A Fresh Perspective - 02/15/08

For three days in Atlanta (Jan. 30-Feb. 1) at the World Congress Center 30 Baptist conventions and organizations affiliated with the North American Baptist Fellowship - over 15,000 African-American, Anglo, Asian-American and Hispanic Baptists - all came together in worship and unity in Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. Walter Shurden, the renowned Baptist historian, said it was the most significant Baptist meeting that he had ever attended.

The Southern Baptist Convention declined the invitation to participate. As the SBC continues its course of being narrowly focused on its own version of doctrinal purity (even rejecting other Baptists who disagree) and a political agenda wedded to the religious right, this new coalition of Baptists, I believe, will become the voice for progressive Baptists in our time. We certainly had a great beginning in Atlanta.

In connection with "sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and its implications for public and private morality," the New Baptist Covenant, drawing from Jesus' own statement of mission in Luke 4, emphasizes our mission to "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."

In this statement of mission we are getting back to the Jesus of the Gospels. The radical Jesus of the Gospels upset the religious establishment of his day by disregarding their sacred taboos (like touching lepers and teaching women) and holiness laws (like healing on the Sabbath) in order to elevate love for others and compassion for human need. This Jesus has been largely conventionalized in traditional Christianity.

Many of us have twisted Jesus' message (the kingdom of God on earth) and Jesus' mission (making people physically, emotionally, and spiritually whole as well as establishing peace and justice for all) into nothing more than heaven when we die and getting people to believe what we think is the correct doctrine. I know, because this has been part of my faith journey. I was indoctrinated into a Christianity that produced a Christ after our own image. For a number of years I preached an Americanized Jesus, a Jesus fashioned according to individualized values and aspirations.

We have reduced the world-changing gospel of Jesus to a gospel that is concerned only with getting individual souls into heaven. But God loves the world, the whole world, this world, and is deeply moved by the plight of those who suffer, especially the "the least of these" who suffer injustice.

Unfortunately, many people form impressions of Baptists by identifying all Baptists with the largest denomination and group of Baptists - the Southern Baptists. Hopefully, with the emergence of this new coalition of progressive Baptists from all over North America a new day has dawned. As we make our voice heard many of us will no longer have to say, "Yes, I am a Baptist, but I'm not the kind you have probably heard about."

Chuck Queen is Pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church, Frankfort (CBF affiliated). You can access his sermons and past articles at www.ibcfrankfort.com. He welcomes your comments at cqueen@fewpb.net.