The question before all Christians at all times is whether we will follow Jesus by seeking wholeheartedly to do God's will.
Too often in American Christian/evangelical/Baptist life we have allowed ourselves to displace our loyalty to Jesus Christ and replace unflinching obedience to his will with other loyalties and priorities. We have been loyal to our political party, our denomination or intra-denominational party, our ideology, our self-interest, our nation, our “side.” Too often the wounds we have suffered in our wretched internecine conflicts have damaged our ability to see a Christian brother or sister across the party/ideology/nation/denomination barricade. Loyalty to our side comes first; anger over past wounds still prevails. And so we lose the ability to love our (alienated Christian) neighbor as ourselves.
This week a group of significant Southern Baptist leaders released a theological statement on the environment. Their statement (which I had no involvement with) says the following, in my distillation:
— Faithful Christians are obligated to respond to the pressing moral demands and duties of the age in which they live.
— Environmental and climate change issues are among those pressing moral challenges today.
— The current stance of the Southern Baptist Convention on such issues has been too timid and cautious and may hurt the denomination's moral witness.
— Christians must care for creation as an aspect of obedience to God's will. When we fail to do so, we violate God's will and offer a poor witness to the world.
— While there is not unanimity in the scientific community about the cause or severity of climate change, there is broad- and intense-enough scientific concern about this issue that prudence and moral responsibility require that we address the problem now.
— Christians must care about environmental and climate issues because of our love for God, God's Word, and our neighbors.
— It is now time for human beings at all levels of human community to act, beginning with voluntary efforts and extending to serious consideration of government policy options.
To all of these propositions I can only say yes.
More could have been said. The statement could have embraced mainstream climate science more unequivocally. It could have named the projected problems caused by climate change more concretely. It could have been more specific in naming policy measures that are worth supporting and offering such support. I prefer the Evangelical Climate Initiative of 2006 for all of these reasons.
But the statement also could not exist. The presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Union University, Palm Beach Atlantic University, California Baptist University, Southwest Baptist University, and the Kentucky Baptist Convention (among others) could have chosen to hide behind denominational loyalty and personal self-interest and decided not to say a word about this controversial issue. They could have decided that a declaration in which they confess a shortcoming in the current denominational stance would be too controversial. They would not be answering angry emails today if they had chosen to remain silent. Doing nothing is always so much safer.
Instead, they decided to practice the teachings of Jesus. Christians do things like this — studying Scripture, praying in terms of Scripture, testing behavior by Scripture, confessing wrongdoing in light of Scripture — then venture ahead in an effort to follow Christ more truly.
For those who are attacking this statement out of loyalty to a summertime SBC resolution or loyalty to “the convention,” I urge you to respect the conscientious effort of your brothers and sisters in Christ to follow Jesus and obey Scripture, and I remind you that Jesus is the only Lord before whom we must bow.
For those who are attacking this statement as too little and too late, I urge you to consider this proposal: Followers of Jesus should respond to brothers and sisters who are venturing onto the right path not by slapping them around but by welcoming them on the journey and offering a helping hand.
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