Jailhouse flock

Nobody puts 'em away like the U.S.A.

That's the mind-boggling gist of a new study showing that more than one in 100 American adults are currently in jail. That's 2,319,258 jailbirds, at an average annual cost of more than $23,000 per inmate.

The report, from the Pew Center on the States, showed that spending for incarceration has gone from $11 million to $49 million, a rate six times greater than the increase in spending for higher education.

The culprit appears to be a spate of "get tough on crime" legislation sponsored by politicians who know that law-and-order legislation is popular with the public. While well-intentioned, "three strikes" laws and other similar measures have mandated lengthy sentences for petty crimes, leaving the states to foot an ever-growing bill for room and board.

That might be tolerable if such laws were really making much of a difference, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The report concluded that the burgeoning prison population "is saddling cash-strapped states with soaring costs they can ill afford and failing to have a clear impact either on recidivism or overall crime."

According to an Associated Press report, Kentucky governor Steve Beshear noted in his annual budget speech that the state's crime rate had increased only about 3 percent in the past 30 years, while the state's inmate population has increased by 600 percent.

The report also updated some staggering statistics regarding the racial inequity of prison life: one out of nine black males between 20 and 34 is in prison. For the overall population of men in that age group, the rate is one out of 30. The rate of imprisonment for African-American women is also well above the average.

Worldwide, America leads the world -- by far -- in locking people up. Even China, with a reputation for oppression and a population of 1.3 billion (more than four times the U.S. population), has just 1.5 million behind bars, according to the report.

America cannot afford to continue this trend, and not just because it's too expensive. There have to be better solutions than just putting people on ice when they get into trouble. The report cited Kansas and Texas as states that are making greater use of community supervision for low-risk offenders and employing sanctions other than reimprisonment for offenders who commit technical violations of parole and probation rules. Other states will need to act, and other options must be developed, lest more lives be wasted.

A nation that celebrates being "the land of the free" shouldn't be keeping more than one percent of its population in jail.

[Graphic from www.fbi.gov.]

Americans practice fluid faith

A massive study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has found that the religious landscape of the U.S. is shifting beneath our feet. The results should not be surprising to those who keep an eye on religious trends, but they provide valuable empirical documentation that could spark further study (a nice interactive version of the report is available here).

The study shows that America is becoming less Protestant than in earlier days. Protestants once claimed two-thirds of the population, but now hold a bare majority at 51 percent. Still, Protestants remain the largest group by far, with Catholics next at 24 percent.

The study did not show a marked increase in atheism or agnosticism, but it did reveal an increase in the number of people who consider themselves to be religious, but unaffiliated. While 16 percent of the population said they had no religious affiliation, only a quarter of those claimed to be agnostics or atheists.

The most notable learning is the increasing fluidity of faith expressions: 28 percent of Americans are no longer associated with the denominational church of their childhood. If movement between Protestant denominations is figured in, a whopping 44 percent of Americans no longer practice the faith of their fathers and mothers, opting for a different denomination or no religion at all.

It's not my purpose in this space to analyze the significance of these trends, though I'm confident the findings will give rise to lots of denominational head-scratching and newly commissioned studies.

While one may or may not be happy with the change in popularity of his or her preferred denomination, I am reminded that Americans are blessedly free to make faith decisions without interference or recriminations from the government.

That is something for which we can be 100 percent thankful.

[Image from the Pew Forum's "Religious Landscape" study homepage.]

Job in the season of Lent

In recent weeks I've had several opportunities to teach the Book of Job in churches holding a winter Bible study. Most of these have come during the season of Lent, when Job seems particularly appropriate.

Lent is a time when Christians are called to meditate upon Christ's suffering, and many observe it by giving up something cherished as a way of indicating commitment and sharing, in a small way, the sufferings of Christ.

Job's suffering was of a different nature, as he lost everything -- from his livestock to his children to his health -- through no decision of his own. According to the story, Job is a man of absolute integrity and blameless living, but he falls victim to a divine gambit between God and a member of the heavenly court called "the accuser." While God took great pride in Job's righteous living, the accuser charged that Job's worship was not really pure, but that he served God only for what he got out of the relationship. God allowed the accuser to strip Job of both health and wealth to see if his devotion would hold true.

