhood under the will and purpose of God.
(4) Our Christian faith repudiates and opposes all forms of exploitation, manipulation or neglect and indifference on the part of any section of our human race by any other section on any and every pretext whatsoever. The Christian religion lies at the base of all. In it alone is there hope of the application of these principles in other relations of men.
It is especially urgent therefore, at this time, that these principles should be recognized when we are face to face with the necessity for the reconstruction, the rehabilitation and the reorientation of the lives of all peoples and the corporate life of humanity. Upon the Christian forces lies the responsibility for introducing now the gospel, the purpose and the power of God unto salvation for all men.
There can be a Christian order only as it is constituted of and by genuine Christians. Neither the world nor any part of the world can be organized and conducted on Christian principles except as there are Christians incorporating these principles. Here lies the imperative for an immediate undertaking for worldwide and thorough evangelizing of all peoples. Christian missions must be comprehensive, thorough and universal. New men are essential to a new world.
The preceding report submitted by the Committee on Statement of Principles:
L. L. GWALTNEY, Alabama NORMAN W. COX, Mississippi
H. A. ZIMMERMAN, Arizona B. LOCKE DAVIS, Missouri
O. W. YATES, Arkansas C. R. BARRICK, New Mexico
R. W. WEAVER, District of Columbia O. T. BINKLEY, North Carolina
R. Q. LEAVELL, Florida E. C. ROUTH, Virginia
J. B. LAWRENCE, Georgia W. R. PETTIGREW, South Carolina
B. J. MURRIE, Illinois R. G. LEE, Tennessee
J. R. SAMPEY, Kentucky E. D. HEAD, Texas
W. W. HAMILTON, Louisiana CHARLES E. MADDRY, Virginia
J. T. WATTS, Maryland
ELLIS A. FULLER, Kentucky, Chairman
Baptists and Books, Notes of books on American religion, what they say, don’t say, almost say, and mis-say about Baptists, by Dr. Rob Nash, Dean of the School of Religion and International Programs, Shorter College, Rome, Georgia.
Susan Friend Harding. The Book of Jerry Falwell: Fundamentalist Language and Politics. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000. 300 pp.
In the 1980s, the fundamentalists finally figured it out. They moved from the cultural backwaters of the nation and into the mainstream. If you need any personal testimony to this transformation, just find the closest moderate Southern Baptists and ask them about the truck that hit them in the middle of that decade. It was driven by the likes of Jerry Falwell and the faithful millions who responded to his call to become a visible force for change in the world.
Susan Friend Harding, a cultural anthropologist, has studied Falwell’s methodology, particularly the language of his preaching, and has concluded that Falwell and his minions were able to alter what it meant to be a fundamentalist by utilizing the Bible’s language to transform themselves into an aggressive force that reshaped American culture. Falwell blended fundamentalist rhetoric with secular rhetoric, thus appealing to a wide range of disenchanted Americans who were frightened by the changes they saw around them. At the same time, members of tradition-less, independent churches who had no hierarchical authority above them, took advantage of technology and weak denominational structures to respond immediately to local spiritual needs. Worship and spirituality were transformed and, in turn, the religious life of the nation changed.
The book is perhaps the best answer to the question, "Did anyone get the tag number on that truck?" Harding seems to have written it down. She helps Baptists who may not be so excited about all the changes to at least gain some understanding of where the truck came from and where it is headed.
Richard Cimino and Don Lattin. Shopping for Faith: American Religion in the New Millennium. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998. 200 pp.
Everybody wants to predict the future of American religion. Richard Cimino and Don Lattin weigh in with this analysis of the influence of American consumerism in the shopping mall of faith. The book is divided into three sections: Searching for Self and Spirit, Searching for Community, and Searching for Common Culture. Vignettes illustrate the trends that are occurring in American religion while forecasts (in bold type) posit the future shape of that religion.
Here are three sample forecasts:
1. In the new millennium, churches that demand the most from their members will be the ones most likely to grow.
2. The decentralization of religious authority and the speed of modern communications will encourage the growth of new movements in the coming century.
