wfn.org | AMERICAN BAPTIST NEWS UPDATE FOR AUGUST 26, 1996

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American Baptist News Service_____________________
Office of Communication / American Baptist Churches USA
P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851
Phone: (610)768-2077 / Fax: (610)768-2320 
E-mail: RICH_SCHRAMM.PARTI@ECUNET.ORG
Richard W. Schramm, Director

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UPDATE: AUGUST 26, 1996
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NEWS FEATURE
'CALLED TO RESPONSIBLE FREEDOM' EXPLORES BAPTISTS DISTINCTIVES
THROUGH PRESENTATIONS, DISCUSSION AND BIBLE STUDY
     In wide-ranging presentations addressing history, polity,
biblical interpretation and issues related to
religious practice, more than 140 participants considered
distinctives of the Baptist tradition at "Called to
Responsible Freedom" Aug. 17-23 at the American Baptist Assembly,
Green Lake, Wis.
     The conference, sponsored by American Baptist Educational
Ministries and the American Baptist
Assembly, drew a large number of American Baptists as well as
representatives from other Baptist bodies,
including the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the Alliance of
Baptists.
     In a series of scholarly addresses and discussions conferees
examined the relation of freedom and
responsibility through the lens of traditional Baptist beliefs and
practice.
     Dr. Edward Gaustad, an author, historian and faculty member at
the University of California/Riverside,
traced the origins of the Baptist emphases on freedom, autonomy and
interdependence through the pioneering
ministry of Roger Williams in Rhode Island and the groundbreaking
relations of churches in association in
Philadelphia and Rhode Island.  For Williams, who fled Puritan
constraints in Massachusetts to establish the first
Baptist church in America in Providence, "freedom could not ever be
the equivalent of anarchy."  "Collective
responsibility," Gaustad said, was nurtured in early associational
relationships, and the "Great Awakening" of the
1740s provided Baptists with a mission field "fertile for Baptists to
exploit and harvest."  At the end of the 18th
century, with religious freedom formalized in the Constitution,
Baptists in the United States contributed much to
the new democracy by "taking guarantees of religious liberty and
running with them," Gaustad said.
     In examining the development of American Baptist life, Dr. Eldon
Ernst, academic dean at the American
Baptist Seminary of the West, noted that "unity and diversity in
creative tension" was the key to denomination's
identity.  The history of American Baptist churches, he maintained,
is "a history of persons, activities and
organizations related to free churches."  The centrality of a living
Christ was and remains essential in the lives
and ministries of American Baptists, for whom "God not incarnate
would be an irrelevant abstraction."
     Dr. Bill Leonard, dean of the Divinity School at Wake Forest
University, added a perspective on the
development of Southern Baptist life.  The "powerful sense of
denomination" that long defined that life now is
being challenged by many Southern Baptists who "are confronting the
question of identity."  This is particularly
evident in Southern Baptist state conventions, many of whom have
reexamined their relationships to the larger
body, and by the "megachurch" communities which are "setting agendas
all across the South" at the same time
that they are downplaying denominational connections.
     In assessing the contributions of African Americans within
Baptist life, Dr. Ralph Reavis, of the School
of Theology at Virginia Union University, documented the historic
black church as "the invisible institution, led 
by strong leaders" that flourished in the pre-Civil War South.  Many
African Americans were drawn into Baptist
life, Reavis said, "because of the way Baptists [from both North and
South] attacked slavery."  With the
establishment of the first black Baptist denominations in the 1890s
came unified mission efforts.  Later, in such
organizations as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the
work of leaders like Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr., "black ecumenism [became] the vehicle through
which...justice has been fostered," Reavis said.
     Dr. Malcolm Shotwell, executive minister of the American Baptist
Churches of the Great Rivers Region,
called Baptists to reclaim the associational principle--"ignored in
many places by many people"--as "the model of
interdependence."  Reiterating the effective ministry exhibited by
early Baptist cooperative formations, Shotwell
termed associations "the consequence of the intentions of Jesus" and
"churches in association as the vital unit of
mission."
     In an address touching on congregational autonomy, Dr. Nancy
Ammerman, professor of the sociology
of religion at Hartford Seminary, identified "new forms of
association" available for churches in the late 20th
century.  Those forms, she said, will be "highly specialized and
flexible serving a much more diverse
constituency."  Denominational structures in coming decades
necessarily will be decentralized, less hierarchical,
and with a tendency to link with newly formed external organizations
rather than to re-form their structures from
within, she predicted.
     Exploring the long-standing Baptist support of separation of
church and state, Oliver Thomas, special
counsel to the National Council of the Churches of Christ, said that
because of the "free exercise" clause of the
First Amendment, Baptists need to "guard these rights for every other
citizen, especially those with whom we
disagree."  Religion, he said, "enjoys a prominent if not favored
role in American society...the free exercise of
religion in America is free indeed."  The Constitution, Thomas added,
