President's Reflections:

    Over the past year, I have become acquainted with the writings of Canadian theologian Douglas John Hall, author of the recent The Cross in Our Context (Augsburg Fortress, 2003). Hall's major project is the three-volume systematic, in which he articulates “Christian theology in a North American context.” I find Hall's theology quite attractive, blending the precision of a well-trained theologian with that of social critic, theologizing what Christians should be about in the changing ecclesial and socio-political landscape of the latter twentieth and emerging twenty-first centuries of America and Canada.
    In Confessing the Faith (Augsburg Fortress, 1998), Hall speaks to the necessity of confessing a faith that engages the believer firmly in the context that they are currently living within while sometimes having to live against the grain of that context as Gospel and context diverge. Hall cautions, however, that confession can be misused. Hall writes,

    We do not have to deny that the confession of faith may sometimes include the    
    defense of the church, but we must certainly not allow ecclesiastical self-defense to become normative in this work. Such a conception of Christian confession belongs to Christendom, that is, to the triumphant church of the ages, which competed with the world and every worldly power, power against power, sword against sword, for preeminence.  There is something incongruous about a church that is bent upon defending itself. For the “Head” of this “body” did not do so, and he forbade that impulsive apostle whom he named “the Rock” to use the sword even in his defense (Luke 22:51). Even on the cross, according to the record, Jesus was more concerned with his friends (“Woman, behold thy Son!”), his fellow-sufferers (“This day you will be with me in paradise”), and his enemies (“Forgive them, for they know not what they do”) than for himself. A church whose confession is directed against worldly unbelief and scorn and towards its own self-preservation in the face of every threat is judged unworthy of this Example, who is more than example.  (p. 12-13)

    I find Hall a companionable presence as I traverse this rocky landscape of denominational life. Serving on local, regional, and national boards, I find myself vexed by recent gambit being proffered by certain American Baptist conservative groups. Over the past few years, the word “confession” and even “creed” crops up in the newsletters and speeches of the American Baptist Evangelicals. These words are invoked as part of ABE's appeal towards settling divisive issues by ridding one side of the other side's very presence.
    What I find in Hall's theology is not a renunciation of creeds and confessions. Indeed, he would probably commend Baptists to go back and revisit the confessional literature of our forebears in the faith. What Hall counters is “ecclesiastical self-defense,” something that permeates the language of ABE.
    I would ask that American Baptists ponder once more the tenets of Baptist identity. We are indeed a people of the Word, but American Baptists are not given over to an inerrant Biblicism. We still trust that the individual and the local church can find different interpretations and live out in all good faithfulness their reading of the text. It creates some discomfort and disunity among associations or regions, but I would like to think that historic principles and freedoms held dear by Baptists continue to allow our denominational family not to be a people of majority rule or dominative power.
    In a time in which ABE holds a national conference to discuss what is best for the future of the denomination yet requires a signed confessional document as part of its admission, it gives me pause to wonder.  In a time in which a petition coming from one of our regions appears before the General Board to amend the “We Are American Baptists” document to reflect no room for difference on issues of human sexuality, it gives me pause to wonder.  I look at the current landscape of American Baptist conservatism, and I wonder where the unique voice of American Baptist polity and identity has gone among some of these folks. I know and respect many conservative American Baptists. After all, I'm a native Kansan, yet I do not see the gentle humility of some of my beloved Kansas Baptist mentors underscoring the convictions of this new generation.
    The ornery side of me is tempted to engage in fellowship hall fisticuffs (a.k.a. the ecclesial equivalent of a barroom brawl), but I find myself reminded by Hall to turn towards the Gospel's injunction to put away the sword (surely in this situation guised as the “liberal vs. conservative” divide) and to work toward reconciliation and common ground.
    I am unsure if ABE leaders would like to talk to me. I could not attend their national conference, as I could not sign their confession of faith out of good conscience and Baptist conviction. What I hope, however, is that I might be able to sit down at table with some of these conservative folks. I would gladly join them in the stalwart confession of “Christ is Lord.”
    Can those who disagree about some matters find at least that they are centered in Christ together? This is the vision of ABC/USA General Secretary, the Rev. A. Roy Medley. Perhaps it is time that we set aside any exclusionary clauses in order to dialogue about matters that vex. Can we not attempt to carry on together, working out our differences around the most common of Christian confessions?