It’s Time… to Recapture our Heritage
Imagine with me this morning. You are sitting at home in your favorite chair, on your beloved couch, or within the sheets of your soft bed – you are reading a book, watching a Cardinals game, or studying your Sunday School lesson. You are relaxed, feeling that all is well with the world. Until you catch a whiff of something foreign, strange, extra-ordinary in the negative sense of that term. Your heart starts to race - before your cognitive functions can catch up, your limbic system recognizes the something foreign as smoke. No one in your home smokes, so you get up immediately and investigate.
One of your worst nightmares becomes reality and there are flames in your kitchen. You grab you phone, dial 911. The dispatcher listens, takes your address and promises the fire truck will be there. You know the flames are already too much for you, so you wisely run outside looking right and left for the truck. But it never comes. The house you love, filled with things you were sure you couldn’t live without, is gone.
As it turns out the firemen were not busy with another call, or engaged in another emergency. They were back at the firehouse fighting over the new color of the truck – whether it should be yellow or red. Rather than use the truck, they were fighting over its color.
Do you imagine you would be angry, as you stare at the ashes which were your life?
This is not a pretty analogy, but I think it honestly represents the state of Christianity today. There’s a world on fire, and we’re in the firehouse arguing about the color of the fire truck. Should it be Pentecostal red, Presbyterian gray, Methodist green, or Baptist blue.
Now it may actually matter whether the fire-truck is yellow or red. Maybe most of them are red for a very good reason. But the time to have that discussion is not when a house is in flames. There is an urgency that trumps the question of color, of aesthetics, of procedure, or even strict protocol.
If you find this analogy and it’s implications a bit strident, I’m sorry. But I must tell you the truth. Many of the things which have divided Christian churches, particularly the things which have created various protestant denominations, are like chaff which the wind will blow away. Some are clearly not worth the paper which purports to hold up the endless supporting arguments. And the few things which matter don’t matter as much as helping people know the love of God.
This summer I’ve been preaching, topically, on subjects that Daniel Vestal covers in his book on the missional church. Today I want to address his chapter where he explains why he is a convictional Baptist. His key convictions: 1) the church ought to be non-hierarchical, 2) non-creedal, 3) emphasize freedom, 4) focus on personal conversion. Here’s the thing – every one of those strengths, has the capacity to be a weakness.
Non-hierarchy can lead to anarchy, non-creedal can lead to non-convictional, freedom must be balanced with commitment, and personal conversion only happens as a result of the church – Christian witnesses, like in the passage we just read.
Hear JH Shakespeare, British Baptist leader: “I passionately desire the goal of Church Unity, the days of denominationalism are numbered. There is nothing more pathetic or useless, in this world, than clinging to dead issues… the vast tree of sectarian divisions is rapidly becoming hollow: it is propped up by iron bands of trust deeds and funds… One day, in a general storm, the hollow tree will come down with a crash.” (From McBeth’s Baptist History, p. 502)
Not many of you likely know when he wrote those words (1918)… What this British Baptist leaders saw in the early 20th century, is surely coming to pass. There is remarkable growth among those churches which don’t identify with any denomination… Most “GenXers” and later could not care less about denominational issues.
I know that this is bemoaned as a problem, and it is for us denominational types it does provide difficulty, but the fact is it is also a result of the gospel’s work. There has been a growing realization that it’s the faith in the heart, not the membership card in the cabinet which matters. And there ought to be an understanding that Christ’s followers can honestly disagree today, just as Peter and Paul disagreed years ago. There are clearly Presbyterians, Methodists, and Episcopalians with whom I have more in common than some Baptists. But the things which divide us all, should not blind us to the central task of the gospel.
With all of that the question arises: why are you still Baptist? I’m glad you asked.
Two words: heritage and hope.
It is my personal heritage – Baptist university, liberal arts education with people who were committed to love me as a child of God. I wasn’t just a student, a tuition payer, I was their calling. I had a good experience at SWBTS, before the conservative takeover. I didn’t agree with everything said, but it was a positive experience. So I have a personal heritage, a lot of good has been done through the commitment to denominational structures.
It is more than personal however. It is a sense that the Baptist struggle for freedom – for the freedom to think, the freedom to worship, the freedom to interpret, the freedom for laity to lead, the freedom testified to by early Baptists is a glorious thing to hold onto.
Early free thinkers, Baptists, were among the first abolitionists. Early leaders fought for the separation of church and state… believing that the government had no business in the religion business.