3. Cutbacks in federal assistance to the needy . . . will inevitably make religious groups more involved in community development and helping the poor.
I’m not sure that much new is being said. But it is nice to have it all said in one place and to have it expressed in such an accessible and readable fashion. So many Baptist churches are forming long-range planning committees to consider the future direction of the congregation. I’d make this book required reading for every committee member.
The Baptist Library: Notes of books, past and present, by and about Baptists, by Dr. Jeff B. Pool, Research Scholar, Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas.
DIVERSE TESTIMONIES TO BAPTIST IDENTITY
Cecil P. Staton, Jr., editor. Why I Am a Baptist: Reflections on Being a Baptist in the 21st Century. Macon, Georgia: Smyth and Helwys Publishing, Inc., 1999. 204 pp. ISBN 1-57312-291-2.
Cecil Staton, the editor of this book, has invited a diverse group of Baptist leaders to attest to their reasons for being (and remaining) Baptist in the 21st century. This book contains twenty-seven short testimonial chapters by various Baptist leaders: Jimmy R. Allen, Robert C. Ballance, Jr., Tony Campolo, Jimmy Carter, Carolyn Weatherford Crumpler, James C. Denison, James M. Dunn, Jocelyn L. Foy, Carole Kate Harvey, Brian Haymes, Margaret B. Hess, Bill J. Leonard, Molly T. Marshall, Emmanuel L. McCall, Sr., Gary Parker, R. Keith Parks, James M. Pitts, Charles E. Poole, John Thomas Porter, Nancy Hastings Sehested, Cecil E. Sherman, Walter B. Shurden, Cecil P. Staton, Jr., Charles Frank T. Thomas, Daniel Vestal, Charles R. Wade, and Karl Heinz Walter.
Many of the contributors represent the leadership that the fundamentalist seizure of the Southern Baptist Convention displaced, disenfranchised, or exiled from the SBC. Naturally, these testimonies, personal as all of them are, reflect to some degree the scars and sometimes-still-healing wounds of that lengthy denominational trauma. Nonetheless, precisely because of that extended trial, these testimonies or rationales for being and remaining Baptist state quite consciously, unambiguously, sharply, and concisely the central convictions, beliefs, experiences, and/or commitments that form the core of each contributor’s Baptist Christian identity.
Although the authors do not share identical positions about everything Baptist—the historic diversity of Baptist perspectives clearly appears in this book—some common themes emerge as the reasons for which these contributors remain Baptist: the experiential basis of Baptist Christian faith, volunteerism in Baptist experience and life, the common Christian priesthood, the autonomy of local churches, separation of church from state, religious liberty, and so forth. This book testifies to the reality of a healthy new Baptist communion, one born in conflict to be sure, but one grown from and oriented more strongly than ever toward historic Baptist commitments and experiences.
DIVERSE SOURCES OF BAPTIST IDENTITY
Curtis W. Freeman, James Wm. McClendon, Jr., and C. Rosalee Velloso da Silva, editors. Baptist Roots: A Reader in the Theology of a Christian People. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1999. 436 pp. ISBN 0-8170-1281-8.
The main title of this book, Baptist Roots, explicitly and accurately describes the book’s content as a collection of documents (historical sources of Baptist theology). With a pun, however, the title also suggests the specific Christian perspective of the book’s editors. James Wm. McClendon, Jr., Curtis W. Freeman, and C. Rosalee Velloso da Silva orient their unique version of Baptist identity around specific traditions that originate from the radical (the Latin root-word for which, "radix," means "root") reformations of the sixteenth century, specific trajectories in the so-called "Anabaptist" traditions. McClendon and those in the circle of his theological influence refer to this understanding of Baptist identity as the "baptist vision." The editors indicate this influence even in many of the sources that they have gathered in this book.
