Last week while attending Doctor of Ministry seminars our co-hort got into a discussion of conventions and all that goes with that heavy word. We are a generation that has been raised after all the convention issues. In some ways we are the first generation of pastors after the battle.
One of our professors was most intrigued by our comments regarding conventions, in particular the important role we all felt these played in Baptist life today. All of us in the room knew the vital importance of Baptist conventions, fellowships, and associations. These things matter to us because Baptist matters to us.
Let me explain this with a few statements:
Being a Christian is more important to me than being a Baptist.
Although I can point out some faults within the Baptist tradition, esp. the extreme sides, I think there is great good in the Baptist heritage.
I have chosen to stay a Baptist. I understand that it is part of my heritage and the great influence here, but I have made a conscious decision to choose to be part of the Baptist tradition.
I think each of us needs to know a great deal of Christian history, in particular our Baptist history. It will greatly enhance your understanding of our journey.
Finally, I believe community greatly matters. Thus I believe in conventions, fellowships, and associations.
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is holding our annual meeting this week. This is an important fellowship of Baptist who are similarly minded to our community. They will be looking at the future of this fellowship and how we will reach the people around us and support one another.
As part of this fellowship, please spend some time today praying for this group.
No comments:
Post a Comment