"Other Diversity"

Ethicsdaily is carrying an op-ed by Gary Nelson about the New Baptist Covenant. Nelson has written the most insightful article I have seen yet. It is a friendly yet much needed critique of the old paradigm on which the New Baptist Covenant celebration was built.

It is a worthwhile read even for those who don't care anything about Baptist life because it lays out the central issues which are defining the church today. The core issue is this: the next generation of Baptists are the now generation of Baptists and unfortunately they were for the most part left off the ticket in Atlanta. The broader implication is that church just can't be done the way we've been doing it. This includes the way we have formulated language like Conservative or Progressive or Evangelical or Mainline. The point being that when I talk with clergy friends my age they say, "Well, I serve a Mainline church. But I'm an Evangelical. But, I mean, I am socially progressive. But, well, I'm also conservative when it comes to issues like sex and violence on TV."

See, the old wine skins are about to pop. And it's going to get messy. And the blood of Christ is going to be everywhere.

As an aside, Ethicsdaily would do well to listen to what Nelson is saying. Younger, postmodern Baptists do not define ourselves by what we are against - ie, the Southern Baptist Convention. Rather, we define ourselves by a common passion for authentic life with Jesus and with others. And most of us could find that in a Southern Baptist Church, or an Episcopal Church, or a United Church, or the bar down the street.