A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE: Learning to Get Along, Part 2
BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS
By David R. Currie,
Coordinator

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God” are Jesus’ words according to Matthew in the fifth chapter of his Gospel. As Christians, and as Baptists, we should be peacemakers. We should be committed to peace. We should love peace. We should work for peace.

Peace is not something we have had in Baptist life for 18 years. This reality is frustrating to many of us. I get letters urging peace and accusing me of being a “destroyer of the peace.” I reflect on these things often. I do not like to fight or hear about fighting. It is especially embarrassing when there is conflict between Christians. It hurts our witness.

Recently I was preparing to teach Sunday School on Matthew 5:9. In studying, I came across William Barclay’s commentary. Read what he said in regard to peacemaking.

“The blessing is on the peace-maker, not necessarily on the peace-lovers. It very often happens that if a man loves peace in the wrong way, he succeeds in making trouble and not peace. We may, for instance, allow a threatening and dangerous situation to develop, and our defense is that for peace’s sake we do not want to take any action. There is many a person who thinks that he is loving peace, when in fact he is piling up trouble for the future, because he refuses to face the situation and to take the action which the situation demands. The peace the Bible calls blessed does not come from the evasion of issues; it comes from facing them, and conquering them. What this beatitude demands is not the passive acceptance of things because we are afraid of the trouble of doing anything about them, but the active facing of things, and the making of peace, even when the way to peace is through struggle.”

My friends, do these words not apply to the Baptist controversy? We have too many peace lovers and not enough peace makers.

When the fundamentalist takeover began, most of our SBC leaders loved peace so much that they did not “take the action which the situation demands.” Our leaders allowed “a threatening and dangerous situation to develop,” and for peace’s sake did not take any action. The result is a forever-changed SBC.

Today fundamentalism threatens every major state convention. And what is the leadership in many of these states doing? They are loving peace so much that they are “evading the issue,” “refusing to face the situation” and “piling up troubles for the future.” The result will be that nearly every state convention will be controlled by fundamentalists in another 10 years.

We are involved in a war. I am not comfortable with that language, but it is the language our adversaries have chosen. Adrian Rogers said, in addressing the 1995 SBC Pastors Conference:

“Friends, we are at WAR! No man has a right to be at peace when his brothers are at war. We’ve got a job to do, and it is a big job. We’ve been in a battle against unbelief, against liberalism, against moderatism. And it’s a battle.”

Walt Carpenter, editor of the Texas Baptist, is quoted in the Dallas Morning News, saying: “This is spiritual warfare. This is political warfare.”

If we are committed to being peacemakers, how are we as Texas Baptists to respond to these declarations of war?

First, a peacemaker seeks to negotiate with an adversary. We attempted this for years. Roy Hunnicut tried it. Russell Dilday tried it. Keith Parks tried it. Most SBC leaders tried it during the 1980s. None were successful. I admire them for trying. It is the first step one should take when under attack. But it failed. Why? Because the fundamentalist leaders in the SBC were never open to a negotiated peace. And they still are not. Notice the attitude of new SBC president Tom Elliff. His attitude is that if you do not agree with him and other fundamentalist leaders, you should repent. You cannot negotiate with that mindset. It cannot be done.

Second, a peacemaker must defeat the attacker in order to restore peace. Friends, that is the only option our adversary is giving us. We tried negotiation and it failed. The only choices now are to bring about peace through victory, which we can still do in the BGCT, or by surrender, which we did in the SBC.

I love peace. I want peace. I am willing to make peace. It seems to me that the only way to make peace is to defeat those who have declared war on Texas Baptists until they give up the fight. I see no other option. They will not give us another option.

Back to Barclay’s quote. In the present crisis within the BGCT, a peacelover, though well intentioned, may in truth be helping prevent peace. They are not making peace because they are not working to defeat those who would destroy. Remember your history. Chamberlain loved peace. Churchill made peace.

Peace has to be made through struggle. Simply loving peace when under attack will not get the job done. Pastors who write me that we all “should just love one another” are correct. We should love one another. On the other hand, these same people are not dealing with reality. They are allowing a dangerous situation to develop and doing nothing. And if they are not educating their churches to what has and is happening, they are really “piling up troubles for the future.”

I suppose I admire Herbert Reynolds as much or more than any other person I know. When he saw a “threatening and dangerous situation” developing, he took action. He MADE peace. Many disagreed with him, but a quick examination of the current mess at Louisiana College clearly shows his wisdom. If there were more leaders like Herbert Reynolds, there would be a great deal more peace in Baptist life today.

The ministries, programs, and institutions of the Baptist General Convention of Texas are all facing a “threatening and dangerous” situation. The response of too many is to “love peace” so much that they do not want to take any action and criticize those who do. They are not willing to work to “make peace.”

We will have peace in Baptist life some day, in some form or fashion, but it will not come by evading the issues. Barclay wrote, “The peace which the Bible calls blessed does not come from the evasion of issues; it comes from facing them, and conquering them.” I am grateful for the many BGCT and Texas Baptists Committed supporters who understand this “biblical” truth and are working to make peace. Please come to Fort Worth November 11-12 and be a peacemaker.

October 1996