The Boar’s Head Tavern » Will Baptists be irrelevant in the 21st Century?

“The Church must be free to be poor in order to minister among the poor. The Church must trust the Gospel enough to come among the poor with nothing to offer the poor except the Gospel, except the power to discern and the courage to expose the Gospel as it is already mediated in the life of the poor…When the Church has the freedom itself to be poor among the poor, it will know how to use what riches it has. When the Church has that freedom, it will know also how to minister among the rich and powerful. When the Church has that freedom, it will be a missionary people again in all the world. When the Church has the freedom to go out into the world with merely the Gospel to offer the world, then it will know how to use whatever else it has–money and talent and buildings and tapestries and power in politics–as sacraments of its gift of its own life to the world, as tokens of the ministry of Christ.” -William Stringfellow (HT to Nate Spencer)

June 28, 2004

Will Baptists be irrelevant in the 21st Century?

Not being a Baptist (and being the one who provided Baptist jokes on this board a few days ago) I don’t know if I have the right to ask this question. But I will, and I did. I’m wondering if it’s such a good thing the conservatives “won” over the moderates in the Southern Baptist Convention. Now you have people pushing to get Baptists to pull their kids out of public schools, and seminary presidents confusing ancient cultural norms with Biblical mandate concerning childbearing. Of course, it isn’t confined to Baptists. Years ago, when I was attending an independent Charismatic church, there was one husband who felt convicted to have his vasectomy reversed (he and his wife had already had 4 kids, mind you) because he fell under this kind of teaching.

Bill said it very well. Do you WANT these type of people having children? I don’t. Live your lives, people. If it doesn’t include children, well, there are enough people who want them that I don’t think the planet will depopulate any time soon. As for the Baptists, quit trying to become part of a Jay Leno monologue, OK?

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