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Many years ago, I took the decision to be Baptized and became a Baptist Minister. A Minister friend, on the day I received my handshake from the then President the Baptist Union of Great Britain, said “welcome to the elite!”
I liked the Baptist Union. I liked what it stood for, and what it represented. I enjoyed fellowship with other ministers, I found their company stimulating and encouraging. I felt that I was learning a lot and growing through the experience. I became an enthusiastic supporter of the Regional Association, to which the Church I was serving, belonged. I liked our Regional Minister’s and held them with respect in prayer.
But, as I have journeyed through my various ministries over the years, I have seen the Baptist Union change. Regional Ministers have come and gone, structures at Baptist House and in our governance have changed. I am not sure if we are still the Baptist Union of Great Britain or are we now, officially, Baptist’s Together? Of course, the world has moved on since that day in Plymouth when I walked up the steps onto the platform and received my handshake.
Like many, I mourn the passing of the many things I enjoyed and felt blessed by. I mourn the good people who have moved on from our Baptist family to serve God in other fields. I know that, in the coming years, there will be many more changes
Of course, the Baptist Union is not the only thing to have changed. I have too.
My ministry has both shaped me and transformed me. I am grateful to God for those Churches that have helped me to develop and explore my understanding of God, the world and my place in it. I am grateful that I still feel at home within Baptist Churches.
Like many, I have struggled in the past year or so with some of the big issues that the Baptist family is facing at this time. I have to say I have found some of the discussions profoundly helpful, and some less so. I have been saddened by the tone of some of the debates. I appreciate that people hold strong views on some issues and, that passion, can lead to some harsh sounding responses.
I do not think I am the only Baptist Minister who has found myself asking the question “is there still a place for me in the Baptist family?” This has not been an idle thought, it is a question I have considered long and hard.
My conclusion?
I am staying!
Yes, the Baptist family is not perfect but, neither am I
Yes, the Baptist family has it’s disagreements but, so do I
Yes, in my view the Baptist family gets some things wrong but, so do I
I am a part of this mixed up, messed up family which, at its heart seeks to serve God.
My thoughts were settled when I read this quote from Thomas Merton;
The first and most elementary test of one’s call to the religious life is the willingness to accept life in a community in which everyone is more or less imperfect.
(Thomas Merton – The Seven Storey Mountain)
This does not excuse bad behaviour, nor does it condone it. It simply reflects the reality that, we are all imperfect.
Well put, Shaun. These are turbulent times which require grace and wisdom. Blessings to you!
I like the Thomas Merton quote! However will things change after the BU Council next month???
Thank you, Sean, for a typically thoughtful reflection. I am not sure I agree with your minister friend who described [presumably ministers] as ‘the elite’, though I am often humbled by the patient, loving ciommitment and endurance of colleagues.
Yes, some things have changed and it feels as though the pace of change is accelerating. I am mindful of a church member in the first church I served who was forever bemoaning “you’ve moved the goalposts again”. To mix metaphors, it seems to me that the church often runs well on familiar rails; however, when the Kingdom of God goes cross-country, it may feel like we’re stuck in a siding, puffing steam in irritation.
I want to stay a Baptist, even if many churches and colleagues then have a different understanding of scripture or marriage or statements of faith to me. At the end of all things, I do not believe we will be judged on the pinpoint accuracy of our theology or understanding but on how much of the love God has shown us has been turned to love in our behaviour to others.
Good article. We are family. Park send to have a similar conclusion in his letter to the Corinthians and ask the issues going on there. Glad you are starting in this bit of the body