As Job struggles to make sense of his staggering losses, three friends come by to commiserate with him. As time goes by, however, their compassion gives way to accusation. Locked within their allegiance to strict retribution theology, they try to convince Job that his misfortunes must be God's punishment for unconfessed sin. Chapter after chapter, they insist that Job's fortunes can be restored and he can be blessed more than ever if only he will repent of his presumed wrongdoing.

Pondering this ongoing interchange leads a thoughtful reader to note that if Job had surrendered to his friends' advice and sought forgiveness of unknown error as a means of being healed and having his fortunes restored, he would have been guilty of precisely what the accuser charged him with -- serving God only for what he could get out of it.

Job refused, preserving his integrity. He clearly was distraught with God, but he refused to jump through a faulty theological hoop in hopes of getting a blessing from God. Job refused to worship God under false pretenses.

Job's response challenges contemporary readers to ask whether we also serve God with unselfish devotion because we believe God is worthy of worship and that we share in God's work -- or whether our worship grows from more selfish motives.

Do we serve God mainly for what we get – or hope to get – out of the relationship? Do we profess faith and seek baptism primarily because we want to avoid hell and gain heaven? Do we worship and tithe and serve in hope of gaining God’s favor and being rewarded with prosperity? When we pray, is it primarily for protection and blessing?

Ultimately, if we had no promise of eternal life and no assurance of a connection between spiritual devotion and physical prosperity, would we still serve God?

It's a troubling question, but one that thoughtful worshipers must ask. The season of Lent is a most appropriate time to do so.

It's the globe, smarty

The biggest issue facing the next president of the United States is not the economy, even though polls from primary states indicate that issue is at the top of many voters' lists. It's true that the economy is in a very challenged position, largely due to unchecked greed (both individual and corporate), along with big-business-friendly government policies and too much dependence on foreign oil.

But that's not America's biggest problem.

The thing we should worry about most is America's standing in the world, where the nation's once-sterling reputation has been severely tarnished. There's a fine line between being a cooperative leader and a self-centered bully. While some international friends remain, the global perception of America is strongly skewed to the bully column.

Americans' preoccupation with homeland security, homeland prosperity, and homeland access to the planet's oil leaves much of the world feeling unappreciated and "less than."

For Americans who think beyond their bank accounts, finding a way to restore America's respected position in the global village has to be at or near the top of the priority list when it comes to selecting the next president.

Of the viable candidates, which one has the greatest potential of getting the international community to warm up to America? It can't be anyone who thinks the war in Iraq was anything other than an ill-advised boondoggle that has cost far too many lives, made the world considerably less stable, and fueled the cause of extremists.

That eliminates John McCain, leaving Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Although Clinton has traveled extensively, shown a great awareness of global needs, and served on important committees, it seems evident that Obama has the edge. He may not have worked in as many official foreign-policy capacities in Washington, but he has the life-experience of being born to an African father, spending part of his childhood overseas, and being -- like the majority of people in the world -- a person of color.

If the president is the face of America, Obama's face is more likely to be perceived as a friendly and acceptable face in the world at large. Democrats living overseas and in closer touch with the international community seem to affirm this view: primary voters among Democrats Abroad gave Obama a nearly two-to-one edge in voting Feb. 5-12, or 65 percent of ballots cast.

That vote didn't get a lot of play in the media, but it ought to get our attention. It's not just the economy: it's the global community, smarty.

Friends in space?

Today (Feb. 20) marks the 45th anniversary of John Glenn's space flight aboard the "Friendship 7," a single-person, single-use capsule used in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) "Mercury" program. Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth, circling the globe three times after roaring into space atop an Atlas rocket.

I was 10 years old at the time, and a rabid "space nut." I dutifully clipped articles about the flight and pasted them into a scrapbook with plywood covers that I had made in Cub Scouts.

