A Pastor’s Column on the New Baptist Convenent
W. David Sapp
Pastor of Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church—Atlanta

The newspapers just never seem to get it right when it comes to Baptists. This morning’s Journal-Constitution (this will be old news by the time you get this!) carried a front-page article announcing that a number of Baptist groups in North America are forming a new Convention called the “New Baptist Convention.” Not true.

What is true is that representatives of the majority of Baptists in North America (twenty million of them) met to talk about ways they can heal breaches, some of which are older than the Civil War, and to find some new ways to work together. What is also true is that this was a gathering of people who wish to move forward and put the differences of the past behind us. May their tribe increase!

If we can overcome the divisions between black Baptists and white Baptists, if we can overcome divisions between Northern Baptists and Southern Baptists, if we can overcome divisions between more moderate Baptists and more fundamentalist Baptists, I say that is a very good thing. If Baptists across our land can unite their massive strength to oppose evil in our world, should we not be blessing that effort?

The newspaper implied that this was simply another step in the Baptist battles of the last generation, and they quickly sought quotes from the other side of the “Baptist wars.” In reality, most of the groups represented at the meeting were not even involved in the Baptist battles. This is about far more than that.

The importance of the meeting was underscored by the presence of the two former U.S. Presidents who are Baptists: Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Mercer University President Bill Underwood convened the meeting, along with President Carter. My friends who were at the meeting assure me that Republican Baptists will be involved as well!

The group that met this week plans to have a Convocation of all of these groups in Atlanta on January 30-February 1, 2008. I plan to be there. I hope many of you will be. I believe that this initiative is the most hopeful and least divisive effort I have seen in Baptist life in very long time.

Meanwhile, I’ll see you Sunday!

February 2007