MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's 18th annual General Assembly included among the more than 60 workshops a series of three Bible study sessions led by John Killinger, executive minister and theologian in residence at Marble Collegiate Church in New York, N.Y.
Titled “The Changing Shape of Our Salvation,” “My Life with Jerry Falwell” and “A Dramatic New Interpretation of the Gospel of Mark,” Killinger's remarks received nods of approval by some and challenges from others.
In his first session, Killinger outlined a series of shifts in the way people of faith viewed salvation from the ancient Jews to the Greek mystery religions to Jesus' time, to the Middle Ages, and to the Reformation. Based on research he conducted for his most recent book The Changing Shape of Our Salvation, Killinger described today's emerging view among mainline ministers as having an emphasis on the “self-realization” and “self-fulfillment” elements of salvation.
Even though he was quoted as saying “many pastors agreed with this view of salvation” several voiced disagreement before and after the session. Some interpreted his remarks on the incarnation to be a questioning of Jesus' divinity.
Les Hill, a retired missionary who formerly served in Southeast Asia and now resides in Lexington, Ky., disagreed with Killinger's assertions about Scripture and substitutionary atonement.
“I made notes when he said the understanding of salvation has changed, and that the people he interviewed said it was self fulfillment and self realization,” Hill said. “That's not my understanding of salvation.”
Randy Hyde, pastor of Pulaski Heights Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., and chair of the Assembly's steering committee extended the invitation to Killinger to present on the topic.
“In the scores of rooms set aside at our assemblies for break out sessions, we have leaders who express myriad beliefs, ideas and opinions that virtually cross the board of beliefs,” Hyde said. “Being free and faithful Baptists means we listen to these voices and respond as guided personally by our relationship with God through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”
Ray Higgins, coordinator of CBF of Arkansas and one of the event's organizers, said the disagreement over the workshops is not surprising and that there is much to learn from what we may not agree with.
“CBF is a movement that is open to listening to and learning from people's faith journeys and interpretations of scripture,” Higgins said. “To invite them to speak does not mean we agree on everything. To dialogue with them doesn't mean we agree on everything.”
The General Assembly Guide contains a clear statement that the views expressed by workshop presenters are not official pronouncements by CBF. The Fellowship does have an official stance on the deity of Christ in the preamble to the CBF constitution and bylaws:
“As a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches, we celebrate our faith in the One Triune God,” reads the statement approved in 2006 by the General Assembly. “We gladly declare our allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord and to His gospel as we seek to be the continuing presence of Christ in this world. Our passion is to obey the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:34-40) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) of our Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit, and to uphold Baptist principles of faith and practice as we partner with one another and other Christians.”
Curtis Freeman, research professor of theology and director of the Baptist House of Studies, Duke University Divinity School, said CBF's position is consistent with the historic Baptist view of Jesus. Although not present for Killinger's presentation, Freeman provided context on the Fellowship's approach to the incarnation of Jesus Christ in contrast to some of Killinger's views.
“Baptists historically over four centuries have been very orthodox in our Christology,” Freeman said. “There are debates that come up, but our Christology wasn't invented in the 17th century. We have adopted the doctrine of the Christian church. Jesus was fully God and fully man. We believe Jesus came for us and our salvation.”
As to inviting Killinger, Freeman advocated for what American theologian Hans Frei and pastor, author and lecturer Brian McLaren called “a generous orthodoxy” that allowed room for discussion.
“I would hope that we could affirm a generous orthodoxy that is clear about our confession that Jesus Christ is the incarnate son of God, fully God and fully human, but could be in conversation about what it means for us as believers in Jesus Christ.”