I've recently had a chance to re-live some of those early days via a DVD video set that Jan and Samuel gave me as a Christmas gift. Called "NASA: 50 Years of Space Exploration," it's a collection of public relations videos produced by NASA shortly after each mission: I'm certain I watched some of the same videos as a boy, when we'd occasionally be shepherded behind the curtain of the lunchroom stage (the only place in the school that could be darkened), and treated to short films on an old 16 mm projector.

I didn't realize, at the time, that I was watching propaganda of a sort. Watching the same grainy images now, I notice things that I didn't notice then. On the early flights, for example, the announcers never mentioned that Russian cosmonauts had beaten the Americans into space. Rather, they simply (and proudly) proclaimed that Alan Shepherd was the "first free man" into space, and that Glenn was the "first free man" to orbit the earth.

More than one of the videos appeared to have been produced, in part, as a defense of the enormous costs of the space program, constantly touting the economic benefits of various technologies that grew out of space exploration. They gleefully claimed that shuttle flights would become routine and economical, a prediction that fell short of the mark.

The videos also reflect changing culture. I've only gotten halfway through the series (to the first Space Shuttle flights), but even in the early 1980s, announcers consistently talked about how important it is to have "man" in space, rather than saying a more inclusive word like "humans" or even Neil Armstrong's "giant leap for mankind."

It's harder to hide things or shape stories these days, however. We've learned about both triumphs and tragedies as they happened, rather than getting a spun version after the fact. For example, as I wrote this blog, I kept another browser tab open with live TV coverage of the Space Shuttle Atlantis' (STS-122) glide path and landing at the Kennedy Space Center, coverage that included camera views of the runway from the shuttle itself. Earlier, I watched space walks live as astronauts installed the new "Columbus" lab on a space station that is continuously occupied by a friendly international crew containing Americans, Russians, and space travelers, both men and women, from other nations.

NASA was anxious to get the shuttle down quickly because the Department of Defense wants to shoot down a malfunctioning spy satellite that was at roughly the same altitude.

A Navy cruiser in the Pacific is scheduled to launch a Raytheon SM-3 missile in an unprecedented attempt to bring the bus-sized satellite down without hurting anyone on the ground. I suspect we'll hear what happens, but am confident that we won't get nearly as much information about that mission, for which press access will be much more tightly controlled. And, the Russians are claiming that the Americans are less interested in safety than in testing a new satellite defense program.

Some things never change.

Prosperity preachers piqued

Religious purveyors of the snake oil best known as "the prosperity gospel" have been on the high end of antsy ever since Republican Senator Charles Grassley started requesting financial information from some high profile TV evangelists.

Some of the media-based preachers have cooperated, but others have resisted in varying degrees, complaining that keeping details about their private jets and Rolls Royces is a matter of religious liberty.

Kenneth Copeland reportedly told a group of fellow ministers in January that Grassley's attempts to gain information would be made "over my dead body."

Grassley is a Baptist, while most (though not all) of the targeted TV preachers proclaim a rather Pentecostal version of the gospel. Despite Copeland's friendship with Baptist preacher-turned-politician and current presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, the probe is now being framed in some circles as a Baptist effort to make Pentecostals look bad.

That claim, like other wild-eyed conspiracy theories, is far more buzz than bee. Grassley is a serious person who has a serious concern. In a pattern that has gone on for too long, poor but gullible people around the country are hornswoggled into mailing money to unscrupulous preachers who promise that God will bless the donor by returning the money many-fold.

Practitioners of the bamboozlers' art promote their own flashy bling and lavish lifestyles as evidence of God's faithfulness -- an empty promise even less scrupulous than a state government's lottery advertisement.

For too many years, too many preachers have avoided taxes or hidden shady dealings behind a religious facade or through tricks such as labeling tax-due income as "love gifts." Can you imagine what words old Amos or Micah would have for preachers who live large by selling twisted theology to those who have least?

Grassley, to his credit, is asking questions that need to be asked. The measure of resistance he gets is probably a measure of just how much some prominent preachers have to hide.

