An Open Letter to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship,
We have read of your recent anniversary and would like to give you our sincere congratulations. Undoubtedly, there were many in the early 1990s that said such a thing as the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship would never last. Who would have thought that a small group of dissenters from the largest Protestant denomination in North America would have managed to survive for twenty years? We resonate with your story. Even though we were not alive to see the events that led to your establishment, they alienate us from Southern Baptist life (and life in other denominations!), as well. We were stunned when we began to learn of the events that defined Baptist life in the latter half of the twentieth century. It is in many respects a tragedy. We have seen brochures and catalogs from our seminaries before the fundamentalists’ rise to power. We were poised to do great things, but something happened. But while we understand your exilic narrative, there are things that simply get in the way of people like us flying the CBF banner.
We are the children of the events that spawned the CBF, not a participant in its origins. Our new generation of young Baptists may know the story of what happened with the SBC (although many do not), but we did not live it. We do not have the same wounds and scars that you have. We stand eager to get something started. We want to define and drive a movement, not simply comment from the margins at conservative swings in evangelical life. We love dissent, but we also love organized, systematic efforts toward creating new things. We want something different, something new. Invitations to golf matches and pictures of white males on the green in Tampa are not exactly projecting that message to us. We want revolution, a new kind of Christianity that takes justice seriously again. Sometimes when we sit in CBF circles, all we hear are war stories of a conflict we lost before we were even born, so to speak (or maybe not). It is for these reasons that we were excited to read the news coming out of this year’s gathering.
When we saw that you were talking about your identity separate from your origins, we were elated. Alan Sherouse wrote in the Huffington Post that the CBF longs to move from being “reactive” to being “proactive.” He could not be more right. You cannot remain in the shadow of the Southern Baptist Convention forever. You cannot be defined merely as the anti-SBC. You cannot continue to be known only for being against a juggernaut of fundamentalist theology. You need to be known for something, as something. Something new, something different.
When we read of Kyle Reese’s words in the Associated Baptist Press and almost cheered. “Ministry to the least of these has been at the heart of this Fellowship,” he said. He spoke of the activity of the local congregation and the necessity to pursue these ends. “We will be at our best when we are willing to risk,” he continued. Yes! That is exactly what we want you to be!
The words of Colleen Burroughs resonate with us, as well. We want to be part of “Baptists who love, love, love Jesus, and love, love, love people. All people.” We are tired of a Church polity of exclusion. We are tired of a Church bound by politics. We are tired of a Church not known by its love. We want a Church that listens to Jesus before the latest theological fad. We want a Church that follows Jesus before the latest economic whim. We want a Church that knows that “the next chapter in our book [is] less about a fight and more about something that children will run to read because it is a beautiful story of love.”
We want a Church that loves, loves, loves people.
If you give that to us, we will come and come in droves. There are countless numbers of us out there, silently working in the margins. We feel homeless in so many branches of the Church because we just want to love others and are told that is simply not what we do anymore. We want to embrace our history and intellect without fear of inquisition. We want to promote a politics of justice and mercy, not the so-called pragmatic doctrines of injustice and retribution. We are tired of being told that our understanding of the Kingdom is impractical and naive. We are ready for a wider imagination, a greater vision for the future. We are dispersed across the country, waiting. Are we waiting for you?
Sincerely,
The Next Generation of Baptists
Posted on 28 June 2011, in Church, Current Events and tagged Baptist, Southern Baptist Convention, SBC, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Annual Meeting, Associated Baptist Press, CBF, 20th Anniversary, Tampa, Alan P. Sherouse, Kyle Reese, Colleen Burroughs. Bookmark the permalink. 16 Comments.
I like what you write about justice. Having browsed around your blog a bit, I sense that we probably define justice in very very different ways.
In your last post, I note that you believe Christians should not be involved in politics, Christians should not run for office or participate in the armed forces.
I guess I can’t relate to that. I hope that is a minority perspective among younger Baptists. As a 28 year-old Baptist who has been around CBF for a good long while, I don’t know many folks my age who share those views. I think the fight for social justice requires more political engagement not less. It seems smart, in my opinion, if younger Baptists – actually all Baptists – would recommit to the idea we as Baptists must “speak to but not for” other Baptists.
