New Baptist Covenant

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Former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have proposed the establishment of a broadly inclusive alternative Baptist movement to counter the public image of Baptists as being predominantly tied to conservative political and cultural perspectives. The movement would particularly address poverty, the environment and global conflicts.

The effort will begin with a "Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant," a major conference of diverse Baptist organizations to be held in Atlanta, Georgia, January 30 through February 1, 2008. Carter said the meeting will be "one of the most historic events at least in the history of Baptists in this country, maybe Christianity." Clinton told reporters that those who "did not have both the privilege and the burden to be raised in the Baptist church cannot possibly appreciate" how unique such cooperation is. "This is an attempt to bring people together and say, 'What would our Christian witness require of us in the 21st century?'" he said.^[1]

About 80 leaders of 40 moderate Baptist organizations representing an estimated 20 million Baptists in the United States, Canada and Mexico met at the Carter Center in Atlanta on January 9, 2007 for the announcement. This meeting was termed by one of the organizers "a historic demonstration of Baptist unity"^[2] by deciding to focus on concerns shared by attendees as followers of Christ rather than dwell on obvious differences. Most participants at the Atlanta meeting are members of the the 20-million-member North American Baptist Fellowship, part of the 102-year-old Baptist World Alliance. The more conservative Nashville, Tenn.-based Southern Baptist Convention decided in 2004 to pull out of the Baptist World Alliance.

Carter and Clinton—both raised Southern Baptist—announced the groups had committed to put aside more than a century and a half of social and theological differences to unite behind an agenda of compassionate ministry. Though the former presidents are both Democrats, Republican Baptists are expected to attend next year's nonpartisan gathering as well. The program chairman said there would definitely be Republican speakers in the plenary session.^[3]

The initiative stems from the adoption of the "North American Baptist Covenant" in which leaders reaffirmed their commitment to Baptist values including evangelism, helping the needy and promoting religious liberty. It will be the first time since 1845 that there has been a major effort to bring together Baptists from diverse racial, theological and regional backgrounds. Most US Baptists met in 1814 to form a missionary society known as the Triennial Convention. Southern Baptists broke away over the slavery issue in 1845. Since then, Baptists have splintered even further, most recently due to the fundamentalist takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention in the last two decades of the twentieth century.

The four largest of the predominantly African-American Baptist conventions began meeting jointly in recent years. They plan to do so again in early 2008 and then join with other Baptists a few days later for the "Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant."

The general secretary of the American Baptist Churches USA said this vision of Baptists coming together could encourage American Baptists soured by their denomination's fragmentation over homosexuality.^[1]

The national coordinator of the Atlanta-based Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), a quasi-denomination that emerged from the recent moderate/fundamentalist controversy said the Carter initiative fills a need for "a broader Baptist witness that is committed to social justice as well as evangelism."^[1]

The New Baptist Covenant will be a "re-claiming of Baptist heritage," according to a statement from the Baptist Joint Committee. Further, it will be "a commitment to working cooperatively, being agreeable in our disagreements, and honoring historic Baptist tenets of soul freedom and religious liberty."^[4]

The 2008 "Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant" is not expected to create a new denomination or political coalition.^[3] However, planners hope it will inspire collaboration around evangelism and social causes, drawing together an even larger coalition of Baptists from the North and South, the U.S. and Canada, and predominantly black and predominantly white conventions and fellowships. Advocates of the New Baptist Covenant predicted it will help heal the racial divide that has separated Baptists in America since before the American Civil War.

Tentative themes for plenary sessions at the 2008 meeting in Atlanta, according to a CBF communications report, are: Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, Unity in Bringing Good News to the Poor, Unity in Respecting Religious Diversity, Unity in Seeking Peace with Justice and Unity in Welcoming the Stranger and Healing the Broken-Hearted.

Individual Southern Baptists were involved in the announcement, but not current leaders of the 16 million-member denomination.

Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, which is not involved in the New Baptist Covenant, have dismissed the event as merely another chance for disgruntled moderate and progressive Baptists to express their disapproval and contempt for the more conservative SBC.^[3] Some also have pointed to the event’s election-year timing and Clinton and Carter’s involvement as evidence it is designed to stir up Baptist support for Democrats—and especially the presidential bid of Clinton’s wife, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

[edit] References

"'Baptist Covenant' offers chance to heal racial wounds, leaders say." Associated Baptist Press News, January 11, 2007. http://www.abpnews.com/1605.article
"BCE Directors Pledge Support for 'New Baptist Covenant'." Baptist Center for Ethics. http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=8650. Accessed March 14, 2007.
"Carter & Clinton call for 'New Baptist Covenant’." Baptist Press, Jan 10, 2007. http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=24745
"Carter, Clinton Meet With Baptists to Plan for New 'Covenant'." http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2007/01/carter_clinton_meet_with_bapti.html
"Carter, Clinton urge new Baptist covenant network." Christian Century," February 06, 2007. http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=2855
"CBF Coordinating Council receives updates on CCT, New Baptist Covenant." Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, February 16, 2007. http://www.thefellowship.info/News/releases/070216Council.icm