WMU shows HEART

When a massive tornado ripped through Tennessee Baptists' Union University on February 5, it left far more than classroom buildings and 13 dormitories in shambles. Hundreds of students found themselves with little more than what they were wearing when they fled the storm.

Until classes resume February 20, most students have been able to return home to find shelter and comfort, as well as to replace their wrecked laptop computers and restock on clothes or other supplies.

That's been a more difficult task for some students, however: at least 55 students at Union are MKs (Missionary Kids) whose homes -- and parents -- may be halfway around the world. Many MKs also lost more of their possessions than other students. Without a home base nearby, MK students may have had everything they owned with them in their college dorm or apartment.

Recognizing the need, Woman's Missionary Union (WMU) quickly sent $10,000, through the WMU Foundation, to assist MKs at Union. The money is being channeled through the WMU of Tennessee organization, which is working with Carl White, MK volunteer sponsor at Union, to provide quick and effective assistance. The funds came from WMU's "HEART" fund (Humanitarian Emergency Aid for Rebuilding Tomorrow), which has previously assisted disaster victims in New York, New Orleans, Indonesia, and other places.

In a press release from the WMU Foundation, Tennessee WMU executive director Candy Phillips said the MKs “are all accounted for and are in safe, warm places with food to eat; but some have just the clothes on their backs.”

The grant will assist MK students in meeting basic needs, such as food and clothing. It will also be used to repair cars and replace books and computers, according to the press release.

David George, president of the WMU foundation, said he anticipates that additional grants will be made as new needs are identified and additional funds become available. States and individuals are welcome to be involved, George said. He told Baptists Today that South Carolina WMU has already sent $12,000 to assist MKs at Union who were originally from that state. Ruby Fulbright, executive director of North Carolina's WMU organization, said five of the MKs have N.C. roots, and plans are to provide further assistance for them when needs are clarified.

Additional gifts to the HEART Fund may be sent to WMU Foundation, 100 Missionary Ridge, Birmingham, AL 35242

WMU leaders made these gifts without seeking publicity or credit: even the press release was prepared by request rather than as a public relations initiative. Assisting missionaries -- and their children -- is just something WMU truly takes to heart.

[Photo by Kyle Kurlick, Union University]

Major disrespect for Baptists

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) recently reached a new low in "pretend" coverage of religious matters by sending its "deputy Taste editor" to cover the New Baptist Covenant celebration in Atlanta.

The WSJ's "Taste" section, from what I can gather online, is largely a collection of quirky or gossipy opinion pieces. Last week its "deputy editor," one Naomi Shaeffer Riley, displayed a complete lack of taste for the New Baptist Covenant, apparently based on an almost equally complete lack of knowledge about the Baptists who were gathered in Atlanta for the historic Jan. 30-Feb. 1 event. Even the Southern Baptist Convention's Baptist Press, which is often critical of moderate gatherings, provided fairer coverage.

In a cynical, sharp-tongued, error-riddled commentary published Feb. 8, Ms. Riley threw sarcastic sneers at the speakers, the program, the agenda, even the age of the attendees. In every case, Ms. Riley's words and attitude suggested that she had developed her opinions before arriving in Atlanta, and was determined to see what she wanted to see.

Robert Parham of EthicsDaily.com, who was one of Ms. Riley's targets, has pointed to a litany of errors in the article, which should be a great embarrassment to a once-respected newspaper.

Many people read WSJ for insight on making good financial decisions. By covering Ms. Riley's salary and travel expenses to the New Baptist Covenant, however, the paper has demonstrated its ability to make at least one really bad investment.

Random acts of trashiness

During a weekend work retreat, I holed up in a modest condo at Myrtle Beach and devoted most of my waking hours to getting more than one lecture ahead of my students.

The remainder of the time each day was spent raiding the refrigerator and taking a brisk two or three mile walk on the beach. The weather was nice, and the walking was fine. I couldn't help but notice, though, that some folks seem to think of the beach in the same way they think of the side of the road, imagining it to be a large trash receptacle.

