HOW EUROPEAN BAPTISTS VIEW THE SBC WITHDRAWAL FROM BWA
My Opinion
By James L. Heflin

The vote of messengers at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention will make final a recommendation from the Executive Committee to discontinue all SBC contributions to the Baptist World Alliance. Since the committee’s recommendation is tantamount to approval, we may regard the decision as a fact of life. Thus the impact of the decision already has been felt around the globe. Baptists and representatives of world Baptist bodies see the move, first, as a loss of a partner. The Baptist World Alliance comprises the largest number of Baptist entities in the world. Each member may properly be grateful for being a partner in a group which includes a large portion of the evangelical world. When members learn that one of their number, the one representing the largest Baptist convention anywhere, has withdrawn, they feel a sense of loss. Conversely, they view withdrawal from the BWA as an open declaration from the departing body that such association is unimportant.

Other Baptists have expressed disappointment, following the initial shock and dismay. This reaction is especially keen among European Baptists, the targets of numerous SBC decisions across the past ten or twelve years to limit, change, or discontinue some cooperative venture. Leaders of Baptist work in Europe recognize this, as do others around the world, as yet another in a series of SBC steps away from them, steps clearly designed to put greater distance between the SBC and all others who call themselves Baptists.

Baptist Union leaders across Europe view this decision, for what it obviously is: the end of SBC cooperation at the highest level among Baptists. Cooperation is a key word still among European Baptists. For them, cooperation in the Baptist World Alliance is a great blessing, as well as a boost to their ministries. Their own European Baptist Federation, with more than fifty member unions, is a microcosm of this larger fellowship at the world level. The general assembly of the Federation each year affords members opportunity to celebrate their combined strength. Many of their members come from small Baptist unions, thus they value the collective strength of the Federation. Simply stated, they need each other and they know it. For the SBC to declare that it no longer needs association with other Baptists in the largest of entities is, to some, an act of selfishness revealing a spirit of independence.

At same time, Europeans understand this action as more than a vote merely to limit cooperation; they see it as an act intended to discontinue fellowship. They need cooperation for the sake of their ministries, to be sure, but they need it also for the fellowship with other Baptists from around the world. Their ecclesiastical bodies are small, and the association with larger Baptist entities reassures them that they are not alone. This reassurance, in turn, bolsters their confidence and courage. The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest body of Baptists anywhere, and their presence has helped reinforce the notion that fellowship among all Baptists is important, even with those with whom we may differ. For the sake of fellowship and the greater good, Baptists have lain aside our differences in order to become a fellowship which presents a unified front line against all wrong and sin in this world. Southern Baptists appear to be saying: “We do not need this fellowship any more.” By sending this message, the SBC leaves the impression that it is self-sufficient.

The deeper pain of European Baptists may be the lack of respect inherent in the SBC withdrawal. While Baptists generally maintain a high regard for the theology of fellow Baptists, the largest group withdraws from the BWA fellowship on the basis of theological differences. That withdrawal sends a clear signal that Southern Baptists refuse to appreciate the views of others. To add insult to injury, SBC leaders hurl criticism at individuals and groups and label their views as heresy. Lack of respect is one thing; judgment is quite another. Some prominent European Baptists regard this latest move by Southern Baptists as a slap in the face, another expression of judgment on their theology. To be sure, Christians may disagree, but should not sit in judgment of one another. This is the greatest concern for some: Southern Baptists, yet again, have been judgmental in their spirit and their behavior.

This time the gulf separating Baptists from each other is wider and deeper than ever. European Baptists, in my opinion, see this as the end of an era. They no longer feel welcome to work with Southern Baptists. Although Southern Baptists trace their beginnings to Europe, they do not consider Baptists there worthy of their cooperation. Baptists in Europe are dedicated to the Great Commission, too, and can do missions. They will chart their own course for the future, however, with fewer kinsmen in their company.

James Heflin currently serves as Professor of Preaching and Pastoral Ministry at Logsdon Seminary in Abilene, Texas. He joined the faculty in 2001 after moving to Texas from Wiesbaden, Germany, where he served as General Secretary of the European Baptist Convention, a convention of English language churches in twenty-one countries of Europe and one in the Middle East.

August 2004