That Baptist bedrock conviction that the individual ought to be as free as possible, that the congregation should be free to follow God’s leadership, that the state should be free from ecclesiastical control… of that I’m proud to proclaim.
But… there’s something else. There’s hope that what we are doing as Baptists is a pleasing expression of the vast diversity of God’s kingdom. I’m Baptist because it is my way of serving Christ, NOT because I believe it is Christ’s way of serving God. That is to say, there are many other churches all of them have a mission, a calling, a direction, from God. We don’t all need to join and become one church, but we ALL need to recognize that any one who is a follower of Christ is a brother and sister – and any human being is beloved person created in God’s image.
The freedom of embracing all Christians in fellowship and work, is what gives me hope. And I’m hopeful that as I put Christ first, I can work within this tradition to help others do the same.
I decided to pursue a second masters at Princeton Seminary about the time the CBF was getting off the ground, about the time the SBC takeover was finalized. I looked hard at moving to a denomination which didn’t fight. But the more I looked, the more I saw that they are all equally imperfect.
I’ve written before about our trouble with our middle name. It is a problem here in Kirkwood. The other day I was having lunch at a local restaurant and the waitress asked what I did. It was the day after the big storm, so I was particularly dressed down, and I said, well you’ll never guess. I’m the pastor of Kirkwood Baptist Church. Oh, she said. We talked about a couple of TV preachers she was less than enamored with… I assured her I wasn’t anything like Joyce Myers… (although I made it clear that I didn’t question her sincerity – that was God’s business). Then she said… “I’ve always thought you Baptists were pretty uptight and (without actually using the word) self-righteous.”
We’ve got an image problem. It’s one that won’t be solved easily, but it’s one that some of our fellow brethren help to perpetuate. They do this by boycotting Disney, by refusing to serve water to the thirsty because it came from AB, and by showing up at certain funerals with those horrid placards which indicated the deceased is in hell because of the gender of the person he loved.
Now we know those people are crazy and don’t represent the love of Christ, but the average person reading the paper sees the word Baptist and assumes we must all be in the same camp if not in the same tent.
So it’s really a matter of education, one person at a time. Helping people understand what we mean by our name. The beautiful heritage of freedom and the glorious hope that as free churches and free people we’ll follow Christ away from divisions into unity.
Ultimately the way to accomplish this is to loose ourselves in our mission to love and teach, to rescue and reconcile, to leave the firehouse and follow Christ.
KBC July 30, 06
Scott L. Stearman
One of your worst nightmares becomes reality and there are flames in your kitchen. You grab you phone, dial 911. The dispatcher listens, takes your address and promises the fire truck will be there. You know the flames are already too much for you, so you wisely run outside looking right and left for the truck. But it never comes. The house you love, filled with things you were sure you couldn’t live without, is gone.
As it turns out the firemen were not busy with another call, or engaged in another emergency. They were back at the firehouse fighting over the new color of the truck – whether it should be yellow or red. Rather than use the truck, they were fighting over its color.
Do you imagine you would be angry, as you stare at the ashes which were your life?
This is not a pretty analogy, but I think it honestly represents the state of Christianity today. There’s a world on fire, and we’re in the firehouse arguing about the color of the fire truck. Should it be Pentecostal red, Presbyterian gray, Methodist green, or Baptist blue.
Now it may actually matter whether the fire-truck is yellow or red. Maybe most of them are red for a very good reason. But the time to have that discussion is not when a house is in flames. There is an urgency that trumps the question of color, of aesthetics, of procedure, or even strict protocol.
If you find this analogy and it’s implications a bit strident, I’m sorry. But I must tell you the truth. Many of the things which have divided Christian churches, particularly the things which have created various protestant denominations, are like chaff which the wind will blow away. Some are clearly not worth the paper which purports to hold up the endless supporting arguments. And the few things which matter don’t matter as much as helping people know the love of God.
This summer I’ve been preaching, topically, on subjects that Daniel Vestal covers in his book on the missional church. Today I want to address his chapter where he explains why he is a convictional Baptist. His key convictions: 1) the church ought to be non-hierarchical, 2) non-creedal, 3) emphasize freedom, 4) focus on personal conversion. Here’s the thing – every one of those strengths, has the capacity to be a weakness.
Non-hierarchy can lead to anarchy, non-creedal can lead to non-convictional, freedom must be balanced with commitment, and personal conversion only happens as a result of the church – Christian witnesses, like in the passage we just read.
