TABLE OF CONTENTS

In Response To . . . : Bruce T. Gourley

         "Hope and Redemption"

The Baptist Soapbox: Mark Ray

         "Is The Second Wave of SBC's Conservative Resurgence Coming to Fruition?"

Children's Ministry in the Local Church: Julie Whidden Long

         "Growing Generous Givers: Teaching Children About Stewardship"
Investing in Young Baptists: Wanda Kidd
          The Changing Face of Baptist Campus Ministry
Books That Matter: Wil Platt

         Progressive and Religious
         by Robert P. Jones

Dates to Note

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"Hope and Redemption"
By Bruce T. Gourley

           In the midst of one of the greatest economic crises in American history, millions of citizens celebrated like never before. Jumping up and down, dancing in the streets, hugging strangers, shedding tears of joy, the emotional outpouring that began near midnight of November 4 and continued for days afterward was unlike any the nation had ever experienced. In public parks, private homes, cities and villages, churches and bars, the euphoria conveyed hope unbottled and redemption suddenly found. Yet the celebration was not confined to America.  Citizens of nations large and small, young and old, wealthy and poor shared in the spontaneous outburst of emotions.
           Themes abundant within biblical stories, Jesus' teachings, and the struggles and eventual triumph of early Baptists, hope and redemption are historical threads seldom found within the political realm. Yet what better time to interject hope and redemption in the public and political arena than in the era of post-9/11 fears, ongoing wars, escalating social and cultural clashes in America, worldwide economic upheaval, and spiraling religious intolerance and hatred. The election of an African American as president of the United States, in short, conveys a simple but powerful message: the equality of humanity theorized in the Declaration of Independence has been realized as never before, and the yoke of oppression and injustice can be overcome in extraordinary ways.
            Having been both oppressed and oppressor, Baptists are intimately familiar with hope and redemption. Thomas Helwys gave his life in opposition to religious tyranny. Roger Williams stood up to religious intolerance and established the basis for modern, pluralistic democracy. Isaac Backus and John Leland devoted their lives to the defense of pluralism, the abolishment of theocracy in colonial America, and the establishment of the world's first secular nation. Collectively, these heroes of our faith maintained the flame of hope and strove for a day of redemption for all persons persecuted by oppressive governments and religious establishments.
            Yet in the years following, white Baptists in the American South embraced and propagated the enslavement, and later segregation, of African Americans. Not until Baptist minister and prophet Martin Luther King, Jr., and the courageous congregation of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, were blacks in America able to realize equality under the law, and even then many white Baptists refused to renounce racism long harbored. In the chasm between legal writs and societal racism, hope remained guarded, while redemption cautiously crept forward, ever closer yet ever distant.
           While not banishing the demon of racism, this month's presidential election is a monumental marker along our nation's ongoing journey toward systemic justice and equality, an accomplishment with worldwide significance. At their best, Baptists past and present have been fellow pilgrims in this centuries-old journey. Even as our nation and the world now bask in the warm rays of hope and redemption, clouds of fear and despair yet hover nearby. May we as Baptists renew our commitment to the great biblical, and human, themes that have the power to overcome the ugliness and greed that separates earth from heaven.

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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).  Climbing upon the Soapbox this month is Mark Ray, a layman at First Baptist Church in Decatur, Alabama, and formerly a member of the Truett Seminary board and past president of Mainstream Alabama Baptists.

"Is The Second Wave of SBC's Conservative Resurgence Coming to Fruition?"
By Mark Ray

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"Growing Generous Givers: Teaching Children About Stewardship"
By Julie Whidden Long

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Investing in Young Baptists:  Moderate Baptists at both national and state levels increasingly realize the importance of young people within the movement.  Following a lengthy and intentional period of self-examination, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship recently identified investing in young Baptists as the organizations #1 priority.  This month long-time campus minister Wanda Kidd, serving at the forefront of moderate Baptist campus ministry in the position of College Ministry Consultant for CBF North Carolina, discusses The Changing Face of Baptist Campus Ministry.

The Changing Face of Baptist Campus Ministry
by Wanda Kidd

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Progressive and Religious: How Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist
Leaders Are Moving Beyond the Culture Wars and Transforming
American Public Life
by Robert P. Jones
Reviewed by Wil Platt