Although the editors have organized the book historically, beginning of course with key documents from the radical reforms of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, they also include documents from Calvinist and non-Calvinist Baptists, as well as writings by liberal as well as fundamentalist Baptists. Acknowledging more openly their own theological allegiance, the editors include as the book’s final chapter a piece by the Mennonite theologian and ethicist, John Howard Yoder. Nevertheless, the editors do include the lyrics to a famous hymn by Harry Emerson Fosdick as the last Baptist document in the book. Despite the weight given by the editors to the radical reformations in their choices of documents for this collection, the book will serve well as an introduction to the major streams of B/baptist thought.
The Baptist Stacks: Perusing Periodicals for Baptistiana: Notes of journal articles: what they say, don’t say, almost say, and mis-say about Baptists by Pam Durso who is Assistant Professor of Church History and Baptist Heritage at Campbell University Divinity School at Buies Creek, North Carolina.
What’s Up With This New Bible Translation?
Tony Cartledge, "Southern Baptist leaders criticize TNIV, but new SBC translation also more gender-neutral than KJV, NIV," Baptists Today 20:5 ( May 2002), 14.
In the past few weeks, almost every Christian journal and magazine has had an article concerning the International Bible Society’s (IBS) production of a new Bible translation, the Today’s New Interventional Version (TNIV). The New Testament portion of the translation was recently published by Zondervan, and the entire Bible will be available in 2005. According to the IBS, the TNIV changes seven percent of the thirty-five year old NIV, and the changes reflect "the development of language and advances in scholarship" as well as the "changes that are also occurring in everyday English." The attention that this new translation has received will surely prompt Baptists in the pew to ask about the legitimacy and the accuracy of the TNIV.
Baptists will hear from some of their pastors the same words that have been spoken by Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Seminary. Mohler stated that "those who champion a feminist agenda will cheer the announcement of the TNIV," and he has further stated that "the moment we begin to translate the Bible so that it will be less offensive to one group or another, we insult the very character of the Bible as the eternal, inerrant and authoritative Word of God." But as Tony Cartledge, editor of the Biblical Recorder, points out, the Holman Christian Standard Bible which was published in 1999 by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention adopts a more gender-neutral approach to language than KJV and NIV.
John R. Kohlenberger, III, "What About the ‘Gender Accurate’ TNIV," Priscilla Papers 16:2 (Spring 2002), 3-9.
Baptist leaders who want to provide a more indepth and more accurate explanation of how this new translation was produced should check out John Kohlenberger’s article in the spring edition of the Priscilla Papers. Kohlenberger is an expert in Bible Reference Books and has authored or edited more than thirty-six biblical reference books. His article provides the historical background to the publication of this new translation, and he reviews the principles of translation upheld by those who translated the TNIV. The most helpful aspect of this article is the inclusion of a number of the verses in which "changes" were made so that readers can see for themselves how the translators did their work.
Another resource which provides a helpful look at how new translations are done is provided by Darrell L. Bock, Research Professor for New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. Bock, a conservative evangelical Baptist, does not endorse the TNIV, but he offers an explanation of the basic translation theories, defines terminology that is central to the debate over these new translations, and discusses some of the key verses that have been misunderstood because of earlier poor translations. He concludes by writing, "Let’s let translators do their job and not unnecessarily restrict their transactional options in bringing out the meaning of the text."
For more information, see the TNIV website: http://www.tniv.info/
Is Dallas Too Big?
Edward Gilbreath, "The New Capital of Evangelicalism, Christianity Today 46:6 (May 21, 2002), 38-49.