Thank you for you concern. I hope that the previous post was also clear enough that you could note that these positions are not static. Next week, I’ll spend a significant amount of time addressing them and the difficulties that come along with them. I’ll give you a hint on where I’m going though. I think Christians are unavoidably involved in politics. It’s what we do with it that makes the difference. I don’t think what we ought to do with it involves direct service to the State. My Anabaptist sensibilities find something fishy about that.
Social justice does require more political engagement not less. I agree. But I think the nature of that engagement needs to change. We need to be less obsessed with Washington and more passionate about what we can do where we are.
Also, do not mistake me for attempting to speak for all Baptists. I recognize that this is not a fact, something that I identify often. However, there are a significant number of us who think this way looking for a home. We’re passionate about justice, mercy, and peace, and we have not yet found Baptists in recent years who share that conviction. I would like to hope that the CBF could be that answer, but I need to see it happen first. That’s all I’m trying to say.
Wes, I hope CBF can be that answer too. Like you, I am passionate about justice, mercy, and peace. In our corner of the world, we are working as CBF Field Personnel to address some of these issues, to advocate for people who often have no voice, and to empower people with an education that will allow them to make a difference in their families, communities, and in their countries. What do you need to see happen first to believe that CBF is or could be the answer?
I don’t really see the value in pitting Washington against “where we are.” I’ve been “politically engaged” for all of my adult life via Young Democrats, Office of Congressman John Lewis, Baptist Joint Committee, etc. Political engagement is first and foremost about “where you are.” Grassroots politics is all about community involvement. I’m here in Waco. But you can’t separate what happens in my Waco community with what goes on down the road at the Austin capitol or in Washington DC. National, state, local – it’s all related.
We need to be more passionate about our community, more passionate about what is going on in our state and more passionate about what’s happening in our nation. That’s my take.
I am curious though, how do you view the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty? The BJC is, after all, an organization whose purpose is to be a religious liberty watchdog on Capitol Hill for different Baptist groups (and receives a significant portion of its funding from the CBF and CBFers)?
The BJC urges greater political participation of a nature different from what I think you’re advocating.
Interested in your thoughts.
Aaron
I’ll be addressing all of those concerns (at least in a general sense) in a series of posts beginning on Sunday. You’re getting ahead of me. ;) Stick around and I’ll answer them in a larger context and argument.
Also, out of all the things I wanted someone to get out of the letter, the political stance is not it. “We want a Church that loves, loves, loves people.” That’s what’s at the center here.
Well, the political is not unrelated to the point you wanted people to get. How we show our love to people is important too.
And we should our love to people based on the public policies that we support and oppose – public policies from Washington that affect us all.
Wes – thank you for your comments. I am a 24-year-old heavily involved in CBF. I resonate with some of what you have said. I attended this year’s General Assembly in Tampa, and the older generation is waiting and ready for our input, ready for people our age to help CBF realize its full potential. If you find that you are silently waiting on the margins, then you need to jump in. You need to help be a part of the change. I don’t think our generation needs to reinvent the wheel, but to provide fresh energy so that CBF can continue to be a catalyst for love, love, love.
I also think you should be careful about signing these thoughts over to an entire generation. Your thoughts are not reflective of this whole generation, and they can perpetuate negative stereotypes not conducive to the change you hope to see.
Know that there are people waiting for you. Stop sitting on the margins. Be a part of the future.
Emily stated exactly what I was thinking. I searched for a church that was “to my liking” for years and years waiting on the sidelines until my mother (who is very involved in CBF) told me “ask not what your church can do for you but what you can do for your church” and of course my very favorite quote…You must be the change you want to see in the world. Both of these statements let me know that I cannot sit on the sidelines waiting for someone else to lead or decide for me. Choose a church, commit to it and do you work! Be the change you want to see in your community, school, denomination, church, family etc. It’s really all you can do!
Wonderful thoughts that express much of what is in my heart concerning CBF.
However, one thing I do disagree with: I too attended the General Assembly a few weeks ago, yet all I heard was war stories. While I appreciated the wittiness and humor of the 20th Anniversary Reception, I did not hear of any dreams for the future. Rather, all I heard was how thankful we were to not be Southern Baptist. I think CBF has so much joyful potential, but I still think it needs some therapy. There are obviously some very deep psychological wounds and theological scars that have yet to heal. And there are a generation of us who, quite frankly, are beginning to grow tired and impatient of waiting for some folks to move on.