was designed to be "a civic framework for
living together with our differences as one people."
     In a related discussion, Melissa Rogers, associate general
counsel for the Baptist Joint Committee on
Public Affairs, considered implications of the First Amendment's
"establishment" clause.  That clause, she said,
was included in the Bill of Rights to counter any attempt to
establish a national church or to promote one
religion over another.  She cited the dangers, present in current
proposed legislation, of government funding for
religious institutions: the "strings attached" understanding that
could lead to government regulations, and the
undermining of religion's independence and integrity.  Only in taking
a neutral position in religion can the
government assure "meaningful and voluntary choices" for persons, she
said.
     Through Bible studies and addresses focusing on biblical
interpretation, several prominent New
Testament scholars considered passages of Scripture addressing
freedom and responsibility.
     Dr. David Scholer, professor of New Testament at Fuller
Theological Seminary and a former faculty
member at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, examined Paul's
writings in Romans 14 and 15 and I
Corinthians 8-10.  Within the framework of conflict between believers
who ate meat and those who felt
compelled to adhere to traditional dietary laws noted in the letter
to the church in Rome, Paul implied the need
for mutual respect and acceptance--both between those factions and
within the larger context of a diverse
Christian community.  "How freedom is handled in the core of the
Gospel," Scholer maintained.  "Paul doesn't
try to eliminate diversity; he respects it."  What is important, he
added, is "if they [Christians with differing
understandings of Scripture] have made their choice in faith."  In
the Corinthians passage Scholer again used the
context of division over dietary laws to note Paul's "commitment to
flexibility...for the sake of the Gospel"
tempered with an understanding of "limits beyond which one [cannot]
go."  In applying those truths to
contemporary Christian practice, Scholer emphasized both freedom and
limitations.  Whatever "lines I draw must
come at the very core of the cross of Jesus Christ," he said.
     Dr. Joel Green, associate professor of New Testament at the
American Baptist Seminary of the West, 
considered the dynamics of Paul's discussion of "slavery" in
Galatians 5.  "Paul trades one form of slavery
[Roman-style slavery, with hierarchical status] for another--becoming
slaves one to another," Green noted.  The
latter, he said, brings "mutual self-sacrifice...a community event." 
In that sense "slavery is an appropriate
manifestation of freedom...the way God gets things done." 
     Dr. Molly Marshall, visiting professor at Central Baptist
Theological Seminary, utilized Christ's
injunctions on discipleship in John 8:31-36 to note that "Sometimes
the truth must break us in order for us to be
put back together."  "God establishes us in the truth," she said,
"and it is our task to continue in it." 
     Marshall also affirmed the need for private Scriptural
interpretation within "an ecclesial context." 
Private interpretation of God's Word "can bring new perspectives to a
community in search of new illumination
of the spirit of God," she said.  "The interpretative task of each
believer cannot be forsaken," she maintained,
adding, "Dissenting voices can challenge us to greater and higher
understanding." 
     According to Dr. Vincent Wimbush, professor of New Testament at
Union Theological Seminary (N.Y.),
the real divisions between liberals and conservatives are "in the
worlds you represent, not [in the interpretation
of] text."  Maintaining that the Bible is a "modern, late 20th
century document, not an ancient document," he
noted his belief that "separating past and present contexts of
Scripture" was undesirable.  "Tradition is not
present for me [apart from] how the story travels within my [social]
context," he added. 
     In concluding remarks summarizing his reaction to the
conference, Dr. James Evans, president of The
Divinity School (Rochester, N.Y.), noted the breadth and quality of
the presentations and identified several
possible foci for future such gatherings.   These included: "What it
means to be the church living under God's
rule" and consideration of bringing "our mission to those who have
been silenced" and "light to those who live in
darkness."
     Dr. Jean Kim, executive director of American Baptist Educational
Ministries, noted, "Along with
conference registrants, I very much appreciated the quality of
presentations on our Baptist heritage and present
life.  I am glad that Jan DeWitt (vice president for program at the
American Baptist Assembly) has initiated this
series of theological conferences, and I look forward to the next
event."
     Judson Press will publish the majority of the proceedings, along
with supplementary material, in a
volume scheduled to be released in time for the 1997 Biennial Meeting
next June in Indianapolis.  The book will
be edited by conference participant Dr. Everett C. Goodwin, a
scholar, author and third generation American
Baptist minister.
     The planning team for "Called to Responsible Freedom" included
Dr. Stan Hastey, executive director of
the Alliance of Baptists (chair); Dr. David Scholer; Dr. Eldon Ernst;
Dr. Norman Johnson, pastor of First New
Christian Fellowship Baptist Church, Los Angeles; Mr. Jose Orraca,
member of the Coordinating Council of the
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship; and Dr. Louise Barger, executive
minister of the ABC of the Rocky Mountains. 
Jean Kim served as staff.  Worship leaders included Dr. Kate
Penfield, executive director of The Ministers
Council; Dr. Norman Johnson; and Dr. David Rhoads, faculty member at
the Lutheran School of Theology,
Chicago. 