I decided to work a "random act of kindness" into my walk each day, and took along a plastic bag to collect garbage along the way. I noticed one other man dragging a sandy plastic bag from the water's edge, but his expression suggested he was really mad about it. I was determined to make it a joyful act, so I consciously smiled every time I picked up some bit of human-spawned detritus.

I smiled a lot.

On Sunday afternoon I collected a half dozen grungy tennis balls, three styrofoam coffee cups, an assortment of paper towels and baby wipes, three pages from a newspaper, several yucky plastic bags, and a few candy wrappers to go with a handful of cigarette butts and random bits of plastic, mostly nose cones or fins from fireworks fired over the ocean.

Given that my walk was interrupted by periodic pick-up pauses, I'm not sure if I got the same cardiac benefit as usual, but I'm certain that it did my heart good.

Worship in peace, count your blessings

I am reminded at least once every week that the ability to worship freely is a gift that many others don't enjoy.

The reminder comes in the form of an e-mail from Forum-18, a religious rights watch group headquartered in Oslo, Norway, that focuses mainly on issues arising in eastern Europe and countries that were once part of the old Soviet bloc.

For example, this week I learned that people can get seriously roughed up for holding a religious service in a private home if they live in Azerbijan (just south of Armenia, near Turkey and Iran). Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other groups have been persecuted on a regular basis.

In Belarus, the government has stepped up pressure on the Baptist Council of Churches, an organization of Baptists who refuse to register with the government. Belarus is the only country in Europe to ban unregistered religious activity, according to Focus 18. A judge recently told the group the regulations were necessary "to protect citizens from "destructive
sects."

In Kazakhstan, President Nursultan Nazarbayev recently called for the need to "suppress the activity of illegal religious movements." He claimed that "tens of thousands of different missionary organisations work in Kazakhstan," which is surely a bold exaggeration. "We don't know their purposes and intentions, and we should not allow such unchecked activity," he said. Sounds like Homeland Security, Kazakh style.

These issues are just a start: intolerance toward people of "non-preferred" faiths are subject to persecution in many countries that are more familiar than the ones I've mentioned above.

Other than pray and be thankful that "there but for the grace of God go I," what can we do? Most of us are ill-equipped to strut into an embassy and demand change. One thing we can do is to support those who work actively to speak up for religious liberty around the world.

That's one of many reasons I support the Baptist World Alliance, which is respected around the world and often speaks up for the cause of religious liberty.

And just think: In America, at least, we're perfectly free to do so.

Not happy? Get older

A line from an old song by Donovan says "Happiness runs in a circular motion ..."

Actually, scientists say, happiness follows a U-shaped path. A recent study shows that people are happiest their younger and older years, and most miserable during middle age. The study, which incorporated data from two million people in 80 nations, found that people are least happy (or most depressed) at about age 44. In the U.S., women are gloomiest at age 40, while men hit the bottom around 50.

The researchers, at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., and the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, weren't sure what to make of the data, because it happens around the world and across the board: to men and women, to single and married people, to rich and poor and to people with and without children.

Andrew Oswald of Warwick said "one possibility is that individuals learn to adapt to their strengths and weaknesses, and in midlife quell their infeasible aspirations" -- which sounds a lot like jargon for recognizing limitations and giving up on dreams, which can be pretty depressing.

Several factors come to mind -- it's my observation folks in middle age tend to have the most responsibilities and stress in regard to both family and work. They're deepest in debt, and under the greatest pressure to perform. Their bodies are beginning to show the inexorable effects of aging, and they begin to realize that dreams of sailing around the world, hiking to Machu Picchu, or exploring the Galapagos may never happen.

Younger folks still have so much energy and so much life ahead of them that happiness comes easier. Older folks, generally, have learned to make peace with their place in life, and inner peace is directly correlated to a sense of happiness.

I've always said that growing old is not a bad thing and certainly beats the alternative. There's more to being old than holding an AARP card and getting senior discounts. The psalmist spoke of faithful folk in their senior years: "In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap" (Psalm 92:14, NRSV). Speak at as many senior adult events as I have, and you'll see what I mean.

So, if you're middle-aged and miserable, don't let those sore knees and cranky co-workers get you down -- you can't get any younger, but getting old is really a good thing.