Hear JH Shakespeare, British Baptist leader: “I passionately desire the goal of Church Unity, the days of denominationalism are numbered. There is nothing more pathetic or useless, in this world, than clinging to dead issues… the vast tree of sectarian divisions is rapidly becoming hollow: it is propped up by iron bands of trust deeds and funds… One day, in a general storm, the hollow tree will come down with a crash.” (From McBeth’s Baptist History, p. 502)
Not many of you likely know when he wrote those words (1918)… What this British Baptist leaders saw in the early 20th century, is surely coming to pass. There is remarkable growth among those churches which don’t identify with any denomination… Most “GenXers” and later could not care less about denominational issues.
I know that this is bemoaned as a problem, and it is for us denominational types it does provide difficulty, but the fact is it is also a result of the gospel’s work. There has been a growing realization that it’s the faith in the heart, not the membership card in the cabinet which matters. And there ought to be an understanding that Christ’s followers can honestly disagree today, just as Peter and Paul disagreed years ago. There are clearly Presbyterians, Methodists, and Episcopalians with whom I have more in common than some Baptists. But the things which divide us all, should not blind us to the central task of the gospel.
With all of that the question arises: why are you still Baptist? I’m glad you asked.
Two words: heritage and hope.
It is my personal heritage – Baptist university, liberal arts education with people who were committed to love me as a child of God. I wasn’t just a student, a tuition payer, I was their calling. I had a good experience at SWBTS, before the conservative takeover. I didn’t agree with everything said, but it was a positive experience. So I have a personal heritage, a lot of good has been done through the commitment to denominational structures.
It is more than personal however. It is a sense that the Baptist struggle for freedom – for the freedom to think, the freedom to worship, the freedom to interpret, the freedom for laity to lead, the freedom testified to by early Baptists is a glorious thing to hold onto.
Early free thinkers, Baptists, were among the first abolitionists. Early leaders fought for the separation of church and state… believing that the government had no business in the religion business.
That Baptist bedrock conviction that the individual ought to be as free as possible, that the congregation should be free to follow God’s leadership, that the state should be free from ecclesiastical control… of that I’m proud to proclaim.
But… there’s something else. There’s hope that what we are doing as Baptists is a pleasing expression of the vast diversity of God’s kingdom. I’m Baptist because it is my way of serving Christ, NOT because I believe it is Christ’s way of serving God. That is to say, there are many other churches all of them have a mission, a calling, a direction, from God. We don’t all need to join and become one church, but we ALL need to recognize that any one who is a follower of Christ is a brother and sister – and any human being is beloved person created in God’s image.
The freedom of embracing all Christians in fellowship and work, is what gives me hope. And I’m hopeful that as I put Christ first, I can work within this tradition to help others do the same.
I decided to pursue a second masters at Princeton Seminary about the time the CBF was getting off the ground, about the time the SBC takeover was finalized. I looked hard at moving to a denomination which didn’t fight. But the more I looked, the more I saw that they are all equally imperfect.
I’ve written before about our trouble with our middle name. It is a problem here in Kirkwood. The other day I was having lunch at a local restaurant and the waitress asked what I did. It was the day after the big storm, so I was particularly dressed down, and I said, well you’ll never guess. I’m the pastor of Kirkwood Baptist Church. Oh, she said. We talked about a couple of TV preachers she was less than enamored with… I assured her I wasn’t anything like Joyce Myers… (although I made it clear that I didn’t question her sincerity – that was God’s business). Then she said… “I’ve always thought you Baptists were pretty uptight and (without actually using the word) self-righteous.”
We’ve got an image problem. It’s one that won’t be solved easily, but it’s one that some of our fellow brethren help to perpetuate. They do this by boycotting Disney, by refusing to serve water to the thirsty because it came from AB, and by showing up at certain funerals with those horrid placards which indicated the deceased is in hell because of the gender of the person he loved.
Now we know those people are crazy and don’t represent the love of Christ, but the average person reading the paper sees the word Baptist and assumes we must all be in the same camp if not in the same tent.
So it’s really a matter of education, one person at a time. Helping people understand what we mean by our name. The beautiful heritage of freedom and the glorious hope that as free churches and free people we’ll follow Christ away from divisions into unity.
Ultimately the way to accomplish this is to loose ourselves in our mission to love and teach, to rescue and reconcile, to leave the firehouse and follow Christ.
KBC July 30, 06
Scott L. Stearman
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