The Other Baptists
Monday, July 9, 2007
Don't look now, but the breakdown of the so-called Religious Right gets another step closer.
On Friday in Washington, two of the larger groups – the American Baptist Churches and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship – are worshipping together for the first time. They are commissioning two missionary couples who will represent both groups, and are organizing a national Islamic-Baptist dialogue to improve relations with Muslims.
“It is an effort to celebrate our common heritages as Baptist Christians and to affirm our commitment to work together more collaboratively,” said the Rev. Daniel Vestal, national coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. “The Baptist witness is much richer and more nuanced than is characterized so often in the public square now.”
In January, an even broader group of Baptists will host an Atlanta meeting “to speak and work together to create an authentic and genuine prophetic Baptist voice in these complex times,” according to a joint document they issued called a “North American Baptist Covenant.”
The covenant grew out of meetings of Baptist leaders organized by Carter, a longtime Bible teacher who severed ties in 2000 with the Southern Baptist Convention because of what he called its “increasingly rigid” creed.
At 16.3 million members, the Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Protestant denomination in the country. However, millions of other Baptists have churches nationwide that are either independent or affiliated with smaller groups.
Labels: Christianity
Posted by B Feiler at 7:03 AM
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