                         o

o  High attendance and high spirits marked the annual gatherings of
women and girls at the American Baptist
Assembly, Green Lake, Wis., July 27 Aug. 3.  At the National Women's
Conference about 480 women--the
most in recent years--shared in Bible study, worship, music, mission
projects and recreation.  The 80 participants
at the AB GIRLS Gathering were the most since national conferencing
for girls was resumed in 1992.
Susan Gillies and the Rev. Thelma Mitchell of American Baptist
National Ministries led the women in examining
relationships that cross cultural lines.  In Bible study the Rev.
Patricia Meye, associate pastor of Warm Springs
Baptist Church, Las Vegas, addressed the conference theme "Joined in
Love to Abide...Grow...Serve..." (John
15:1 17).  Judith Mayes, of American Baptist International
Ministries, and Carol Sutton, executive director of
ABW Ministries, led the girls through women s stories in the Bible. 
The girls gave expression to their faith by
planning and leading their own vesper services, processing to
different sites on the grounds with the conference
theme banner, "Bread for the Journey," leading the way.  A high point
of the two conferences was a joint session
on Tuesday evening when more than 500 women and girls created a 6'x8'
quilt symbolizing their unique
contributions and cooperation in service to God and American Baptist
Churches USA.  During sessions
throughout the week women took turns around the quilting frame at the
back of the conference hall.  
Next year s National Women s Conference theme will be "Chosen to Live
in Harmony," based on Col. 3:12 17. 
Conference dates are July 26-Aug. 2, 1997.  The AB GIRLS Gathering
theme will be "Wade in the Water,"
based on Heb. 11:1.  Conference dates for that event also are July
26-Aug. 2, 1997.

o  American Baptist Women s Ministries, sponsor of the National Women
s Conference, installed four new
officers in three-year terms during the week: Dolores Robson, Sioux
City, Iowa, national treasurer; Virginia Hall
Bright, Nashville, Tenn., national coordinator of Mission and Service
Ministries; Beverly Burns Erskine, Bryn
Mawr, Pa., national coordinator of Resources; and Vivian Garrett,
Milwaukie, Oreg., national coordinator of the
Western Section. 

o  AB GIRLS, during its conference, commissioned four new youth
members of the National Leadership Team
and one new adult member: Bethany Bradfield, Salt Lake City,
convener; Molly Gambrell, Hamilton, Ohio,
newsletter; Heidi Holmstrom, Bryn Mawr, Pa., historian; Jessica
Rambo, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, conference;
and Rose Pearson, Grantsville, W.V., resources. 

o  Also at Green Lake, the National Board of ABW Ministries adopted a
Love Gift goal of $1,250,000 for 1997
and authorized expenditure of funds raised during the National
Project, Women In New Growth Situations
(WINGS).  The total received for WINGS is $207,653.26, surpassing a
goal of $200,000.  South Providence
Neighborhood Ministries in Rhode Island, associated with National
Ministries, will receive an additional $5,000
for its economic development ministry.  This will enable Veronica
DeLaCruz, WINGS short-term ministry intern,
to continue her work while long-term funding is sought.  Other WINGS
funding authorized was a $7,000 grant to
Judson Publishing for the publication and distribution of the women s
bibliography being created by Jody
Stratford and Grace Wisthoff, WINGS short-term ministry interns with
Educational Ministries.  Due out this fall,
the bibliography will be an annotated listing of the best resources
currently available on a range of issues
concerning women.  Half of all the WINGS money raised is slated for
use by the Women s Center in Mitendi,
Zaire.  Progress on the building has been rapid this year, and the
women of the Baptist Convention of Western
Zaire (CBZO) expect to begin programming there this fall.  

o  An anonymous gift of $665,000 to American Baptist-related
Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Mich., will
enable that school to expand its respected Classics program.   Since
1987 several large gifts from the same donor
have helped to establish the program, which will be offered as major
for the first time this fall.  The program
focuses on the ancient Greek and Roman cultures, especially their
languages, but also literature, art, philosophy
and history. 

96U826
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