Everything is bigger and better in Texas – at least that is what any Texas native will tell you (and as a native Texan, I can assure you that everything is bigger in Texas!). Churches do in fact seem to be bigger in Texas, especially Baptist churches, and a good number of those big Baptist churches are in Dallas. In "The New Capital of Evangelicalism," Christianity Today’s Associate Editor, Edward Gilbreath, writes, "Dallas, Texas, has more megachurches, megaseminaries, and mega-Christian activity than any other American city." The article does refer to denominations other than the Baptist denomination, but the great majority of Gilbreath’s article deals with Baptist topics, including First Baptist Church of Dallas, Prestonwood Baptist Church, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (which is in Fort Worth, not Dallas), and the controversy in the Southern Baptist Convention. Even the side article about Dallas’ Orthodox Archbishop Dmitri Royster introduces Royster as a former Southern Baptist, and another of the side articles features Baptist work among the large Hispanic population in Texas. Gilbreath offers an interesting glimpse into a city where Christianity, with a distinctive Baptist flavor, is not just "an influential subculture" but "is the culture."
Lottie Moon Was Not Just a Sweet Old Lady
Jackie B. Riley, "Lottie Moon: In Her Own Words," Baptists Today 20:5 (May 2002), 32-33.
Several years ago a student in my Women in Christian History class signed up to do a presentation on Lottie Moon, and I told him that if he presented Lottie as just a sweet little old lady, he would fail the course. As more books are being written about Lottie and more information is being published about her life, Baptists are now able to have a more complete picture of the strength of character, the complex personality, and the great Christian commitment of this incredible woman. Jackie Riley’s article, "Lottie Moon: In Her Own Words," offers insight into the struggles Lottie faced and the loneliness and hardship she endured. The article itself is worth reading, but it is essentially a review of Keith Harper’s new book, Send the Light: Letters from Lottie Moon. For Baptists who want read Lottie's own reflections about her lifework in China, Harper has "compiled 300 pieces of correspondence that are representative of Lottie's thought and spiritual odyssey from 1870 to 1912." Whether you read the article or the book, you will have a better sense of Lottie Moon.
Baptist Bits: Anecdotes from the Baptist archives with relevance for preaching and teaching today, by Dr. Doug Weaver, Chair, Division of Religion and Philosophy and Barney Averitt Professor of Christianity, Brewton-Parker College, Mt. Vernon, GA.
Voluntary Faith
Roger Williams, founder of the first Baptist church in America, is known as a prophet of religious liberty. The demand for religious conformity in Puritanism, Williams believed, was a form of religious persecution that produced artificial religious experience. In explicit imagery, he said that forcing people to believe something against their will was "like requiring an unwilling spouse…to enter into a forced bed." Genuine faith is indeed voluntary.
Personal Interpretation of Scripture
In his book, The Baptist Spirit, J. Van Ness, the third president of the Baptist Sunday School Board (1900-1917), spoke to the importance of personal interpretation of Scripture. Van Ness declared, "We believe that each man is able to interpret the Scriptures for himself, and that it is his right and privilege to do so. We also maintain that it is his duty to do this. He owes it to himself and to the cause of Christ to be an intelligent Bible student." Van Ness understood the role of soul competency in the Christian life.
Personal Soul Freedom
Will Campbell once told about a young deacon who had been divorced and was experiencing severe criticism in his church. He attended a deacon’s meeting and ceremoniously resigned each office he held, one at a time—deacon, church treasurer, and music director. The preacher smelled doctrinal blood and suggested that the transgressor should be disciplined like in the old days. "He will have to come before the church, confess, and ask for forgiveness and the church will vote on restoration," the preacher said. When the five-man deacon board fell silent the preacher asked Will’s father, "Brother Campbell, you’re the senior deacon. What are you thinking?" Brother Campbell replied, "Well, if you hadna asked Brother Campbell what he was athinking, Brother Campbell wouldna told you. But since you asked, Brother Campbell is athinking, whose gonna make the motion? And whose gonna second it? He knew that he was the only deacon there who hadn’t been divorced or who wasn’t married to a woman with a living husband. Let him who is without sin." Will concluded, "Best sermon on that text I ever heard."
