RICHMOND, Va. — Freedom. For six younger Baptist leaders that is the most compelling characteristic of Baptist identity. These two women and four men participated in a panel discussion organized by the Center for Baptist Heritage & Studies and held at Second Baptist Church in Richmond May 22.
A panel of young Baptist leaders included (from left) Andrew Gardner, John Ballenger, Stacy Nowell, Alex Gallimore, Adam Bond and Bailey Nelson. Robert Dilday (right) moderated the discussion.
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“Young Voices: A Conversation on Baptist Identity Today” featured John Ballenger, pastor of Woodbrook Baptist Church, Baltimore; Adam Bond, assistant professor of historical studies in the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, Richmond; Alex Gallimore, associate pastor for youth at Piney Grove Baptist Church, Mount Airy, N.C.; Andrew Gardner, a former Heritage Fellow of the Center for Baptist Heritage & Studies who will be entering Wake Forest Divinity School in the fall; Bailey Nelson, pastor of Flat Rock Baptist Church, Mount Airy, N.C.; and Stacy Nowell, associate pastor at Harrisonburg (Va.) Baptist Church. The discussion was moderated by Robert Dilday, managing editor of the Religious Herald.
Opening the conversation, Bond voiced a sentiment that was echoed by each of the other panelists. “I have come to appreciate the emphasis that Baptists place on freedom,” he said. “And I have come to appreciate the emphasis even more within the African American experience…. That emphasis alone has kept me wed to Baptist life.”
Gallimore agreed. “It’s the freedom and the autonomy that draws me to the Baptist tradition as well.” Gardner noted that the emphasis on freedom gives Baptists the ability to “bend and not break.”
“It’s not freedom for freedom’s sake,” Nowell explained. Baptist principles such as the Priesthood of All Believers and the Autonomy of the Local Church grant individuals and congregations not only freedom, but also the responsibility to discern and follow God’s will.
Ironically, for Nelson the freedom and responsibility that she cherishes have been threatened by other Baptists who do not affirm her call to ministry. “The freedom of conscience, the freedom to interpret scripture, to be a person who is called by God to serve in a ministerial capacity make freedom very near and dear to me,” she said, “particularly as a woman in the Baptist faith.” The challenges that Nelson has faced from other Baptists have only strengthened her commitment to holding and promoting these core Baptist principles.
Ballenger drew a similar distinction between claiming the name “Baptist” and upholding traditional Baptist principles. “I’ve started saying ‘I am Baptist,’” he observed, “ not ‘I am a Baptist.’” For now Ballenger is thankful that a Baptist congregation has called him as its pastor. “But when there comes a time when I feel I like I cannot be the Baptist I’m called to be,” Ballenger admitted, “then I will happily be something else and consider myself Baptist by doing so.”
In response to Dilday’s invitation to identify any traditional Baptist distinctives that might need to be reinterpreted or discarded today, Gallimore offered his opinion that “Baptist identity as a whole is sound.” The other panelists shared this assessment.
Ballenger questioned whether it was the name “Baptist” that needed to be discarded. Despite a firm commitment to Baptist principles, whenever Ballenger’s Baltimore congregation discusses how to reach out to the community it debates whether the term “Baptist” should be dropped from the church’s name because of negative cultural definitions of what it means. While acknowledging the validity of this debate within Woodbrook’s ministry context, the other panelists affirmed strong commitments to explicitly identifying themselves and their churches with the name “Baptist.”
Gardner suggested that one way to “reclaim the name” might be to become more intentional about explaining what Baptists believe to those outside the tradition. Nelson identified a similar need to educate church members themselves about historic Baptist principles and distinctives.
The panel also discussed whether traditional Baptist principles might help or hinder in resolving debates about contentious social issues that revolve around race, gender, and sexuality.
“Baptist principles have an amazing potential for the future,” Ballenger asserted,” if we can overcome what we’ve done to them.”
Bond noted that the nature of Baptist polity makes it unlikely that Baptists will ever completely resolve these debates. Nowell agreed, but suggested that a return to the Baptist tradition of cooperating for missions leaves room for a diversity of opinion on contentious issues.
When Dilday opened the conversation to questions and comments from the audience, responses included queries about specific ways in which the two women’s sense of calling to ministry has been challenged by other Baptists, about the danger that the Baptist emphasis on freedom can lead to radical individualism, and about the relationship between theological education and ministry in a local Baptist church context.
William Tuck discussed the significance of 24 shapers of Baptist thought during a keynote address at the annual meeting of the Virignia Baptist Historical Society. (Photo by Warren Johnson)
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While Nelson said that her calling had been challenged numerous times by a variety of people, Nowell observed that her biggest obstacle to answering God’s call had been her own initial reservation. Yet despite these exterior and interior challenges, both women became convicted of the validity of their call to ministry and both have chosen to live out that call in Baptist congregations.
In response to an audience question about whether younger generations of Baptists might be less likely to take freedom to a radically individualistic extreme, Gardner expressed his hope that Baptists will cultivate a renewed emphasis on the virtues of patience and humility. Gallimore added self-control and pointed to the Baptist tradition of forming covenant communities. He also emphasized the connection between freedom and responsibility that Nowell had mentioned earlier.
This discussion about individualism prompted Dilday to ask the panelists what would make participation in national or state organizations such as the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Baptist General Association of Virginia, or other denominational entities appealing to the next generation of Baptists. Nelson asserted that churches want to network around shared experiences and that her generation of Baptists wants a countercultural faith that will stand against radical individualism. Gallimore echoed this desire for “a faith that rolls its sleeves up and gets its hands dirty.”
The Young Voices conversation was held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society, whose theme was also Baptist Identity. Craig Sherouse, pastor of Second Baptist and chair of the Baptist Heritage and Identity Commission of the Baptist World Alliance, reflected on the diversity of Baptists around the world and their common identity under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
The keynote speaker was William Powell Tuck. In his address Tuck briefly profiled the 24 figures included in his latest book, Modern Shapers of Baptist Thought in America, which was commissioned by the Heritage Center.
As part of the meeting, the Heritage Center recognized three high school students as the first, second, and third place winners in its annual Roots & Wings Young Scholars Essay Contest: Rachel Cook, Northstar Church, Blacksburg, Va.; Mollie Luck, Webber Memorial Baptist Church, Richmond; and Christopher Hill, New Vine Baptist Church, Charles City, Va. The Center also introduced Arden Elizabeth Sizemore, a rising sophomore at Radford University, as its Heritage Fellow for 2012-2013.
Mike Rackett ([email protected]) teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University.