In about 1870 two old men were making conversation and one asked the other who among Baptists might be remembered a hundred years later. Each man named the other.
Fifty years earlier, as young men, they had been energetic preacher-boys who already were making a mark. As seasoned statesmen, the two were among the most prominent men among Baptists in America. Both helped begin the Southern Baptist Convention and both led important denominational enterprises.
Fred Anderson
|
One was Jeremiah Bell Jeter, editor of the Religious Herald, and the other was James B. Taylor, founding director of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Foreign (now International) Mission Board. In 1870 they were household names among Baptists. Today they are known mostly by a few historians.
Jeter and Taylor indeed were shapers of Baptist thought in their times. Jeter wrote a landmark book, Baptist Principles Reset, which was in nearly every Virginia Baptist home. Taylor shaped Baptist thought at least on missions.
Who has shaped the thoughts of contemporary Baptists? If we played a game and asked six participants to develop their list of key shapers, we probably would get six entirely different lists. Perhaps a few persons would make multiple lists. Perhaps the game would fizzle because the players could not even think of anyone who has shaped Baptist thought in our time.
William Powell Tuck, a former pastor, trained theologian and published Baptist historian, was commissioned by the Center for Baptist Heritage & Studies to play just such a game with the end product to be a book on the subject. Bill Tuck came up with his own list of 24 individuals.
There are some common threads through most of the 24 lives. Most came from humble backgrounds and were not very promising as youths. The 24 persons he selected, by and large, were ordinary folks who were used of God to accomplish some rather extraordinary things.
On Tuesday, May 22, the Center for Baptist Heritage & Studies will release Modern Shapers of Baptist Thought in America as the high moment of a day devoted to Baptist identity. In the afternoon, the Heritage Center will sponsor “a conversation” on Baptist identity in which several young Baptists will share what they feel still resonates about Baptist principles. Many of the participants in the “conversation” will be older Baptists who had their teeth cut on Baptist principles and distinctives. It will be interesting to see how the younger generation and the seasoned vets interact on what it means to be a Baptist. Although seating is very limited and only by advance reservation, anyone interested in attending “a conversation” can telephone the Heritage Center at 804.289.8434 to determine if there is space.
In the evening the annual meeting of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society will be the forum for the presentation of the new book. Bill Tuck will be the keynote speaker for the occasion and will share why he chose the two dozen individuals for inclusion into Modern Shapers of Baptist Thought in America. The evening program begins at 7:30 p.m. at Second Baptist Church in Richmond. It would be an ideal program for a church group to attend.
Fisher Humphreys, professor of divinity at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., wrote the foreword for Modern Shapers in which he noted “how important theology is in the life of the church.” He recognized that the author, Bill Tuck, is equally at home in theology and in the church, understanding that the two realms need each other.
“And to his wisdom about the church and his knowledge of theology he adds a third component,” wrote Humphreys, “namely, story-telling. He explains why these people should matter to us today, and their stories are fascinating. They include a musician, an evangelist, two political leaders, three African-Americans, four women, and at least six of the best-known preachers in America in the twentieth century.
“Those who are remembered as pastors served tiny churches and mega-churches, urban churches and country churches, traditional churches and innovative churches. Many of those who are remembered as pastors also served as professors, and vice-versa. Those who are remembered as professors include persons who wrote about the Bible, ethics, church history, sociology of religion, pastoral care and preaching.
“Tuck carefully discusses their theology and how it shaped their lives and their ministries to the church and the world. A few years ago another Baptist theologian, James Wm. McClendon, wrote a book entitled Biography as Theology in which he argued that the shape of a person’s life displays the theology which that person believes. It seems to me that this new book by Bill Tuck confirms the truth of McClendon’s argument.
“In a time when denominations are declining in importance, it becomes more important than ever to retrieve and recognize the particular heritage of the various denominations. Tuck’s book does that for Baptist heritage. For example, the Baptist heritage about religious liberty, which is perhaps Baptists’ greatest contribution to society, is beautifully set forth in the chapter about that feisty defender of religious liberty, James Dunn. The Baptist passion for missions is evident in the chapter about Alma Hunt. Baptists’ love for good preaching is evident in several chapters, perhaps especially in the chapter about Gardner Taylor. Baptists’ commitment to evangelism is clear in the chapter about Billy Graham. Baptists’ love for the Bible and for the study of the Bible is seen in several chapters, too, perhaps most fully in the chapter about Frank Stagg.
“In the course of displaying Baptist heritage, Tuck also has displayed how diverse Baptists have become. Harvey Cox is a Baptist, and so is Rick Warren. Martin Luther King Jr. and W.A. Criswell were both Baptists. So were Walter Rauschenbusch, Wayne Oates and Cecil Sherman. Their stories, and others, are beautifully told in this book.”
The new book will be available at the meeting on May 22 and afterwards through the Center for Baptist Heritage & Studies. For further information visit www. baptistheritage.org.
Fred Anderson ([email protected]) is executive director of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society and the Center for Baptist Heritage and Studies.