           
            Having lived through a decade or more of supremacy by the Christian right, some will be tempted to interpret the short title of this month’s selection as an oxymoron. How could any movement be both progressive and religious? As Rosemary Radford Reuther observes in her recommendation for the book, we have been presented with “the falsehood that only conservative evangelicals are seriously religious.” The basic purpose of the author is to “paint a compelling portrait of an emerging progressive religious movement in America.” I believe he succeeds in his task.
             Robert P. Jones (Robby to his friends) describes himself as “a speaker, scholar, and consultant on religion and progressive politics.” He is president of Public Religion Research, a consulting firm advising advocacy groups, and visiting fellow in religion at Third Way, a progressive think tank. He completed his M. Div. at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; the fundamentalist takeover of that institution occurred in his final semester and definitely influenced his outlook. He went on to earn a doctorate at Emory University in Atlanta. After a brief period of teaching in the Religious Studies Department of Missouri State University, he accepted a position as the founding director and senior fellow at the Center for American Values in Public Life at People for the American Way Foundation in Washington, D. C. While there and during the year following his departure, he completed the work for the book. Since 2007, he has been working as an independent consultant in progressive circles in Washington. Additional information about his background and activities can be found on his Web site.
              Progressive and Religious is based upon nearly one hundred interviews with progressive religious leaders from synagogues, churches, mosques, meditation halls, and homes across the United States. Protestants who were interviewed include Tony Campolo, evangelical scholar, speaker, and writer; James Forbes, former senior pastor of the The Riverside Church in New York; Welton Gaddy, Director of the Interfaith Alliance; Brian McLaren, speaker, pastor, and leader in the Emerging Church movement; and Jim Wallis, President of Sojourners/Call to Renewal. Three chapters of the book are devoted to the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The final chapter covers progressive Buddhists. The book contains a complete list of interviewees divided according to their religious or professional affiliation, extensive notes, and a generous bibliography.
               Jones states that there were two meta-narratives that dominated late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century thought in regard to religion in America. One was the belief among mainline Protestants that the twentieth century would witness the “the full blossoming of Christian principles” and the Christianizing of the culture. On the other hand, some predicted the demise of religion in the face of an assault by science and reason. As things happened, neither of these visions came to pass. Buffeted by two world wars, economic collapse, the Holocaust, and the Cold War, the vision of a Christianized culture never came to fruition. The vision of secularization did not come to pass either; religion persisted, and continued to challenge science and rationalism. By the end of the twentieth century, in the place of these “exhausted visions,” two other forces emerged: “a defiant, rejectionist form of religion represented by the religious right and an equally militant condemnation of religion by the angry neoatheists. . . .” The religious right focused on a narrow range of issues: abortion, same-sex marriage, and stem cell research. As a result of his research, Jones believes that the majority of Americans are looking beyond the culture wars toward religious and political progress. He sees the progressive voices that he interviewed as “the vanguard of a new public face of religion in American public life.”
               In the conclusion to the book, Jones discusses the “shared principles and values” of people who are both progressive and religious. First, these individuals and groups place an emphasis on social justice. They do not see this as optional; it is central to their faith. The Jewish concept of tikku olam, “healing the world,” is a way to express this concept. Second, progressives follow a relational approach to truth. Strong emphasis is given to experience in community, the use of human faculties in discerning truth, and humility. Third, progressives emphasize a “rigorous engagement with tradition” not a break with tradition. The past must be revered and respected, but it cannot supplant the present. Fourth, progressives have a belief in the unity of all humanity. In the Abrahamic faiths, this is based upon the belief that all have been created in the image of God. All people have not only a common origin but also a shared fate. Fifthly and finally, progressives have a new vision of America that emphasizes interdependence and generosity instead of unilateralism.
               While some Baptists seem to be “circling the wagons,” Robert P. Jones paints a picture of a future characterized by openness, attention to issues of social justice, and religious cooperation. The progressive voices he has identified give us cause for hope.

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Recommended Online Reading for Informed Baptists
Compiled by Bruce Gourley

Crowd at Ebenezer Baptist Celebrates Historic Election
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (November 4, 2008)
"At 11, CNN projected Obama as the president-elect, and the sanctuary erupted in a shrill noise like a jet taking off.  People jumped up and down in the pews, raised their arms to heaven, and many began to weep.  “It’s the spirit of God,” said Annette Gay of Atlanta as she buried her face in her hands and burst into tears."

What Happened to the Religious Vote? It's Complicated
Austin American-Statesman (November 2008)
Martin Marty, a venerable and astute observer of religion in America, noted a telling distinction in how we are sizing up this presidential election. Two news stories appeared within a day of each other, one from The Wall Street Journal that characterized conservative Christians (including white evangelicals and Catholics) as still solidly Republican, the other from The New York Times that credited President-elect Barack Obama with making significant inroads among evangelicals (particularly the younger part of that demographic). Can both be true?

Dates to Note

December 6, 2008, Southern Folk Advent Service ("When Shall I See Jesus?"), 4 PM, Old Church near Oxford College of Emory University (Oxford, Georgia) on the corner of Fletcher and Wesley Streets. Admission is free, and no tickets are required. An offering will be taken. Seating is first come, first served. The featured preacher is E. Brooks Holifield.  Steven Darsey is the worship leader.  For more information email sdarsey@meridianherald.org, go to www.meridianherald.org or call 404-525-4722.

February  6-7, 2008, Now Serving Atlanta, hosted by McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University, Atlanta, Georgia.  A great opportunity for college students to connect with each other and the needs of the world around them.  For more information or to register, click here.

February 9-14, 2009, Global Baptist Peace Conference, Rome, Italy. The conference will consist of six days including intensive training in conflict transformation, nonviolent prophetic action, and other relevant topics, inspiring speakers, workshops, and worship.
Information: detailed schedule, printable brochure, printable poster.

June 4-6, 2009, Baptist History and Heritage Society Annual Meeting, Huntsville, Alabama.  Hosted by First Baptist Church, Huntsville. Theme: Events Shaping Baptist Heritage in America. More information.

July 2-3, 2009, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly, Houston, Texas.  More information.

July 15-18, 2009, International Conference on Baptist Studies V, Whitley College (Baptist College of Victoria), Melbourne, Australia.  The conference takes Baptists as its subject matter, but participation is not restricted to Baptists, either as speakers or attendees.  The theme is "Interfaces--Baptists and Others," which includes relations with other Christians, other faiths, and other movements such as the Enlightenment.  It may be explored by means of case studies, some of which may be very specific in time and place while others may cover long periods and more than one country.  Offers of papers to last no more than 25 minutes in delivery (although the full text may be longer) are welcome.  Please submit the title to the conference coordinator, Professor David W. Bebbington, Department of History, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4TB, Scotland.  A volume of conference papers will appear in the Studies in Baptist History and Thought series, published by Paternoster Press.  The college will provide participants with full board over the three days of the meeting and all charges will be kept as low as possible.  Programs and application forms will be available in a few months.

If you know of a Baptist event that needs to be added to this list, please let us know.

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