It doesn’t have to be that way. The 20th Anniversary Dinner was only a piece of the General Assembly, and it’s intention was to celebrate the stories that got us to where we are today. The fact that most of the room was able to laugh shows that we have come a long way. There were other parts of the week that celebrated our future (in fact, the business session featuring Colleen Burrough’s blessing was more focused on where we hope to be in the future than anything). But, it’s the people like us who have not been scarred by the events 20-years-ago that can push us towards a better future and help “some folks to move on.”
I too was at the General Assembly in Tampa. I had the privilege of introducing James Dunn at the Baptist Joint Committee’s RLC luncheon that Friday.
I’m not sure how many GAs I’ve been to – but I’ve been involved for a number of years now. I’m 28 – still a student, finishing up my phd at Baylor University.
I must admit that your experience is different from mine. I didn’t hear nothing but war stories. And when I did hear the SBC explicitly referenced on Wednesday night, it was for a laugh. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the CBF than with a laugh. I’m sorry if there were some younger Baptists who didn’t get the jokes.
What I do sense is that there are *some* – with a big emphasis on *some* – who don’t really give a hoot about the history of the CBF and aren’t really invested in remembering Baptist heritage and reflecting upon Baptist history.
The “move on” rhetoric is generally condescending and offensive. It’s used a club to beat older Baptists upside the head with. I think perhaps that younger Baptists (I include myself here) need to do a better job of being positive. We need to quit whining so much, quit complaining so much and quit acting so entitled to having things our way. We need to quit making thinly veiled threats. It’s annoying to basically see young Baptists give older Baptists ultimatums. The message conveyed is: if you don’t listen to us, what you’ve started won’t survive because we’ll take our chips and leave. I think we need to do a better job of showing respect to those who have come before us.
It wouldn’t hurt either if we started to care more about history, more about who we are and where we came from. If we do that, we’ll get the Bailey Smith reference next time and we’ll have one big belly laugh.
One more comment: when younger Baptists do complain (and I absolutely believe there are times when complaining is in order!) and do make accusations, let’s name names. Who are these folks specifically who need to “move on”? How can criticism be constructive if the criticism given is not specific?
AMEN AARON!!! AMEN!!
All of this has been well though out and well written. Thanks for the conversation.
I have a few comments I am going to offer over on the CBF moderator page in a bit, but they do boil down to: be the change. We are baptist. We embrace Priesthood of Believers and Autonomy of local churches. If we embrace that then we must not wait for commands, initiatives, and resolutions from on high. We need to do constructive work that will benefit the Fellowship and that will in turn give us access to shaping the future of the Fellowship.
Wes, Aaron, Emily, Rachel, Tyler, and Chris, my name is Cindy and my husband, Eddy and I live and work in Malaysia and Indonesia as CBF Field Personnel. Justice and advocacy issues are my passion. Our work focuses on preventing child sexual abuse and violence against women, raising awareness regarding human trafficking, promoting gender equality, narrowing the gap through education initiatives and training, promoting peace through interfaith action, and facilitating earthquake relief. I deeply resonate with Colleen’s blessing and appreciate the honest dialogue in which all of you are engaging. I live on the other side of the world from where you are so I don’t get to the GA very often. I was recently asked to facilitate the CBF Justice and Peacemaking Community on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/CBF-Justice-Peacemaking-Ministries/109994909092027?sk=wall) We are a new community and we need voices like yours to help us all think through the issues. You are right that together we are CBF and together we determine what that means. I would love to connect with all of you. Help me to hear and understand what you see and care about when you talk about justice. What is important to you? I know that nothing I ever do where I serve is done is isolation. We are empowered to act by caring people back home. I love what I do and believe in CBF, warts and all. No organization, no family is perfect. We need to hear each other to be more of who we can be. I invite all of you to join the conversation in the Justice and Peacemaking Community on Facebook. I think you have much to share that will make us better!
Thank you for the good writeup. It in reality was once a leisure account it. Glance complex to far delivered agreeable from you! By the way, how can we communicate?