[Photo of Machu Picchu from andreweland.org.]

A word well spoken

Allow me one last thought from the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, held in Atlanta Jan. 30-Feb. 1. It was, I think, the finest Baptist meeting I've ever attended in America. The spirit of hopefulness, the desire to forge new relationships, and the determination to celebrate an inclusive understanding of "Baptist" were all invigorating, reminiscent in some ways of the first two or three gatherings of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

An important reminder of the kind of attitude we need came from what some might consider an unexpected source: former president Bill Clinton. Clinton, after abandoning his notes to speak from the heart, said something like this: "If you’re looking for guidance in how to relate to other people, the most important verse in the Bible to read is 1 Cor. 13:12 – not the final verse: 'And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love,' but the one before that."

Quoting from memory from the King James Version, Clinton cited the previous verse: "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."

"What could Paul have been talking about?" Clinton asked. "I’m not a minister, I just read and think."

"Paul compares life on earth today with life after death in God," he said. "Think about it as a guide for life and politics -- for now, I see through a glass darkly, but then face to face."

Even if one regards the Bible as literally true, he said, none of us can claim to see or understand it perfectly, because we all see only in part.

"The reason we have to love each other is that all of us might be wrong," he said.

Later, he added, "If there is any chance that this covenant can become an embracing one, it has to be the chance of love: the chance that we might not give up our differences, but find that our common humanity matters more."

That, I think, was a word well spoken, and much needed.

Ditching the notes

I won't try to add to John Pierce's accurate analysis of former president Bill Clinton's speech on Friday night of the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. I was delighted that Clinton remained faithfully non-political, though also a bit surprised that he focused most of his remarks on relating to the Baptists who, by choice, have distanced themselves from the larger Baptist family.

I will, however, offer a couple of illustrations. When Clinton arrived on stage, he immediately started looking through the remarks that he later said an aide had prepared, based on what he thought the president might want to say.

He flipped through them with an apparent lack of pleasure, then started writing notes in the margins. By the time he got up to speak, he announced that he was ditching the manuscript entirely. That, evidently, was what he did. He never looked down, but maintained eye contact the full time as he spoke in subdued tones, apparently from the heart.

That was a bit surprising, given the criticism he has received lately from some other off-the-cuff remarks about Hillary Clinton's political rival that turned out to be ill-considered. In this case, however, he managed to pull it off without being critical of anyone, encouraging mutual appreciation and understanding of those with whom we disagree.

It was not what anyone suspected, I imagine -- but well worth hearing on an opportune day.

Preaching on fast-forward

My students think I talk fast – or they did, until some of them heard Charles G. Adams preach. Adams, pastor of Hartford Baptist Church in Detroit, read most of his alluringly alliterated sermon, but read it so rapidly and so impressively that the congregation sat with mouths agape, even those who weren’t shouting in response.

Taking accurate notes on Adams sermon – from Paul’s comments on freedom in the book of Galatians – was a futile exercise. Nevertheless, I want to take a stab at reflecting a couple of his several dozen points.

Many people seem to feel that Christ is not sufficient, he said, “that we need some extra insurance just in case God’s love has lost its power.” So, Adams said, they changed the “hard period of God’s grace to the nervous semi-colon of rigid absolutism.”

But, Adams said, “God’s grace is sufficient, period. … Jesus has set us free, period. … God’s mercy endures forever, period.”

“We like to take God’s word and turn it into a “semi-colon, but …,” Adams said. “And then comes all the rules, regulations, qualifications, stipulations, conditions (and a half-dozen other words) created by our own insecure rejection of amazing grace.”

As a result, Adams said, “The living word gets straight-jacketed into someone’s particular interpretation of the written word.”

But that won’t work, Adams insisted. “You cannot control Jesus, … keep him down, … control his spirit. … He will not stay dead …He will not remain laid out in the tomb. … He walks on every sea and rides on every star for freedom. …

“Don’t let anybody tell you what you can’t do if you’re free in Christ!”