Save the Institution
In the 1990s, Ralph Elliott, the former Old Testament professor at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary who was the lightening rod of controversy in the Southern Baptist Convention with his book The Message of Genesis, had these reflections: "Over and over during those days [1962-1963], there was one plea after another from persons in high places to make whatever compromises are necessary in order to 'save the institution.' The message was to indicate that what you are teaching is not important, or that you have renounced it, or that you have changed your mind—or whatever is necessary—to save the institution. The institution will be saved, you will be saved, your job will be saved—publicly communicate what is necessary and you can go back to the classroom and teach as before.
The plea for doublespeak was oppressive. But the learning, now verified by time, is that the compromise of principle to "save the institution" always comes back to haunt the institution. Festering disease is hidden and like the quiet multiplication of diseased cells, the illness—contrary to voices calling 'peace, peace,'—is working its way and the body falls… The result always is that the house is taken over, or collapses from within."
Rich and Powerful
William H. Whitsitt, professor of church history and president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary at the end of the 19th century, is known for his courageous stand regarding the truth of Baptist origins. He demonstrated historically that Baptists had their roots in the early 17th history; there was not a Baptist "trail of blood" back to the Bible. Hear his words about the Baptist need to be "on top," full of power, riches, and prestige: "It would be a sad day for Baptists should they ever become the most wealthy and powerful of the religious denominations in America, if they at the same time learned how to push their cause in the halls of legislation, and the drawing-rooms of ministers of state: if they should become the leaders of those circles of society where flippancy is prevalent, and moral and intellectual earnestness are despised. They would forget full soon the simplicity of the gospel and single-eyed devotion to its tenets. The frailties of human nature would put in an appearance, and pride and luxury and all uncharitableness might usurp the place of stern virtue, unaffected humility, and broad and wholesome principles."
Q and A: We Ask, You Tell
We ask in one sentence, you tell in four sentences.
Question for July 2002: What have you done in your church to communicate the Baptist Heritage to your young people, ages 17 and younger? Give concrete examples, if possible.
<Thompson_MG@Mercer.edu> by 8 July 2002.
Here is what a few of you wrote concerning the May question: "What do you think are some SPECIFIC areas where CBF and ABC can begin and continue working together?
Ed Sunday-Winters wrote:
How about a national youth conference planned by 5 ABC youth ministers and 5 CBF youth ministers. Conferences that give expression to the gospel in a historic Baptist way are few and far between when it comes to youth. Baptist General Association of Virginia as well as the Passport people do a great job in this area. Maybe they could provide some leadership for a national youth conference or least one focused on the eastern seaboard.
Rev. Jeff Wilkinson, American Baptist Churches, USA said:
How about in the areas of Missions, both national and international, strengthening a sense of true Baptist identity and unity together. These are but a few of the areas where we can begin to work together.
From Ircel Harrison, CBF Coordinator for Tennessee:
. . .the response to the recent journal emphasis on ABC was interesting. How about putting together a colloquium on the subject? There needs to be some serious discussion of Baptists in the South "rejoining" their brothers and sisters. ---
Baptistville: Goings-On Among Baptists
Conferences and Lectures:
The Baptist History and Heritage Society will hold its annual meeting June 20-22, 2002 at Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, TN. The theme will be "Baptist Diversity." Contact Charles Deweese for more information <cdeweese@tnbaptist.org>.
Annual meeting of the General Assembly of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Fort Worth, TX, June 26-29, 2002.
The William H. Whitsitt Baptist Heritage Society will meet in Ft. Worth, Texas, on Thursday, June 27, 2002 at 1:00 pm in the Fort Worth Convention Center, Ballroom C. The theme for this year’s meeting will be "Baptists: Advocates of a Free Press?". Walker Knight will receive the annual Whitsitt Courage Award and speak on the subject of "A Layman's Journey: My Struggle for a Free Baptist Press." James Wall, Senior Contributing Editor of The Christian Century and one of the leading journalistic voices in American Christianity, will also speak. His topic is "Religion and Media: The Need for a Free Press."
Nineteenth annual Baptist Women in Ministry meeting, Thursday, June 27, 2002, Broadway Baptist Church, Fort Worth, TX. Contact Kim Snyder at <kim.snyder@att.net> .