Opinion

If a tombstone exists for broader Baptist cooperation among Southern Baptists, the year after the dash might read “2018.”

Let’s see a show of hands. How many of us grew up hearing testimonies and sermons at Vacation Bible School, church camps and revivals, implying that God’s will is an ironclad, one-option only maze?

One wrong turn, and you’re toast.

Earlier this summer, I was asked to prepare a paper for a workshop at the Baptist World Alliance in Zürich, Switzerland. The topic was children and justice: how biblical perspectives on children can inform our larger work of justice for all humans. My study and preparation took me on an amazing journey.

Do you and your family have any rituals or traditions that you practice on a regular basis? Maybe every time a person enters your home, they must take off their shoes to keep the living room carpets clean and the hardwood floors unmarked. How many of these rituals did you start on your own and how many were handed down to you by family or friends?

At church, my six-year-old son’s Sunday School teachers talk about the importance of being respectful in the building since church is a holy space. Their lessons go beyond just reciting rules — like be quiet during the service, no running in the hallways, no taking money from the offering plate and no throwing toys across the room. His teachers did a much better job by providing a theological foundation to the idea.

“God lives at church,” my son echoes often as we head to church.

What are the ways you or your family recognize significant accomplishments that occur in life? If you are like my grandmother, there is a mantle in your home where athletic trophies and academic ribbons and plaques stand.

For more than 400 years, Baptists have urged religious liberty for all. The advocacy of Baptists like Isaac Backus and John Leland helped enshrine religious liberty rights in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A radical shift during an age of state churches, this move created the very environment for churches to flourish.

The politics of Jesus can be messy. We may wish there were no politics involved in Kingdom work. And, yet, there most always has been and likely always will be.

In the July 15, 2018, Kansas City Star, Darryl Levings tells the story of William Thomas, who built a sail wagon in 1853. It was 25 feet long with wheels 12 feet in diameter. It sported a large sail, complete with a “handler” high above. He proposed to use this vehicle to transport goods over the Santa Fe Trail and to find Spanish silver.

In the U.S. context, we often hear laments about the decline of Christianity, how younger generations are walking away from faith and about our culture’s increasing embrace of immorality. If we hear such stories of doom and gloom enough, perhaps we start to believe them. But what if there’s more to the story?