Adams followed with dozens of examples of things people think they can’t do – but he insisted they can do – through the power of Christ. On the heels of that, he ran through a roster of men and women who, alone with the power of God, made a difference in the world because of the “liberty, dignity, integrity and unity” that comes through Christ.

To express praise to Christ for the freedom we can know, Adams closed with a Gatling gun quick recitation of “thank you” in what seemed like at least 20 languages, closing with a furious skyward waving of his arms to interpret his idea of a “thank you” for the deaf.

When Adams collapsed in his chair after his sermon, he wasn’t the only one who was tired – just trying to keep up was enough to exhaust any listener – but well worth the effort.

Campbell folk enjoy celebration

For friends of Campbell University, I offer these photos of students and others enjoying the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. The group shot (taken by Steve DeVane) includes students, alumni, faculty and staff -- and there are others who weren't present for the picture.

I took the other photos during the plenary session and at a luncheon featuring Al Gore, with the exception of the photo at the bottom of the page, taken by Rob Reilly.

No disappointments, says Carter

Former president Jimmy Carter said there have been many successes and he’s had no disappointments during the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant meeting, held Jan. 30-Feb. 1 in Atlanta.

“We’ve been excited, pleased, and gratified at the participation,” he said, estimating that between 15,000 and 25,000 registered and unregistered persons have participated.
Carter acknowledged that Republican senator Lindsey Graham had called him to ask permission to withdraw from the program. Graham is a member of Sen. John McCain’s “inner circle,” Carter said, and McCain’s surprising surge in the presidential race had Graham busier than expected.

When asked how he would rank the unprecedented building of bridges among Baptist when compared to his many other accomplishments, Carter said it would be near the top, “but I don’t consider it to be my accomplishment.”

“Others have done much more work than I have,” he said.

“Where we go from here will be very important,” Carter said, noting that many people have stopped him in the corridor to say they don’t want the effort to be wasted. The same leadership team will assemble in March to talk about the next steps, he said, “to decide what we will do to accommodate hundreds of suggestions already pouring in.”

Program chair Jimmy Allen said “We have asked everyone to send their suggestions,” and that all suggestions will be read and considered.

“We’re not on a picnic,” he said, “but on a journey. We’re seeing the results of a whole lot of folks who have worked very hard.”

When asked about criticism of the meeting from Southern Baptist leaders, Carter said he thought earlier criticism was moderating. He said he had received “a generous letter” from SBC president Frank Page, and had spoken with him by telephone on Thursday. “The results of this will determine Southern Baptist leaders’ attitude toward us,” Carter said. As they decide on future projects, Carter said, leaders will be looking for projects in which the SBC might like to participate.

David Goatley, executive director of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention, added a word of perspective. “Most Baptists in North America are not Southern Baptists,” he said. “For most of us, some of the tension of the last generation we’ve watched dispassionately or in grief.” But, he said, the majority of Baptists in North America have been looking for opportunities for networking and collaborating. Christians around the world are taking notice, he said: “I just want to note that is not the defining issue for us.”

In response to another question, Goatley mentioned groups like the North American Baptist Fellowship and the boards of the four National Baptist bodies. “This did not take place in a vacuum, but is part of a continuum,” he said.

The next steps have already begun, Goatley said, noting that more than 200 students from 16 institutions have been part of the meeting. “They are already doing idea generation,” he said. A group of 80 college students was also scheduled to join the session Friday night, then devote Saturday to service projects before closing out with a worship service at Mercer.

William Shaw, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, referenced the biblical concept of the “fullness of time.”

“I would like to believe this is a result of the movement of the spirit of God in the religious community that has moved us to respond to what we believe is a central claim of the kingdom of God,” he said.

“We believe in the autonomy of the local congregation: bringing all these congregations together has to be the spirit of God.”

Shurden on significance

What is the historical significance of the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, an unprecedented gathering of diverse Baptists in America?

No one is better equipped to handle that question than Buddy Shurden, a prominent Baptist historian who was founding director of the Center for Baptist Studies at Mercer University. Asked to speak on the subject during a breakfast meeting Feb. 1, Shurden pointed to four reasons he believes the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant – which registered more than 16,000 African American and Anglo Baptists in the largest meeting of its kind ever held – is particularly significant.

