North American Baptist Covenant

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Category: Christianity

Over the last 25 years, moderate and liberal Baptists have watched with growing concern as their conservative Southern Baptist brethren came to define the religious tradition for the general public.

The former former differ from the SBC in that they appoint women pastors, work with theological liberals and line up more closely with Carter than Bush.

Now, these other Baptists, who are spread among many different denominations, are slowly pooling resources on humanitarian work and evangelism, hoping they can have a bigger impact.

In January 2008, a broad group of Baptists will host an Atlanta meeting "to speak and work together to create an authentic and genuine prophetic Baptist voice in these complex times," according to a joint document they issued called a "North American Baptist Covenant."

The covenant grew out of meetings of Baptist leaders organized by Carter, a longtime Bible teacher who severed ties in 2000 with the Southern Baptist Convention because of what he called its "increasingly rigid" creed.

Organizers insist they do not want to create a new denomination or a political platform.

The religious leaders who endorsed the covenant say their churches span a wide range of beliefs on issues both theological and political, and have diverse styles of worship. Many oppose abortion and gay marriage, but believe that the Bible's social justice teachings are just as important. The unity meetings also aim to bridge the divide between historically African-American and white Baptists.

Nancy Ammerman, a Boston University sociologist of religion who has written about Baptist battles, said that creating any kind of unified Baptist movement is difficult because local churches cherish their independence.

However she also says that boosting cooperation among the different groups is a more realistic goal.

"Maybe they could be seen as a united front," Ammerman said, "so that people would think, `Oh, this is one of those non-Southern Baptist groups.'"[1]

North American Baptist Covenant