That which took place in Atlanta January 30 – February 1, the Celebration of the New Baptist Covenant, is a good beginning.  No one seems to know of what it is the beginning, but the consensus seems to be that this is only the beginning of something monumental.  Actually, something monumental has already taken place.  Representatives of thirty different Baptist groups, all of which are members of the North American Baptist Fellowship of the Baptist World Alliance, came together for fellowship, worship and work groups.  The Southern Baptist Convention, not being a member of the Baptist World Alliance, did not officially participate, but a multitude of individual Southern Baptists were among the 15,000 who registered.  This was the first time the diverse family of North American Baptists has met together in over 160 years.  Unity, the theme of the occasion, was achieved because there was no emphasis on doctrine or politics.  Instead all the sessions focused on becoming the embodiment of the mandate of Jesus in his first sermon at Nazareth “…to preach good news to the poor…to heal the broken hearted…to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”  (Luke 4:18-19)

            Mainstream Baptists should be pleased that historic Baptist principles were much in evidence.  Topics that surfaced were the Bible as the basis of our faith and practice, the autonomy of the local church, and the separation of church and state.  Noted author John Grisham, a member of University Baptist Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, cautioned Baptists to stay out of politics.  It is encouraging to realize so great a diversity of Baptists, continue in the legacy of those religious pioneers who struggled and suffered for these principles. Whatever else may emerge from this beginning, support and reaffirmation of historic “Baptistness” would be a monumental development.

            Another monumental development could be an increased engagement of diverse Baptists locally and statewide.  Do Baptists need to go to Atlanta to implement a new covenant of unity and cooperation?  Fellowship between Afro-American and Anglo-American Baptists has increased in the recent past, but such local contact is minimal.  And although a few congregations have a truly multiracial congregation, most are primarily all black or all white.  When ministers meet together, the attendance is likewise one race or the other.  There are some American Baptists among us in Alabama, and a sprinkling of other Baptist persuasions.  Deliberate crossing of racial and denominational lines will foster the unity in diversity for which the New Baptist Covenant was designed.

In the meantime, some of those who brought the new covenant into existence will be meeting to decide where to go next.  They would welcome your ideas for positive planning.  The address is: contact@newbaptistcovenant.org.

 Pray that all the Baptists in North America will answer the prayer of Jesus for his followers “that they all be one.” (John 17:11)