Origins of the celebration -- The origins of the meeting are significant, Shurden said, because it grew indirectly from a concern about Baptist education.

Shurden cited a conversation in early 2006 between Kirby Godsey, former president of Mercer University, incoming Mercer president Bill Underwood, and Jimmy Carter, former president of the United States.

The Georgia Baptist Convention had recently voted to end its historic relationship with Mercer, and Godsey wanted to develop broader Baptist ties for the university. He invited Carter to participate in a “Baptist summit” to discuss the university’s future relationships.

Carter, however, had a broader vision for building connections between Baptists. He asked Underwood to “become the point person for bringing Baptists of the nation together for a huge meeting.” That led to a meeting of Baptist leaders in April of 2006 and ultimately to the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant meeting.

Taking note of secular journalists who persist in suggesting political motivations for holding the meeting just before “Super Tuesday,” Shurden said “What they don’t know is that Jimmy Carter wanted to have this meeting in the fall of 2006,” but arrangements could not be made that quickly.

Nature of the meeting -- Shurden said the nature of the meeting was also significant. No “super-convention” is planned and the celebration “is not an effort to form something together,” he said, “but to say something together about what we ought to be doing together: to say something to the nation and the world about what Baptist people ought to be.”

“I think if anything really substantive comes out of this it will be networking between people who have found common cause,” he said.

Reconciliation and recognition -- Shurden also found significance in the hope that the celebration “could become – I pray that it becomes – a major step in racial reconciliation and gender recognition among Baptists in North America.”

For much of Baptist history, African Americans and women have not had a real voice, he said. But “I’ve never been to a Baptist meeting that has had the shades of color to it that this meeting has,” he said. “I’ve never been to one where I felt there was more equality as well as the presence of both whites and blacks.” There was also progress in acknowledging women, he said, noting that Julie Pennington-Russell was invited to preach.

Purpose and mission -- The most important significance of the meeting, Shurden said, “is in the purpose and mission of the New Baptist Covenant, in why we are here.” The group of 18 leaders who first planned the meeting “affirmed their desire to speak with a prophetic Baptist voice in these complex times,” he said, and committed themselves to promoting peace with justice, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, welcoming the strangers, promoting religious liberty, and respecting diversity.

Those values reflect the spirit of Matthew 25, he said, and those who planned the meeting decided to focus on Luke 4, which connects the presence of God’s Spirit to the ministries of helping the poor, releasing the captives, giving sight to the blind, and liberating the oppressed.
“The purpose of the New Baptist Covenant is to hand out towels to every Baptist in North America and ask them to become a servant to the least and the last and the lost,” Shurden said.

“You ask what is the historical significance of this coming together?

“It is significant in a way no other has been,” he said, “because it’s an effort on behalf of 20 million Baptists to take seriously what Jesus took seriously.”

Randall Lolley honored in Atlanta

Randall Lolley, former president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, was honored Feb. 1 at a breakfast co-sponsored by the Mainstream Baptist Network, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, and the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
The recognition marked the 20th anniversary of Lolley's decision to resign as president rather than carry out the agenda of fundamentalist-leaning trustees who gained a majority of the board in 1987.

David Key, director of the Baptist studies program at Candler, said Lolley had stood in the tradition of William Whitsett, who resigned as president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1899, “over the heresy of Landmarkism.”

“Lolley resigned in the face of the heresy of fundamentalism,” Key said.

Larry Hovis, coordinator of CBFNC, gave Lolley much of the credit for sparking the moderate movement that took shape as the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and created 16 new divinity schools, including four in North Carolina. He announced that CBFNC is creating a “Randall and Lou Lolley Fund for Theological Education” to assist students attending those schools.

Lolley, who was unable to attend, sent a statement expressing gratitude “beyond words” for the recognition “for those of us who did what any genuine Baptist would have done.”

The decision to resign rather than capitulate “was a no-brainer," he said, "requiring no heroism at all."